Rate Lock Rules and Fees for Mortgage Brokers 2026

A rate lock protects an agreed fixed home loan rate before settlement for a limited period. The fee buys that protection on the specified loan, and the lender’s acceptance sets when it starts. It doesn’t secure approval or keep the rate protected indefinitely if settlement moves.

For a broker, the decision turns on the fixed portion, the fee and the funding deadline. A lock can suit a client who values repayment certainty and expects to settle within its period. Paying early can waste part of that period when approval conditions or property works still delay settlement.

Confirm What the Lock Protects

A confirmed lock applies to the loan and fixed product the lender accepts, subject to its terms and expiry. Keep the application reference beside the fixed loan amount, fixed term, repayment type and quoted rate. For a split loan, identify the fixed account separately from the variable portion.

Stage	What it establishes	What the broker records
Indicative rate	The rate quoted at that time, before protection is accepted	Quote date, product and any discount or margin
Lodged lock request	The borrowers have asked for a lock	Completed request, each borrower’s consent and payment instruction
Confirmed lock	The lender has accepted protection under its terms	Protected rate or reference rate, covered account, start date and expiry

A signed request alone doesn’t establish every lender’s start date. ING’s current lock-in form, read as at October 2026, requires successful processing of the request and fee payment. The bank can decline the request, and accepting it doesn’t approve the loan.

Hypothetical Case: Settlement Moves Beyond the Lock

Suppose ING accepts a fictional client’s request and receives payment on 5 October 2026. Adding its quoted 90-day period gives 3 January 2027. Assume the bank’s written confirmation records that expiry, and the original settlement is 18 December 2026.

A delayed title registration moves settlement to 15 January 2027, 12 days beyond the recorded expiry. The broker asks ING for its written response before telling the client which rate will apply.

Under ING’s lock-in form as at October 2026, the 90-day period cannot be extended. An extension request therefore doesn’t continue the old protection. If ING accepts a fresh lock request, retain its new rate, fee and expiry separately.

Without fresh accepted protection, ING’s form applies the fixed rate on the settlement date after expiry. Keep the written response confirming how the bank will handle this file. The original fee or an email requesting more time doesn’t preserve the original rate.

Compare Fees and Validity

Compare the fee on the covered fixed loan with the period’s actual starting event. The banks below use different fee bases, and Suncorp’s current period is shorter than the 90 days many others publish. All dollar amounts below are Australian dollars.

ANZ, NAB, Westpac and ING

Lender and terms	Eligible product and fee basis	Lock period and start	Payment or settlement consequence
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), as at October 2026	Eligible fixed home loans with one-to-five-year fixed terms. $750 for each $1 million of lending or part thereof, calculated separately for each loan	Up to 90 days from fee payment	Paying the fee secures the rate applying on the payment date
National Australia Bank (NAB), as at October 2026	New Tailored or Choice Package fixed home loans and eligible limit increases or new fixed contracts. 0.15% of the approved limit, rounded to the nearest $10	90 days from receipt of the completed agreement or capture of all verbal consents	Fee becomes payable on consent and is charged at drawdown. Outside the period, the settlement-day rate applies and the fee remains payable
Westpac, as at October 2026	Fixed home loans. Non-refundable fee of 0.10% of the loan amount. Rate lock excludes construction progress-draw loans	Up to 90 days	The lock secures the agreed fixed rate before settlement. Match the confirmed expiry to the revised funding date
ING, as at October 2026	Fixed Rate home loan. $749 per fixed loan account in its pre-settlement fee guide	90 days from receipt of the fee, following acceptance and successful processing	Fee paid before protection starts. After expiry, the fixed rate on the settlement date applies

ANZ’s fixed-loan terms make the fee a stepped amount. A single $600,000 fixed loan costs $750 to lock, while a single $1.3 million fixed loan costs $1,500. Two separate fixed loans each attract their own calculation.

NAB’s rate-lock rules distinguish a new fixed contract from an ordinary switch of an existing variable loan. Pre-approval and a rollover from one fixed term to another are excluded. If NAB declines the loan, it doesn’t charge the fee.

Westpac’s fixed-loan page gives a $600 lock fee on a $600,000 loan at 0.10%. Retain the accepted terms for the covered fixed account and its expiry. The construction exclusion appears in Westpac’s fixed-loan conditions.

ING’s pre-settlement fee guide charges $749 per fixed loan account. Its lock-in request form refunds the fee only if the application is declined. Requesting a lock after the offer is issued also requires a new offer and a $250 re-documentation fee.

Other Lender Fee Structures

Lender and terms	Fee basis or protection	Period and settlement rule
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), as at October 2026	$750 per fixed loan account for eligible new Fixed Rate Home Loan or Fixed Rate Investment Home Loan applications	90 days from processing. Only one-to-five-year fixed periods qualify
St.George, as at October 2026	0.15% of the loan amount, minimum $500. Capped at $1,000 for loans up to $2 million. Above $2 million, 0.15% applies	Up to 90 days. Receives the lower advertised fixed rate if it falls below the locked rate at settlement
Bank Australia, as at October 2026	0.10% of the total fixed loan amount, minimum $50, for eligible Basic, Offset or Clean Energy home loans	Maximum 90 days from acceptance. Fee deducted from the base loan amount at settlement
Bankwest, as at October 2026	Fixed Rate Cap fee is the greater of $450 or 0.15% of the actual loan amount or amount transferred	Three months from processing of the completed request form. Processing typically takes one to three business days after receipt. Fee charged on settlement or product transfer
Bendigo Bank Flex and Easy home loans, fact sheet dated 18 December 2025	Automatic Fixed Rate Lock when the customer elects a fixed product	Loan must settle within 90 days of initial application. Lower rates at settlement apply
Suncorp Bank, fee guide effective 2 October 2026	Guaranteed Rate Fee is the greater of $600 or 0.15% of the amount borrowed, excluding other financed fees	60 days following application. The guide announces no new home lending applications from 7 October 2026

CBA’s rate-lock form charges the fee when the request is processed. St.George’s rate-lock page sets out its minimum and cap. On a $600,000 fixed loan, its 0.15% fee is $900.

Bank Australia’s terms calculate the fee only on the fixed split that carries a lock. A $250,000 variable portion and $250,000 locked fixed portion produce a $250 fee. Capitalised lenders mortgage insurance also counts towards the fixed loan amount used for its fee.

Bankwest’s Fixed Rate Cap Election Form names Complete Fixed and Standard Fixed products. Three calendar months can differ from 90 days. Use the bank’s recorded expiry when scheduling funding.

Bendigo’s broker fact sheet applies specifically to Flex and Easy loans through certain distribution channels. Its automatic protection and application-date clock mustn’t be assumed for every Bendigo product.

Suncorp’s current fee guide gives a $900 Guaranteed Rate Fee on $600,000 excluding other financed fees. Its fixed-loan conditions require selection at application. The 7 October application closure also changes whether a new Suncorp application is available.

If Rates Fall Before Settlement

A lower settlement-day rate can apply automatically, or it can require the client to cancel protection. NAB and ING, under the October 2026 terms above, apply the lower relevant fixed rate when settlement occurs within the lock. St.George’s October 2026 terms and Bankwest’s current cap form also provide the lower-rate outcome.

CBA’s form as at October 2026 gives a different result. A fall doesn’t automatically replace the locked reference rate. The client can request cancellation and take the funding-day reference rate, with the original fee retained.

For a rate lock that protects a reference rate, also retain the agreed discount or margin. Compare the final payable rate with both parts of the accepted arrangement. A change in product or repayment type can change which rate applies.

Handle Settlement Delays

Compare the revised funding date with the lender’s confirmed expiry as soon as settlement moves. Outstanding approval conditions and unsigned documents can delay funding even when the purchase contract still names an earlier date. The home loan settlement guide explains the remaining steps that can move that date.

Outcome	What it means for the file	Required evidence
Extension accepted	The lender agrees to continue protection under stated terms	Written acceptance with the revised expiry and any fee
New lock accepted	A separate lock starts on the lender’s new terms	New rate, covered loan, start date, fee and expiry
Original lock expires	The former protection ends	Expiry record and the lender’s funding-day rate treatment

CBA’s form as at October 2026 permits a new lock with another fee, while its existing lock cannot be extended. If expiry falls on a non-business day, CBA extends it to the next business day. ING’s form as at October 2026 says its lock cannot be extended.

After expiry, a fresh NAB request can secure another 90 days under the bank’s rate-lock page, read in October 2026. It locks the rate on the new agreement date. Bank Australia’s October 2026 terms also permit another application with another fee after the original period.

A request for an extension remains a request until the lender accepts it. Record the old expiry while the request is pending. Don’t tell the client the original rate remains secured merely because a new settlement has been booked.

Changes to the Fixed Amount or Product

Reconcile the protected amount with the approved fixed portion before accepting revised documents. For a hypothetical $800,000 split loan with $500,000 fixed and $300,000 variable, identify the fixed account on the lock. Apply the lender’s stated fee base to that account, including any amount it expressly includes.

Under NAB’s October 2026 terms, the approved facility limit sets the fee even if the client originally requested another amount. ING’s lock-in form as at October 2026 forfeits the paid fee after specified changes, including a fixed-term change or a loan-amount change greater than $10,000. A further fee then applies.

CBA’s form as at October 2026 charges a second lock fee if the client changes the fixed term and locks the new term. These differences make a product change financially different from moving the settlement appointment. Retain the lender’s response on protection and fees before the client accepts the change.

Record the Client Decision

Keep the client’s instruction and the lender’s acceptance as separate records. The instruction shows what the client chose after receiving the fee and expiry terms. The acceptance shows what protection the lender actually put in place.

Keep the following records together in the loan file.

• The dated rate quote, product, fixed term and applicable discount or margin.
• The approved fixed account amount and the lender’s fee calculation.
• The accepted lock terms, payment timing, refund rule and payment evidence.
• The completed request and each borrower’s instruction to proceed or decline.
• The lender confirmation with the protected rate, start date and expiry.
• The expected settlement date and any revised funding date.
• Written responses about extension, cancellation, expiry or a replacement lock.
• The final loan documents and the broker’s reconciliation of their terms.

For the final document check, match the account and fixed amount against the confirmation. Then match the product, fixed term, repayment type and rate treatment. Resolve any mismatch with the lender before describing the client’s rate as protected.

If the client asks whether to lock today, explain the fee against their need for certainty and their realistic funding date. Show how a delay or a product change affects protection, then record their choice. A written expiry that covers the expected settlement is more useful than a prediction about future rates.