So, you're wondering "how can I get a special deal?". Start applying and a lender will call you about our sweet rates - including a variable rate with offset, tailored just for you.
Lock in the interest rate for a set term on all or part of your loan amount for peace of mind.
Our flexi variable rate home loan with unlimited extra repayments, minus the ongoing fees.
Our rocket variable rate home loan, with unlimited extra repayments, no associated break costs, and an optional offset account.
Use our selector to find the home loan that best fits.
Westpac is launching a new loan to help you make energy-efficient or climate-resilient upgrades to your home. We're working with Australia's Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), which invests to help Australia's transition to net zero emissions. Our new product has the support from their Household Energy Upgrades Fund and comes with a cool rate.
A mortgage (or home loan) is an amount of money lent by a bank or financial institution to a borrower so they can buy a residential property for themselves, or a renter, to live in. A mortgage is the amount of money owing on the home loan, which will be made up of the principal (the loan amount), fees and interest charges.
Home loan lenders require borrowers to contribute a deposit - a sum of money that forms a percentage of the total loan value.
With a home loan, the lender holds the title or deed to the property until the principal and any interest is repaid. The lender uses the property as security on the loan, which means they can sell it to recoup losses if the borrower can’t continue to make repayments.
A home loan contract will last for a set length of time – typically 20-30 years. When you get a home loan, your lender will charge you a percentage of the remaining loan balance over this time at weekly, fortnightly or monthly repayment intervals.
This percentage is known as your home loan interest rate.
When buying, the answer depends mainly on how much you want to borrow.
Your deposit is the amount you’re able to put towards the property upfront, and the rest is normally borrowed in the form of a mortgage. You typically need at least a 20% deposit to buy a home. This is 20% of the property’s value based on the bank's valuation, which is also known as a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) under 80%. Let’s say we value the property at $600k, you’ll need $120k or more for your deposit.
If you have between 5% and 20% of the purchase price – in other words an LVR over 80% – you have a few options:
With a variable rate home loan, your variable rate changes in line with market interest rates. Choose from our basic loan and standard home loan with offset - and get ahead on your home loan with no cap on extra repayments and no associated break costs.
With fixed rate home loans, your fixed rate won’t be affected by interest rate rises during your 1-5 fixed rate period – so you'll know exactly what your interest rate and repayments will be throughout your fixed rate loan term.
Or you can get the best of both worlds by splitting your balance into separate variable and fixed rate loan amounts.
The amount you can borrow with a home loan depends on a range of things. When your bank considers your ability to pay back your loan, they look at many personal and financial details, which may include your:
Lenders consider these things to make sure you can make repayments on the loan without placing yourself under financial stress.
You can estimate how much you may be able to borrow with Westpac using our borrowing power calculator.
We calculate your interest in two steps.
First, we multiply the balance on your loan by your interest rate and divide by 365 days in a year. This shows your daily interest charges.
We then add together your daily interest charges for every day in each month, which produces the monthly interest charge shown on your statement.
Finally, we divide this up according to your preferred repayment frequency, whether that’s weekly, fortnightly or monthly. This figure is your repayment amount.
If your loan balance was $500,000 with an interest rate of 4.93% p.a. and monthly repayments, the calculation might look like this:
500,000 x 0.0493 / 365 = $67.53 interest per day
$67.53 x 30 days in September = $2,026 interest for September
You can use our Mortgage Repayment Calculator to estimate repayments and interest charges over the life of a loan. You can also use the calculator to check the effect that extra repayments could have on your home loan.
See how much we could lend you, hit submit, and you could get approval within 1 business day
You’ll have a dedicated lender who’ll support you through to settlement
Don’t worry, we’ll ask permission before the credit check
No obligation until you accept your loan offer.
Many things affect how fast you can pay down your home loan balance, and how much interest you pay.
Extra repayments. The simplest way to pay off your loan sooner is to make additional repayments on top of the repayments you’re obliged to make. Bear in mind, if you have a fixed rate with us, you can only make up to $30,000 in additional repayments during the fixed rate period, before break costs apply.
Repayment type. Choose between principal and interest repayments (P&I), or interest-only repayments (IO). With principal and interest, you pay off both parts of your home loan (the principal loan amount, plus interest). With interest-only, you only repay the interest charges: your home loan takes longer to pay down (as you're not reducing your principal loan amount) but your repayments are lower during the interest-only term. For property investors, interest-only home loans can offer tax advantages too. Read more about repayment types.
Weekly or fortnightly repayments. Choosing the right repayment frequency can make a difference over time, as well – choosing true fortnightly repayments when you apply will allow you to make the equivalent of one extra repayment per year, given there are 26 fortnights in a year.
Offset. If you link an offset account to your Rocket variable home loan, depositing your savings into this account will help to reduce the interest payable on your principal. Calculate how much you could save with an offset account.
Step 1. Apply online, tell us about your property and see how much you could borrow – we may be able to verify your finances and value your property on-the-spot. Hit submit, and if it’s just you applying to switch your loan to Westpac, you could get full approval in as little as 10 minutes. And don’t worry, we’ll ask your permission before the credit check.
Step 2. A lender will be in touch to finalise your loan through to settlement.
Step 3. Accept our loan offer and that’s it! We’ll do a lot of the work for you: we’ll settle your new loan and discharge you from your old one by paying the balance with your new loan funds, including any fees and break costs. We’ll also shift the title from the old loan to your new loan with us. If there are leftover funds, we’ll put these into the Westpac account that you specified during the application. And if you qualify for Westpac’s Priority Refinance (PDF 118KB) +++ , you may be able to settle within a week.
Step 1. Chat with a lender by requesting a callback, calling through the Westpac App (sign in, select Contact us and skip the security questions), or dropping into your nearest branch.
Step 2. A lender will ask how much you still owe on your current loan, and what the property’s worth now. They'll talk through the details of your financial situation, including your income, expenses, assets and liabilities, like credit cards and personal loans – and answer any questions you have about our different products, interest rates and repayment types.
Step 3. Your lender will explain which forms you need to fill out and how to submit them to us – usually at a nearby branch or by email. They’ll then give you an idea of what you could borrow by refinancing with us, and we may arrange a time for a valuer to come out and confirm the property value.
Step 4. Once we’ve confirmed a valuation and have your documents, we’ll run a series of checks to finalise your application. Sign and return our loan offer, either in-branch or by mail, and that’s it! We’ll let you know if we need anything (see step 3, applying online).
Apply in around 10-20 mins to buy a home or refinance to Westpac.
A member of our team will be in touch.
132 558
8am-8pm, Mon-Fri
9am-6pm, Sat-Sun (Sydney time)
Or find your nearest branch
Suburb / postcodeConditions, credit criteria, fees and charges apply. Residential lending is not available for Non-Australian Resident borrowers.
This information is general in nature and has been prepared without taking your objectives, needs and overall financial situation into account. For this reason, you should consider the appropriateness of the information and if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice. This includes any tax consequences arising from any promotions for investors and customers should seek independent, professional tax advice on any taxation matters before making a decision based on this information.
+ LVR stands for the loan-to-value ratio. LVR is the amount of your loan compared to the Bank’s valuation of your property offered to secure your loan expressed as a percentage. Home loan rates for new loans are set based on the initial LVR and won’t change during the life of the loan as the LVR changes.
# Premier Advantage Package: Conditions of Use and $395 annual package fee applies. You must either hold or be approved for a Westpac Choice transaction account in order to qualify and continue to receive the benefits of the Premier Advantage Package. Applicants must have a Westpac Choice transaction account linked to the home loan at the time of settlement and must keep this account open for 60 days after settlement. Before deciding to acquire a Westpac Choice account, read the terms and conditions, and consider whether the product is right for you. Tax consequences may arise from this promotion for investors and customers should seek independent advice on any taxation matters.
Premier Advantage Package Conditions of Use (PDF 120KB)
* Comparison rate: The comparison rate is based on a loan of $150,000 over the term of 25 years. WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate.
** Available for Owner Occupier and Investment Property Loans with Principal & Interest and Interest only repayments. Excludes Line of Credit, Equity Access Loans.
^^^ Flexi First Option special offer rates with Principal & Interest repayments
Special offers are only available on new Flexi First Option Home and Investment Loans with Principal & Interest repayments. Discounts do not apply to internal refinances or switches within the Westpac Group, which includes refinances from Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA and RAMS. Not available to company and trust account holders. Offer may be varied or withdrawn at any time. Interest rates are subject to change:
^^ Fixed rate home loan: The Bank will apply the fixed rate that is available at the loan settlement date, unless the customer locks a fixed rate in on the loan using our Rate Lock feature. The Fixed Rate - Lock-In fee is 0.10% of the loan amount. At the end of the fixed rate period the interest rate will convert to the applicable variable home loan interest rate unless a new fixed rate term is selected and then the fixed rate is determined two business days prior to the refix. Interest rate(s) displayed is for Australian Residents only. Rate lock is not available for progress draw loans under the construction option.
1 Repayment holiday: Conditions, eligibility and suitability criteria apply.
+++ Priority Refinance: Only available: on eligible new Westpac home loans; on eligible home loans with your current lender; if your other lender is on the Priority Refinance process list of eligible financial institutions. Your other lender may charge you an additional settlement agent fee, as well as fixed rate home loan break costs. Loan suitability for the Priority Refinance product is determined by Westpac in conjunction with the insurance product guidelines. Priority Refinance is provided by First American Title Insurance Company of Australia Pty Limited ABN 64 075 279 908 Australian Financial Services Licence 263876, trading as First Title, an Australian general insurance company authorised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. Conditions, fees and charges apply. Lending criteria apply to approval of credit products. This info doesn’t take your personal objectives, circumstances or needs into account, so please consider Priority Refinance’s appropriateness and read the disclosure documents for your selected loan, including the Terms & Conditions, before deciding.
2 Family Security Guarantee: Family Security Guarantee:The guarantor should consider the risks associated with the Family Security Guarantee, primarily that if the borrower defaults on their loan, the guarantor is liable to pay up to the maximum of the portion of security they have put forward as a guarantee. You will be required to seek independent legal advice before offering to guarantee a loan. Credit criteria apply to the assessment of the adequacy of any proposed guarantee limit. Offer available on all loans eligible under the Family Security Guarantee, for purchase or refinance of owner occupier or investment property. Note that for investment properties, the borrower must not have ownership of any other properties at the time of application, and for owner occupied properties a maximum of one other property may be owned which does not have sufficient equity to provide a security. For new Family Security Guarantee Home Loan applications received from 23 October 2020. Family Security Guarantee can be provided by parents or legal guardians, siblings, and children. Equity access, owner builder applications, Line of Credit and Bridging Loan products are not eligible under the Family Security Guarantee. Other Exclusions may apply. Not available for the purposes of debt consolidation, owner builder construction, cash out, or addition of a security guarantee to an existing loan. $150k minimum loan size applies. Credit criteria, fees and charges apply. Offer may be varied or withdrawn at any time. Full eligibility criteria on the Family Security Guarantee is available on request.
