SMSF lending
On 10 August 2026 the rules changed: a super fund can no longer borrow to buy residential property. What remains is narrower, more technical, and still worth doing carefully — so here is exactly where things now stand.
The rules
SMSF lending was a specialty of ours before the change. The remaining work is more technical, not less.
What changed
From 10 August 2026 a self-managed super fund can no longer enter a new limited recourse borrowing arrangement to buy residential property. This is legislation, not lender policy, so there is no broker, lender or structure that works around it. A fund can still buy a residential property outright with its own cash — it just can't borrow to do it.
Anyone telling you otherwise is out of date.
What still works
Your fund can still borrow to buy business real property — broadly, premises used wholly and exclusively for running a business. For a lot of our clients that means the fund buying the workshop, clinic, warehouse or office their own company then leases back. It's a genuinely useful structure, and it survived the change untouched.
The "wholly and exclusively" test is strict.
If you already have one
Existing SMSF residential loans are protected, and you can still refinance them to another lender. If yours has a 7 in front of the rate, that's worth looking at now. Be careful with anything beyond a like-for-like refinance though — a top-up, an equity release or a change of security can be treated as a new arrangement, which would be caught by the ban.
Like-for-like refinance is safe. Extras may not be.
The mechanics
It's not a normal mortgage with a different name on it. The structure is the point.
Piece one
A self-managed super fund borrows under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement, or LRBA: a loan secured against a single asset, where the lender's recourse is limited to that asset.
Piece two
While the loan is being repaid, the property is held on trust for the fund, and it becomes the fund's own once the loan is paid out.
Piece three
Because the repayments come from the fund, lenders assess the fund's contributions, income and spare cash — not just your personal income.
Paperwork
Every lender is different, but these are the things that come up again and again.
Our part and their part: we handle the lending — which lenders will write it, what they want to see, and how the borrowing is structured. Whether an SMSF purchase suits your fund at all is an investment and tax question for your accountant and SMSF adviser. We work with them, not around them.
General information only, not credit, tax or financial advice. SMSF rules and lender policy change, and your circumstances need to be assessed before anything is recommended.
Clients
I had a great experience working with Ankur to secure finance for my SMSF property purchases. My situation wasn't straightforward, but he took the time to understand my needs, work through the challenges and get everything across the line.
Ankur was extremely quick, courteous, approachable and always accessible. He genuinely had his “thinking cap” on, finding solutions and helping us get the SMSF finance across the line within just two weeks.
Reviews are clients' own words about their own situations, and may describe lending arranged under the rules in force at the time.
Questions
Not residential property, not any more. From 10 August 2026 a super fund can no longer enter a new limited recourse borrowing arrangement to buy a house or unit. That's legislation, not a lender policy, so no broker can work around it.
Two things still work. Your fund can borrow to buy business real property — broadly, premises used wholly for running a business, including your own — and if you already hold a residential SMSF loan it's grandfathered, so you can keep it and still refinance it.
It's grandfathered, so you can keep it. You can also refinance it to another lender, which is worth a look if the rate has drifted up. Keep it like-for-like though: a top-up, an equity release or a change of security can be treated as a new arrangement, which would be caught by the ban.
Broadly, premises used wholly and exclusively for running a business — a workshop, clinic, warehouse or office, for example, including your own company's premises leased back from the fund. The "wholly and exclusively" test is strict, so it's worth checking your specific property before you get attached to it.
No. We handle the lending. Whether any SMSF purchase suits your fund is an investment and tax question for your accountant and SMSF adviser, and we work alongside them.
In your corner, from first call to fourth property
A new ABN, a decline from your bank, an SMSF loan that needs refinancing, or a portfolio that has stalled. Book a time, and we'll tell you what's actually possible.
