Broker guide
Offset Account Failures: Link Checks and Corrections
Check whether an offset is open, linked and saving interest. See the ASIC offset findings, correction evidence and escalation steps.
- Published
- Updated
If the offset account scandal has left you unsure about your own account, first check which home loan it offsets in your banking app. An account can be open and hold your savings without reducing the interest on the intended loan.
Compare the displayed link with your loan documents, then ask the bank for written confirmation of the effective date and interest benefit. Unchanged repayments alone don’t show whether the offset works.
Open, Link and Check an Offset Account
To set up an offset account, confirm the loan’s eligibility before opening the required transaction account and requesting its link to the exact loan portion.
- Find the product name and each loan portion in your approval or loan contract. Confirm which portion accepts an offset and whether the benefit is full or partial.
- Open the lender’s required offset account through its account-opening process. Retain the account number and account-holder details.
- Request the link using both the offset account number and the eligible loan number. For a split loan, identify the intended portion explicitly.
- Ask for written confirmation of the link, its effective date and the offset percentage. Keep the original request and the bank’s response together.
- Check the relationship in online banking or the lender’s app. If the screen doesn’t identify the linked loan or start date, ask the bank to supply those details.
Seeing two accounts on one dashboard isn’t enough evidence of an interest-saving link. An online-banking connection can simply make an account visible to you.
For example, as at October 2026, ANZ’s One offset page lists the Standard Variable Rate Home Loan among eligible products. ANZ’s online-banking support separately explains how to add accounts to your banking view. Ask ANZ to confirm the offset relationship itself when the display doesn’t show it.
An offset remains an everyday transaction account. You can withdraw money, but the smaller balance then reduces the available interest benefit. Moneysmart’s offset guidance, updated 28 July 2026, explains that distinction.
Recheck the link after refinancing or switching products. Also recheck after changing account ownership or replacing an account, using the new account and loan identifiers. Keep the replacement-loan documents with your refinancing evidence.
Use the fixed-loan offset guide for fixed portions and the multiple-offset guide for account-count and ownership rules.
Verify and Correct Offset Account Linkage
To verify offset linkage, match the promised arrangement against the bank’s current records and ask it to correct the specific mismatch.
Record the approved product, offset account number, loan number and eligible portion. Add the promised start date, offset percentage and the date the bank says the link actually began.
| What you find | Evidence to compare | Correction to request |
|---|---|---|
| Required account never opened | Opening request and approval documents, compared with the bank’s account records | Open the required account and investigate any missed benefit from the promised start date |
| Account open but unlinked | Account statement and written link request | Link it to the named loan and review interest from the agreed effective date |
| Account linked to the wrong loan portion | Displayed loan number against the requested eligible portion | Correct the target loan and review both affected portions from the date the wrong link began |
| Link began late | Promised start date against the actual link history | Review the gap between the promised and actual dates and correct any resulting interest difference |
| Link appears correct but benefit is missing | Daily balances, applicable rate and interest entries | Explain the calculation and correct any under-applied offset benefit for the identified period |
Keep the requested effective date separate from today’s repair date. A working link today doesn’t settle whether the bank applied the benefit during earlier months.
A repayment can stay unchanged while less interest and more principal are paid. Principal is the loan amount you still owe. Check the interest entry or the lender’s calculation instead of using the repayment amount as your only test.
The general offset account guide explains the normal daily-interest mechanism. For a suspected failure, the question is whether the agreed balance reduced interest on the agreed loan during the agreed period.
Understand the ASIC Offset Findings
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) reviewed eight banks in 2026 and found weaknesses in offset setup, monitoring and management across all eight. That finding doesn’t mean every loan at those banks had an offset failure.
ASIC’s 29 July 2026 release describes a review period from 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2025. It examined data for 204,000 unique home loans settled from 1 March to 31 August 2025.
Report 837 records over $55 million in compensation paid as at 31 May 2026. That amount relates to offset failures reported to ASIC during the review period, rather than payments necessarily made within that period.
The failure types identified by banks in their data response were as follows.
| Failure category | Share of identified failures |
|---|---|
| Account opened but not linked | 55% |
| Account not opened | 22% |
| Account linked outside the timeframe communicated to the customer | 14% |
| Other failures | 9% |
These percentages describe the reported failures, not the proportion of all Australian mortgages affected. ASIC also found varying data quality and difficulty identifying offset requests. Its targeted review did not assess how banks calculated interest.
ASIC’s customer instruction is practical: establish whether the account exists, identify the correct linked home loan and confirm the promised interest saving. Start with online banking or the app, then raise missing information with the bank.
The Historical ANZ Case
The ANZ offset account scandal also covers a separate historical proceeding. ASIC’s December 2021 release announced allegations about offset and Breakfree package benefits.
In its 26 October 2022 outcome release, ASIC reported a $25 million Federal Court penalty against ANZ. The case concerned promised benefits, including fee waivers and interest rate discounts, with customers affected up to September 2021. It doesn’t establish a fault in your account or determine your loss under the 2026 review.
Reconstruct the Expected Interest Benefit
Estimate the missing offset benefit by matching the balance eligible to offset each day with that day’s loan rate and the period of failure.
Collect the records before calculating anything.
- Dated loan statements showing interest entries and loan balances.
- Offset statements with daily balances, or transaction records sufficient to reconstruct them.
- The interest rate and each rate-change date.
- Product terms identifying the eligible loan portion and offset percentage.
- The original linkage request, promised start date and actual link history.
For a simple daily estimate, multiply the eligible offset balance by the offset percentage and annual interest rate, then divide by the assumed days in the year. Cap the offset balance at the relevant loan balance. Add the daily amounts over the period when the benefit was missing.
A Fictional Missing-Link Estimate
Assume a fictional borrower requested a 100% offset from 1 September 2026, but it remained unlinked through 30 September 2026. The loan balance stays above $400,000 and the offset holds $30,000 on every one of those 30 days.
Assume a constant annual loan rate of 6% and a 365-day calculation basis. The estimated missed benefit is $30,000 multiplied by 0.06, divided by 365 and multiplied by 30: $147.95.
That figure is an estimate for the labelled assumptions. It excludes fees, changes in loan balance caused by previous excess interest and any further loss claimed because of the error. It assumes the agreed offset benefit was completely absent throughout the period.
For a partial failure, subtract the benefit actually applied from the expected benefit. If the rate or balance changes, calculate each day separately. A monthly closing balance doesn’t establish how much money was present during the whole month.
Ask the lender for its formal remediation calculation, including its dates, balances and calculation basis. If records are incomplete or the method is uncertain, ask the lender to reconstruct them or seek an appropriately qualified adviser. Keep any consequential-loss claim separate, with evidence of the further loss and its connection to the error.
Escalate and Confirm the Correction
Send a written correction request when the link is absent, incorrect or late. Also raise a complaint if the lender’s explanation doesn’t account for the missing benefit.
Give the bank your offset and loan identifiers through its secure channel. Include the eligible portion, promised link date and actual date shown in its records. Attach the original request, relevant statements and any labelled estimate.
State the remedy you want: correct linkage, review interest from the specified date and explain any adjustment. Ask for a complaint reference and a written response that addresses the earlier period as well as the current link.
As at October 2026, ANZ’s complaints page directs customers to its online complaints form or 1800 805 154. It also provides review options when the response doesn’t resolve the complaint. Other borrowers can use their lender’s published complaints channel.
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) can consider mortgage offset account complaints. If the bank’s response leaves the documented issue unresolved, use AFCA’s complaint information or call 1800 931 678. Supply the complaint reference, correspondence and the records supporting the disputed period.
Before marking the issue resolved, obtain written confirmation naming both accounts and the corrected effective date. Compare the lender’s remediation calculation with the dates and balances you supplied. Then inspect a subsequent interest entry or request the lender’s calculation showing that the offset benefit now applies.
If the live link works but the earlier adjustment remains disputed, keep that part of the complaint open. Recovery means the correct ongoing link is established and the bank has addressed the documented historical period.
