Australian mortgage brokerages face a recruitment problem with no easy fix. They need to hold onto experienced staff and attract new talent while loan volumes have dropped and trailing commissions are under pressure. The result: a shift away from base salary increases toward benefits packages that cost less upfront but signal commitment to staff wellbeing.
This isn’t just an HR trend. It’s a structural response to tighter margins across the broker channel, and it reveals something about where the industry sits in the credit cycle.
Why brokerages can’t lift wages right now
Mortgage broker revenue is tied directly to loan volumes and trailing commissions. Both have been under pressure since the Reserve Bank of Australia started lifting the cash rate in May 2022. Refinancing activity spiked early in the rate-rise cycle but has since normalised. New lending for owner-occupiers and investors has softened as serviceability buffers tighten and borrowing capacity shrinks.
At the same time, regulatory scrutiny around best-interest duty and trailing commissions means brokerages are managing compliance costs that didn’t exist five years ago. The combination leaves less room to compete on base salary, especially for mid-tier and smaller brokerages without the balance sheet depth of aggregator-backed groups.
So brokerages are turning to benefits: flexible work arrangements, professional development funding, mental health support, financial wellness programs. These cost less than a five-figure salary bump but can still move the needle in a tight labour market.
What employees actually want
Research tracking Canadian professionals shows benefits have overtaken salary as the top reason workers would switch jobs in 2026. Nearly half of hiring managers in that study said they plan to add perks rather than lift base pay in response to compensation pressure. Australian mortgage brokerages are seeing similar dynamics, particularly among younger brokers and support staff.
In plain English: Benefits used to be discussed at onboarding. Now candidates ask about them in the first interview. That shift reflects a broader change in how employees evaluate employers, especially younger cohorts who read benefits as a signal of whether the business actually cares about their wellbeing.
The mortgage broker workforce spans five generations, from seasoned principals who started in the 1990s to Gen Z support staff entering the industry now. A one-size-fits-all benefits package doesn’t work across that range. Some employees prioritise mental health support and flexible hours. Others value professional development funding or financial planning assistance. Brokerages that run surveys and adjust benefits every two to three years are seeing better retention than those that set a package once and leave it.
The productivity risk no one tracks
Turnover is easy to measure. Productivity drag from disengaged staff who are quietly job-hunting is harder to quantify, but research suggests the impact is significant. When employees are mentally planning their exit, performance declines well before they hand in notice.
For mortgage brokerages, that translates to slower turnaround times on loan applications, weaker client relationships, and missed cross-sell opportunities. In a market where serviceability is tight and clients are comparing multiple lenders, speed and attention to detail matter. A disengaged loan writer or broker assistant can cost the business more than their replacement would.
According to workforce tracking data, 44 per cent of Canadian professionals plan to look for a new job in the second half of 2026, up from 26 per cent a year earlier. Better benefits tied with career advancement as the top reason. Australian mortgage brokerages should assume similar intent among their own staff, especially if benefits haven’t been reviewed in the past three years.
The navigation gap
Having a strong benefits package only works if employees know what’s available and how to access it. Many brokerages offer mental health support, financial counselling, and professional development funding but fail to communicate those perks clearly. Employees end up underutilising benefits because the information is buried in PDFs or scattered across multiple platforms.
The fix is straightforward: single entry points, clear guidance on what’s covered, and regular reminders. Brokerages that treat benefits communication as seriously as compliance training see higher utilisation and better staff sentiment.
Risks to watch
This shift toward benefits over pay only works if base salaries remain competitive within a reasonable range. If a rival brokerage or aggregator offers a 15 per cent pay rise, a better mental health plan won’t close the gap. The strategy depends on most employers in the broker channel facing similar margin pressure and making similar trade-offs. If credit growth picks up faster than expected and some brokerages start lifting wages aggressively, others will struggle to retain staff on benefits alone.
The other risk is that benefits become a band-aid for deeper workplace problems. Flexible hours and wellness programs don’t compensate for poor leadership, unclear career paths, or excessive compliance burden. Brokerages that load up on perks while ignoring structural issues will still lose staff.
What this means for the broker channel
The recruitment shift tells us two things. First, mortgage brokerages expect margin pressure to persist for at least the next 12 to 18 months. If they believed volumes and commissions were about to rebound sharply, they’d compete on salary. Second, the broker channel is professionalising. Benefits packages that include mental health support, professional development, and financial wellness reflect an industry that’s investing in long-term workforce stability, not just chasing short-term loan flow.
For brokers and aggregators, the practical takeaway is clear: review your benefits offering now, ask your team what they actually value, and budget for incremental improvements over the next two to three years. For prospective employees, compare total compensation packages, not just base salary, and pay attention to whether the brokerage has updated its benefits recently. That tells you whether leadership is listening or just hoping the problem goes away.
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General info, not financial advice.
