Refinancing an Australian home loan while overseas

Why the new lender's rules come first

Moneysmart describes switching as closing your current loan and applying for a new one, which is why it lists a discharge fee for the old loan and an application fee for the new one. The new lender runs its own assessment, including its own rules on where you live and where your income is paid.

Published positions fall into three groups:

• lenders that name Australian citizens and permanent residents living and working overseas as eligible customers in their target market determinations;
• lenders that say home lending is not available to non-resident borrowers, or to applicants who reside overseas, and in at least two cases repeat the note on their refinance pages (one also repeats it on a top-up page);
• lenders that publish nothing specific about overseas borrowers.

Our comparison of which lenders lend to expats and non-residents sets out what five major lenders say, with a link to each lender's own guide.

Staying with your current lender

Moneysmart says a lender may charge a switching fee if you refinance internally, meaning you stay with the same lender but move to a different loan. Whether a lender will agree to a product switch for a borrower who now lives abroad is not something the pages read for this guide address.

Two points from lenders' published pages and terms are worth knowing:

• One lender's loan portability page lists existing loans taken out by non-residents among the loans that cannot be ported to a new property. It does not say whether that covers borrowers who became non-residents after taking out the loan.
• One lender's consumer lending terms (version 39, dated 28 January 2026) say it may require information about your financial circumstances, or a new valuation of the security property, if it reasonably considers it necessary to show there has been no material adverse change in your financial situation. A valuation can carry a fee.

Our guide to moving overseas with an Australian mortgage covers what to tell your lender when you move.

What switching costs

Moneysmart (page updated 29 July 2026) lists the costs to compare:

• a break fee, if you are on a fixed rate loan;
• a discharge fee when you close your current loan;
• an application fee on the new loan;
• a switching fee, for an internal refinance;
• lenders mortgage insurance (LMI), which may apply if you have less than 20 per cent equity.

Moneysmart also says that telling your current lender you plan to move to a cheaper loan, and having at least 20 per cent equity and a good credit score, can strengthen your bargaining position.

A simple break-even check uses the monthly saving and the one-off costs. With assumed figures of $1,200 in total switching costs and a $150 monthly saving, the costs are recovered after $1,200 ÷ $150 = 8 months. Moneysmart's mortgage switching calculator is designed to test whether your own savings justify your own costs.

Borrowing against your equity

Equity is the gap between your property's value and what you owe. One bank's worked example shows how the arithmetic goes: for a home valued at $750,000 with a $400,000 loan, equity is $750,000 - $400,000 = $350,000. Banks are generally comfortable lending up to 80 per cent of the value, so usable equity is 80% x $750,000 = $600,000, less the $400,000 owed, which gives $200,000.

The same page says whether you can borrow more depends on your income, living expenses and how much you owe, and that LMI or a Low Deposit Premium may apply depending on the amount and the valuation. For someone abroad, income is the part that tends to need explaining. See how lenders assess foreign income. One lender repeats its overseas residency note on its home loan top-up page, so the same residency question can apply to a top-up as to a new loan.

What a refinance application involves

The checklists read for this guide are short on refinance-specific items. One major lender's checklist says that for a refinance from another lender you will need the current balance of the loans being refinanced, including the payout cost, and that home loan statements are generally not required, with some exceptions. A broker checklist from another lender says it does not require statements to evidence repayment history on most applications.

The rest of the file is the usual identity, income and expense material. Overseas borrowers should expect questions on foreign income, certified copies and translations. Our pages on documents for an overseas home loan and translating and certifying documents cover those.

Frequently asked questions

Expat Finance is an independent guide. It is not a lender, mortgage broker or credit provider, it does not hold an Australian credit licence, and it does not give credit, legal, tax or migration advice. It is not affiliated with any bank, the ATO or the Foreign Investment Review Board. General information only, not legal, tax, migration or financial advice.