The Question Is No Longer Whether Your Fund Can Borrow. It Is What For
From 10 August 2026, a self managed super fund can no longer enter a new limited recourse borrowing arrangement to buy residential property. Business real property is untouched, and every arrangement already in place is grandfathered in full. An SMSF Loan Broker in Sydney can help establish whether the lending rules still allow your intended purchase and works alongside your accountant, who advises on the compliance side.
Start with the SMSF property lending guide for Sydney trustees.
An SMSF Loan Broker in Sydney can review the contract date, settlement date and whether an existing arrangement is grandfathered, with you and your accountant before anything is signed.
Self managed super fund lending NSW wide now turns on this test, so an SMSF Loan Broker in Sydney will check whether the proposed property is business real property. Any residential component needs checking with your accountant before you exchange.
The lender list for fund borrowing was always short and the rule change shortened it again. An SMSF Loan Broker in Sydney knows which lenders are still open to fund lending and the terms on which they may consider an application.
An SMSF Loan Broker in Sydney will raise the lender's requirements for fund balance, residual liquidity and holding trust documentation with your adviser before an application goes anywhere.
Plenty of websites still describe SMSF residential borrowing as though nothing happened in August. It did, and acting on stale information is expensive here. An SMSF Loan Broker in Sydney needs to work from the rules actually in force when assessing a new application.
Every file opens with the fund deed, the asset, the contract date and the liquidity left after settlement. An SMSF Loan Broker in Sydney should start there, before considering which lender may be appropriate. Read what a fund can and cannot borrow for. Read what a fund can and cannot borrow for.
An SMSF Loan Broker in Sydney considers the fund's balance, contributions, expected rent and existing fund commitments, because lenders assess each differently. See what deposit a fund needs. See what deposit a fund needs.
An SMSF Loan Broker in Sydney coordinates valuation, holding trust documentation, conditions and settlement with the lender, your accountant and your solicitor.
An SMSF Loan Broker in Sydney also helps coordinate the lending documentation so the bare trust, trustee resolutions and loan terms remain consistent. See how an LRBA works. See how an LRBA works.
The strategy the rule change left fully intact. See commercial property lending.
There is a sequence, and the first step is a compliance question rather than a lending one. An SMSF Loan Broker in Sydney starts by establishing whether the proposed purchase can be financed, because getting that order wrong is how trustees end up with a contract their fund cannot finance.
An SMSF Loan Broker in Sydney checks what the current rules permit and what your accountant confirms about the asset. See the glossary of lending terms.. See the glossary of lending terms.
Balance, contributions, expected rent and the liquidity that must remain after settlement. See what lenders assess.
A short panel, and shorter since August. Documents are listed in the document checklist.
For self managed super fund lending NSW wide, we coordinate settlement, then revisit the arrangement each year with your accountant as contributions and rent change.
Lenders on panel
Serving Sydney since
Accredited member
End to end support
The rate is nearly irrelevant here. Three other things decide whether the purchase can proceed at all.
First, eligibility of the asset, which since August means business real property for any new arrangement. Second, the fund’s liquidity after settlement, because lenders and auditors both want to see the fund able to meet repayments and expenses without distress. Third, the documentation, since the holding trust has to be in place and correct before the contract.
This is where self managed super fund lending NSW trustees rely on differs from ordinary home lending. The constraint is the law and the fund rather than your personal income.
That is why the compliance questions belong with your accountant and the lending questions with us. Read how the 2026 tax changes treat property, which excluded complying superannuation funds from the negative gearing measure.
Speak with our SMSF lending specialist on +61 447 959 546
Trustees ask how do I find a broker who still writes SMSF lending in Sydney now that several lenders have stepped back. The honest answer is that the panel is short, it moves, and the broker’s value is knowing who is currently open rather than who was open last year.
Read why applications get declined and how long each stage takes.
A trustee was purchasing property through a self managed super fund during a period of significant legislative change and heavy industry workload.
Uday managed the application directly, worked through the compliance requirements and held the file to its settlement timeline. The purchase settled on schedule and the client described the specialist assistance as exceptional.
Jagdish B., Sydney. Individual circumstances differ and outcomes depend on lender assessment.
Trustees keep asking whether their fund can still borrow. It can, for business real property, and anything already in place is untouched. The detail that catches people is that the cut-off runs on the contract date, not the settlement date.
Paritosh Wadhwani, Director and Principal Broker, APW Finance
Trustees ask what does an SMSF loan broker in Sydney do after the 2026 rule change, and whether fund borrowing is finished. It is not. These are the questions that matter now.
Three things. Establish whether your intended asset is still financeable, which since August means business real property for any new arrangement. Establish whether an existing arrangement is grandfathered. And find the lenders still writing fund loans.
We then coordinate the lender requirements with your accountant and solicitor, who advise on the compliance and documentation itself.
Ask which lenders on their panel are currently accepting fund applications, by name, and when they last settled one. Ask how they treat the 10 August cut-off, because a broker who gets the contract date point wrong will cost you the purchase.
Then ask who coordinates with your accountant. An smsf mortgage broker Sydney trustees keep is one who runs the compliance and the lending as a single file.
Not under a new arrangement entered on or after 10 August 2026. If your fund already holds residential property under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement established before that date, nothing changes and repayments continue as normal.
A contract exchanged before the cut-off is protected even if settlement falls after it, because the trigger is the contract date.
Broadly, property used wholly and exclusively in one or more businesses. A warehouse, a consulting suite, a workshop or your own business premises will commonly qualify. Mixed use premises such as a shop with a dwelling above it need closer examination.
Whether a particular property meets the test is a question for your accountant, not for a broker, and it is worth settling before you exchange rather than after.
Yes, provided the refinance maintains the existing borrowing rather than funding a new acquisition. That distinction is the whole point. Refinancing to a better rate or a different lender is permitted.
Drawing additional funds to buy another residential asset is not, because that would be a new arrangement rather than a continuation of the old one.
Fund lending is written at lower loan to value ratios than ordinary home lending, so the contribution from the fund is substantially larger. Lenders also want liquidity remaining in the fund after settlement rather than a balance drained to zero.
That residual buffer requirement catches more applications than the deposit itself does, and it varies between lenders.
Three remain. The fund can buy outright with cash, residential or commercial, with no borrowing involved. It can borrow for business real property, which is unaffected. Or a member can transfer eligible business real property they own personally into the fund.
Each has contribution cap and valuation consequences, so model them with your accountant.
The negative gearing and capital gains measures apply to property held outside super, and complying funds are excluded from both. A separate measure is a different matter. Division 296 commenced on 1 July 2026 and affects members with large total superannuation balances.
How the fund itself is taxed is a question for your accountant rather than for your broker, and it should be settled before a purchase rather than after one.
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 26 June 2026, and the borrowing change commenced forty five days later. This is the position as it stands.
| The arrangement | Where it stands now | The trigger date |
|---|---|---|
| New borrowing to buy residential property | No longer available to a self managed super fund | On or after 10 August 2026 |
| New borrowing to buy business real property | Still available, subject to the existing superannuation rules | Unchanged |
| Borrowing already in place before the cut-off | Fully grandfathered. Repayments, concessional tax treatment and existing capital gains concessions all continue | Not applicable |
| Contract exchanged before the cut-off, settling after | Protected. The trigger is the contract date rather than the settlement date | Not applicable |
| Refinancing an existing residential arrangement | Permitted, provided it maintains the existing borrowing rather than funding a new purchase | Not applicable |
| Buying outright with no borrowing | Unaffected, residential or commercial | Not applicable |
| Tax on the fund itself | Not altered by the borrowing change. A separate measure, Division 296, began on 1 July 2026 and affects members with large total superannuation balances. Confirm your position with your accountant | Division 296 from 1 July 2026 |
One correction worth making. This is not a ban on funds owning residential property. It is a restriction on borrowing to buy it, and a fund with the cash can still purchase outright.
Background on the borrowing structure itself is published by the Australian Taxation Office. Superannuation law is complex and trustee specific, so confirm your position with your accountant before acting.
| How APW works | What it changes for a Sydney trustee |
|---|---|
| Financeability settled first | You learn whether the purchase can be funded before you exchange, not after |
| Contract date treated as the trigger | Mid transaction files are assessed correctly rather than written off |
| More than 50 banks and non-banks | Including the lenders still actively writing fund loans |
| Liquidity modelled after settlement | The residual buffer lenders want is planned for, not discovered at assessment |
| Documentation coordinated | Holding trust, resolutions and loan terms consistent. See how an LRBA is documented |
| We work with your accountant | Compliance and lending handled as one file rather than two separate conversations |
| Reviewed every year | An smsf mortgage broker Sydney trustees return to as contributions and rent change |
Paritosh Wadhwani | Director and Principal Broker, APW Finance
Member of the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA). Arranging residential, investment, commercial and specialist lending for Sydney clients across a panel of more than 50 lenders.
APW Finance Pty Ltd, 304/20a Lexington Drive, Bella Vista NSW 2153. Email: info@apwfinance.com. Phone: +61 447 959 546.
ACN 620 646 479 | ABN 79 620 646 479
Last reviewed: October 2026.
This page is general information only. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it is not financial, credit or tax advice.
Superannuation law and the lending rules that follow it change, and every application is subject to lender approval. Consider whether this information suits your circumstances and seek independent advice before acting. Full terms on our disclaimer page.
One conversation is usually enough to tell you whether your intended purchase is still financeable, whether an existing arrangement is protected, and which lenders are open.
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