What is refinance?
To refinance is to replace your existing home loan with a new one — usually at a sharper rate or with better features — by paying out the old loan and registering a new mortgage with a different lender.
Refinancing means closing out your existing home loan and opening a new one, almost always with a different lender, to get a sharper rate or a better-featured product. The new lender pays out the old loan directly at settlement; you sign a new mortgage on the same property.
The Australian refinance window is competitive — cashback offers (commonly $2,000–$4,000), waived application fees, and discounted rates are routinely available to refinancers. The economics work when the rate saving plus cashback exceeds discharge fees ($300-$700 typical) and new application fees over the period you'll hold the new loan.
Refinancing is also used to consolidate other debt into the mortgage, release equity for an investment property or renovation, or restructure between fixed/variable splits. None of these are automatic — each has tax, structural and serviceability implications.
refinancing · mortgage refinance · switch home loan
- Cashback offer — A cashback offer is a one-off lump sum a lender pays a new or refinancing borrower at settlement — typical Australian of…
- Comparison rate — Comparison rate is a statutory percentage that folds standard upfront and ongoing fees into the headline rate on a $150,…
- Discharge fee — A discharge fee is a one-off administrative charge ($300-$700) your existing lender levies when you pay out the loan — c…
General information only — not personal financial advice. Verified against https://ratesniffers.com.au/glossary on 2026-06-01.