Broker guide
Great Southern Bank Construction Loans for Brokers 2026
Building with Great Southern Bank? Prepare the contract and income evidence, then check progress-payment documents, valuations and completion costs.
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A Great Southern Bank construction loan pays for a build through staged releases, with a signed contract assessed before approval and further evidence required before payment. Basic Variable and Offset Variable loans support construction. Prepare the borrower assessment and build documents together so an approved loan can move into funded progress claims.
Construction Availability and Broker Route
Great Southern Bank lists Basic Variable and Offset Variable as its construction options in its building guide. Its published structure uses variable interest-only repayments for the first 12 months of the building phase, then principal and interest after completion.
For a broker submission, start at the bank’s official broker destination. Confirm the selected product’s construction availability through your broker channel and business development manager (BDM), including the proposed security and build type. If you need the correct contact, use the bank’s general support route on 133 282 and ask for broker construction support.
A staged build needs money released while work proceeds. A completed-property purchase settles against a finished home.
Pre-approval is an earlier assessment of the borrower and doesn’t authorise builder payments. Keep the construction conditions separate from any general pre-approval conditions in the file.
Borrower, Property and Build Conditions
A construction application needs an acceptable borrower and a build the loan can fund to completion. Great Southern Bank’s application checklist asks for income and employment information, living expenses, assets and existing debts, with documents supporting the assessment.
Show how the client can meet repayments during construction, including rent or an existing mortgage. Explain variable income and provide the evidence appropriate to the client’s employment. A declared income figure alone doesn’t establish how much the bank will accept for serviceability, which is its assessment of repayment capacity.
Disclose credit-history issues and reconcile current credit limits with the liabilities in the application. Ask the bank to assess any adverse credit before the client relies on a construction approval.
Send the bank enough property and builder information to assess the actual proposal. Include the land address and ownership position, the signed contract, plans and specifications. Check the builder’s licence and insurance, then resolve the bank’s acceptance of the builder and proposed work before the client relies on funding.
Record the proposed loan-to-value ratio (LVR), which compares the loan with the bank’s accepted security value. Have the BDM assess the scenario’s income treatment and security limits under the selected construction product. A general home-loan deposit minimum doesn’t establish construction eligibility for a particular site or borrower.
Prepare a funds-to-complete calculation that separates the client’s available cash from loan funds. Allow for contract exclusions, fees and costs outside the build, such as landscaping or rent. Record when a grant or other contribution becomes available so the budget doesn’t count money before it can be used.
For example, in a hypothetical build, $40,000 of available cash less a $25,000 builder deposit leaves $15,000. If excluded work and other costs total $22,000, the client has a $7,000 gap.
Resolve that gap through a funded budget accepted by the bank before committing to the extra work. An anticipated exception isn’t a source of funds.
From Application to the First Release
The application documents establish what the bank is financing, while release documents establish that it can pay the builder. Great Southern Bank separates those stages in its construction process.
- Submit the contract signed by the client and builder, including the payment schedule and specifications. Include the construction plans intended for council lodgement alongside the borrower’s financial evidence.
- Compare the contract price with the payment schedule total. Match the site address and specifications to the plans, and identify any exclusions or variations that change the funded work.
- After approval, provide council-approved plans and evidence of the builder’s all-risk insurance. Include First Home Owner Grant approval where applicable, and satisfy the additional conditions in the loan documents.
- Before requesting the first release, reconcile the approved scope with the builder’s claim. Confirm the required borrower contribution and how it must be evidenced with the bank’s construction team.
The first claim must relate to the build the bank approved. If the plans change after assessment or the contract total differs from the approved budget, send the revised documents for assessment before authorising payment. Keep the bank’s response with the file so the client and builder work from the same funding conditions.
Valuations, Progress Claims and Final Funding
Great Southern Bank uses valuations at application, lock-up and completion. A progress claim requires an invoice plus a signed Progress Payment Request form. The lock-up valuation occurs at about 50% completion.
These checks connect the property and completed work to the proposed release.
Use the agreed payment schedule to identify the claim stage. The bank’s usual stages run from deposit through slab and frame to lock-up, fixings and final completion. Reconcile the new invoice with earlier payments so a stage or variation isn’t paid twice.
The invoice needs the builder’s Australian Business Number (ABN) and company details, the site address and the claimed stage. It must also show the goods and services tax (GST) amount, invoice number and date, plus the builder’s bank account details. The Bank State Branch (BSB) number identifies the receiving bank branch.
The client must be satisfied with the work before authorising the claim. A lender valuation supports the funding decision and doesn’t replace the client’s inspection of the build or an independent building inspection.
For final funding, collect the occupancy/use certificate, the applicable council completion document and building insurance naming Great Southern Bank as financier. The bank arranges a final valuation against the contract.
Its published council final-inspection/final-occupation document exception applies in Western Australia. Confirm the documents required for the actual jurisdiction and loan conditions without extending that exception to every completion requirement.
If a claim has missing information, obtain a corrected invoice or the outstanding document and resubmit the complete request. Where work or valuation doesn’t support the claim, have the construction team identify what must be resolved before release. Agree revised payment expectations with the builder while that issue is addressed.
Allow time for valuations and the bank’s review when discussing invoice due dates. The bank’s indicative valuation duration is separate from approval and payment processing, so it doesn’t guarantee when a builder receives funds.
Construction Charges and a Changed Build
Construction costs include the loan’s applicable fees as well as the build itself. Obtain the Lending Schedule of Fees and match it to the client’s offer before completing the funding budget.
The bank-linked fee schedule lists mortgage establishment and securities administration fees. The administration fee’s description includes progressive drawdowns among the settlement costs it covers. It also lists a re-documentation fee where an agreed restructure between approval and funding requires amended documents.
Ask for the charges applying to the actual file, including any product waiver and valuation or inspection costs. Identify whether the agreed administration fee covers the planned releases and what applies if extra work or inspections are required. Don’t add a per-draw fee from another lender or assume that every inspection is free.
If the builder changes, or the contract, budget or completion timing changes, notify the bank before the client commits to the revised arrangement. Send the replacement contract or variation, updated plans where affected and a revised funds-to-complete calculation. Request written confirmation of any reassessment, valuation or amended funding conditions.
If Great Southern Bank won’t accept the revised proposal, compare another lender against the remaining work and existing debt before arranging a refinance. Obtain the new lender’s approval and release requirements before relying on it to pay the next claim. The client needs a funded route to completion before the builder proceeds on changed terms.
