EOFY financial health checklist: is your home loan still working for you?

End of financial year is the natural pause point for household finance. Most people use it for tax. Use it for your mortgage too — the savings often exceed the tax refund.

1. Your rate vs. the market

The single biggest leak. Lenders quietly let existing customers pay more than new ones for the same loan — sometimes 0.5% or more. Pull your latest statement, find your current rate, and compare it to what the same lender advertises for new customers today. If there's a gap, that's your starting negotiation.

A 0.5% rate reduction on a $600,000 loan saves about $3,000 a year in interest. Worth the phone call.

2. Fixed-rate rollover

If you fixed in 2023 at 5.5–6.5%, your term is likely rolling off into a market with similar variable rates. The default behaviour — your lender quietly moves you to their standard variable — is rarely the cheapest outcome. Get the rollover quote, then compare it to refinance options before you accept.

3. Offset balance utilisation

Look at your offset over the last six months. If the average balance is below $5k, you're paying a package fee for a feature you're not using. Either change behaviours (route salary through the offset, keep emergency buffer there) or downgrade to a non-package loan.

4. Investment loan structure

For investors: confirm the loan is interest-only if that's still the optimal structure, that the loan isn't cross-collateralised with your home, and that the rate is competitive with current investor rates. Investor lending has a higher pricing dispersion than owner-occupier — the savings from a switch can be larger.

5. Equity position

Three or four years of compounding property values plus principal paydown means your usable equity is probably higher than you think. Even if you're not planning to invest, knowing the number gives you optionality — for renovations, for a future investment, for cashflow flexibility.

6. Repayment frequency

If you're paying monthly, switch to fortnightly. Same nominal annual repayment becomes one extra repayment a year (because 26 fortnights = 13 months of monthly equivalent). Over a 30-year loan, that knocks years off the term and tens of thousands off the interest.

7. Loan term remaining

If you've been on the loan for 5+ years, the remaining term has compressed. Some lenders will quietly extend it on refinance — restoring lower minimum repayments but adding years of interest. Make a deliberate choice on term: shorter saves money, longer saves cashflow. Don't drift into a longer one accidentally.

When to act

Most reviews surface $1,500–$5,000 a year in savings. If your last full review was more than 18 months ago, you're overdue. Cleanest path: spend 30 minutes with a broker pulling your current loan apart, then decide whether to negotiate with the existing lender or move.