Borrowing money for a trust? You may face delays

February 4, 2026

Many of our clients have recently experienced delays and difficulties obtaining finance for transactions involving trusts, particularly where a corporate trustee is used.

We understand that several major lenders, including CBA, ANZ, Westpac, St George and Macquarie, have tightened their lending policies or are no longer lending for residential property where the purchasing entity is a discretionary trust.

Trust structures are commonly used to purchase investment properties for many reasons, including estate and succession planning, asset protection, tax management and financial flexibility. The recent policy changes mean that some clients may no longer be able to use their usual financier for borrowing to purchase residential property using a discretionary trust.

While some lenders, including NAB, are still lending for these structures, their application and processing times have significantly increased due to higher demand from borrowers who have been displaced by other lenders exiting this market.

The lending landscape is constantly changing, with lenders regularly reassessing and adjusting their policies and credit criteria.  If you have an upcoming transaction where you require a financier and your structure includes a trust, we recommend you raise the above changes with your lender as soon as possible.  If your preferred lender will still consider applications for this type of structure, you should query their estimated processing times for the application, approval and loan documentation to avoid delays to your transaction.

If you have any questions, please contact our Commercial Property Team at Fox and Thomas.