ING Australia announced it will waive clawback penalties when borrowers sell their property between 12 and 18 months after loan settlement, effective for new loans settling from 1 August 2026. The change addresses a recurring complaint from mortgage brokers who’ve been financially penalised when clients sell due to circumstances beyond the broker’s control.
The policy sits within a broader remuneration overhaul that includes a single upfront commission rate of 71.5 basis points across all loans and a lifted commission cap to $5 million. ING’s national sales manager for brokers framed the shift as recognition that life events including relocation, family changes or job moves can force property sales without reflecting on broker conduct.
What the ING clawback policy changes
From August 2026, if a borrower sells their property and discharges the ING loan between 12 and 18 months after settlement, the broker keeps their upfront commission. Previously, any discharge within 18 months triggered a full clawback.
The first 12 months remain unchanged: sell or refinance during that window and the broker still loses the commission. ING argued the 12-18 month window is where genuine life circumstances most commonly force unplanned sales, while earlier exits more often signal buyer’s remorse or better-rate chasing.
The single commission rate of 71.5 basis points replaces ING’s tiered structure, simplifying pricing across product types. The $5 million cap lift matters for brokers writing larger loans in premium suburbs or commercial-residential hybrids.
Why brokers want this and why it took this long
Clawbacks exist to discourage brokers from writing loans that discharge quickly, which costs lenders money in origination expenses with minimal interest income. The lender pays upfront commission based on an assumption the loan will stick around.
Brokers argue they shouldn’t wear the cost when a borrower’s employer relocates them interstate six months later, or a relationship breakdown forces a sale, or a parent needs to move in and the house is too small. The broker did the work, placed a compliant loan, and had no control over what happened next.
The Finance Brokers Association of Australia has pushed for full clawback protection on any sale-driven discharge, not just the 12-18 month slice. FBAA CEO Leo Gagic called ING’s move a positive start but noted brokers still face penalties in the 0-12 month window for the same uncontrollable life events.
ING is the first major lender to carve out this specific exemption. Whether others follow depends on how much early-discharge activity they’re seeing and whether competitive pressure forces their hand.
The catch
This only applies to property sales. If the borrower refinances to another lender within 12-18 months, the clawback still applies. ING’s logic: refinancing suggests the borrower is shopping for a better deal, which reflects on the initial advice or product fit. A forced sale is different.
That distinction creates an edge case: borrower sells at 14 months, buys another property immediately, and finances it elsewhere. Does that count as a sale-driven discharge or a refinance? ING hasn’t published the fine print yet, but brokers will need clarity before August 2026.
The policy also doesn’t help brokers retroactively. Any loan that settled before 1 August 2026 remains subject to the old 18-month clawback rule, even if the sale happens after that date.
A clawback is when a lender takes back the upfront commission it paid a broker, usually because the loan discharged or refinanced away too quickly. Lenders set clawback windows (commonly 18-24 months) to recover costs when a loan doesn’t generate enough interest income to justify the commission paid. Brokers treat clawbacks as a business risk, but argue they shouldn’t apply when the discharge was driven by circumstances the broker couldn’t foresee or influence.
Trade-offs and pressure points
ING gains goodwill with brokers and potentially more volume if the policy tilt makes them the preferred lender for clients in transitional life stages (new parents, job mobility, blended families). The risk is higher early-discharge rates if brokers steer price-sensitive clients to ING assuming the 12-18 month window is a safety net.
For brokers, the upside is clear: less clawback exposure on loans that were solid at origination but derailed by life. The downside is the policy doesn’t extend to refinances, and the first 12 months still carry full risk. Brokers writing for clients with known near-term relocation risk (cross-border workers, military, FIFO with family elsewhere) still have to manage that exposure.
The FBAA’s push for total clawback protection on sale-driven discharges sets up a longer campaign. If ING’s data shows the 12-18 month carve-out doesn’t spike losses, other lenders may adopt it. If losses climb, expect ING to quietly tighten again.
What brokers should track
Lender responses by mid-2025. If Commonwealth, Westpac or NAB match or improve on ING’s terms, it becomes table stakes. If they don’t, ING gains a differentiation point that may not move the needle on volume but builds loyalty.
Clawback disputes in the 0-12 month window. FBAA is calling for full protection; if enough brokers document uncontrollable-circumstance clawbacks in that window, it strengthens the case for regulatory or industry-code changes.
ING’s discharge data post-August 2026. If the policy change correlates with higher 12-18 month discharge rates, other lenders will cite it as proof clawback protections create moral hazard. If rates hold steady, it undermines that argument.
Bottom line
ING’s clawback policy is a step, not a solution. Brokers writing loans for stable, long-horizon buyers see minimal benefit. Brokers working with younger buyers, career-mobile clients or blended families get meaningful risk reduction in the 12-18 month band, but only if the discharge is sale-driven.
The first 12 months and any refinance-driven exit still trigger full clawbacks. Whether this becomes an industry standard or stays an ING-only differentiator depends on competitive dynamics and loss experience over the next 18 months.
Start here: if you write mortgages for clients with near-term relocation or family-change risk, compare ING’s clawback terms against your current lender panel and model the commission-retention scenarios from August 2026 onward.
Subscribe to Australian Property Review for weekly analysis on lender policy, broker economics and what’s moving the financing side of the market.
General info, not financial advice.
