--- title: "Your Old Mortgage Broker Wants Paying After You Refinanced: Can They Charge You for a Clawback?" url: "https://agentfind.com.au/mortgage-broker-clawback-invoice-after-refinance/" markdown_url: "https://agentfind.com.au/mortgage-broker-clawback-invoice-after-refinance.md" type: "post" date_published: "2026-10-11T17:23:08+00:00" date_modified: "2026-10-11T17:23:08+00:00" language: "en-US" renderer_version: "3" --- # Your Old Mortgage Broker Wants Paying After You Refinanced: Can They Charge You for a Clawback? ## Summary Refinanced within two years and your old broker says the lender clawed back their commission? Since 2021 a broker can't pass a clawback on to you. What you may owe, how to check your credit quote, and a process map for disputing the invoice. ## Content *By the AgentFind Editorial Team — Australian Property Professional Directory, Sydney* ![Person checking loan documents with a calculator and laptop](https://agentfind.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/photo-1772588627373-729b0f47e5bb-1024x683.jpg)Before you pay a broker’s invoice, find the credit quote you were given at the start. **Refinance within two years of taking out a home loan and the lender may claw back the commission it paid your original mortgage broker. In September 2026, a borrower on an Australian property forum described what happened next: the old broker offered a choice between moving the loan back or receiving an invoice for the work on the original loan. The thread has since drawn more than 900 views. Under rules in force since 1 January 2021, the short answer is that a broker cannot pass a lender’s clawback on to you. What you may owe is a fee you agreed to in writing before the broker started work, and nothing more.** ## Key Takeaways **A clawback is a matter between the lender and the broker. If an old broker sends you an invoice, check your credit quote, dispute anything you did not agree to in writing, and escalate to the broker’s licensee and then AFCA.** - **Clawbacks have legal limits.** Since 1 January 2021 a clawback arrangement cannot apply for more than two years, cannot recover more than the commission paid, and the consumer “must not be subject to an obligation to pay an amount” because of it. - **Broker fees must be disclosed up front.** Mozo’s July 2026 guide says brokers “are legally prohibited from passing clawback costs on to you” unless they “pre-disclosed a specific fee-for-service arrangement in writing before commencing work.” - **A fee invented afterwards is a red flag.** A “clawback recovery fee” charged after the fact “would likely breach the National Consumer Credit Protection Act”, according to the same guide. - **Clawbacks usually taper.** A typical schedule is 100% of the upfront commission within 12 months, 50% at 12 to 18 months, 25% at 18 to 24 months and nothing after that, but it varies by lender. - **There is a free complaints path.** Complain in writing to the broker’s credit licensee, which generally has up to 30 days to give a final response, then to AFCA. ## The Question Borrowers Asked This Month **The thread “Broker wants to send me invoice after I refinanced” was posted on PropertyChat, an Australian property investment forum, on 17 September 2026. It drew 15 replies, many of them from practising mortgage brokers.** The borrower had refinanced through a new broker while the original loan was still inside the lender’s clawback period. The original broker said the lender had recovered its commission and offered two options: move the lending back, or receive an invoice for the work done arranging the original loan. The borrower didn’t remember agreeing to pay anything on an early refinance, and was going back through the original documents. The brokers who replied were close to unanimous: - Passing a clawback on to the client is no longer allowed. One cited regulation 28VG(2)(c) of the National Consumer Credit Protection Regulations. - A broker can charge a fee, but only if it was disclosed and agreed in writing before the loan. It can’t be relabelled after the event. - Clawbacks are a cost of doing business for brokers, and the contract the borrower signed doesn’t change that rule. - Wait to see whether an invoice actually arrives. If it does, complain to the broker’s licensee, then the aggregator, then the ombudsman. The rest of this guide checks that advice against the regulations and consumer guidance. ## What a Clawback Is, and Who Bears It **When your loan settles, the lender usually pays the broker an upfront commission. If the loan is paid out or refinanced early, the lender can recover some or all of it. That recovery is the clawback.** Mozo’s 2026 guide gives a typical schedule. Treat it as a guide only, because each lender sets its own terms within the legal two-year limit. Loan discharged or refinanced Share of upfront commission clawed back (typical) Who bears it Within 12 months 100% The broker, not you 12 to 18 months 50% The broker, not you 18 to 24 months 25% The broker, not you After 24 months None Not applicable The legal limits come from the Hayne Royal Commission reforms. The final regulations, released in September 2020 and in force from 1 January 2021, “ban clawback arrangements if they apply for more than two years from the beginning of the credit contract”. The repayment “must not require repayment of an amount greater than the benefit given” to the broker. And, the part that matters to you, “the consumer must not be subject to an obligation to pay an amount as a result of an amount being required to be repaid under the repayment obligation.” ## When a Broker Can Legitimately Charge You **Brokers are allowed to charge fees. The test is whether the fee was disclosed and agreed before they did the work.** - **The credit guide.** You should receive this early. It names the broker’s credit licensee, and explains how to make a complaint. - **The credit quote.** If a broker intends to charge you a fee, it must be disclosed in writing, in a document called a credit quote, before they provide credit assistance. - **The credit proposal disclosure.** This sets out the fees and commissions on the loan the broker recommends. - **The best interests duty.** Brokers must act in your best interests when they arrange credit. If an old broker suggests moving your loan back to avoid an invoice, judge that offer on its rate, fees and features alone. If none of these documents mentions a fee payable when you refinance or repay early, an invoice for a clawback is very likely one you can dispute. If you did sign a fee-for-service agreement, you may owe that fee, but only on the terms you agreed. **Insider Insight:** Look up the credit licensee before you reply to anything. It is on the credit guide, and many brokers operate as credit representatives under their aggregator’s licence, so the licensee and the aggregator are often the same company. A short, polite written complaint to the licensee’s compliance team usually settles this kind of invoice quickly, because the licensee is responsible for its representatives’ conduct and has to respond within a set time. ## Step by Step: What to Do About the Invoice **The process map follows the order the brokers in the forum thread recommended, checked against the regulations and ASIC’s complaint-handling rules.** PROCESS MAP Your old broker wants paying after you refinanced What to do when a broker says the lender clawed back their commission START · Broker says their commission was clawed back Have you actually received an invoice? NO Don’t pay, promise or argue yet. Ask in writing what any fee would be based on. → Step 1 YES Don’t pay it straight away. Gather your documents first. → Step 1 1 Find your original paperwork Look for the **credit guide**, the **credit quote** and any signed fee agreement from before the broker started work on your loan. Did you agree a broker fee in writing before they started? NO Since 1 January 2021, a broker can’t pass a lender’s commission clawback on to you. Dispute the invoice in writing. → Step 2 YES You may owe that agreed fee, and only that. A “clawback recovery fee” added afterwards is a different thing. → Unsure, or it doesn’t match? Step 2 2 Complain to the broker’s credit licensee The licensee is named on the credit guide (it is often the broker’s aggregator). Put it in writing. It generally has up to **30 days** to give you a final response. Is it resolved? YES Keep the written outcome with your loan records. → Finish NO Take it to AFCA, the free external dispute scheme for credit complaints. → Step 3 3 Lodge a complaint with AFCA Include the invoice, the credit quote, your settlement and refinance dates, and the licensee’s response. Don’t move your loan back just to make the invoice go away. FINISH · Pay only what you agreed in writing AgentFind process map, October 2026, based on the Mortgage Brokers Regulations 2020 clawback rules, ASIC RG 271 and AFCA guidance. General information only. ## How to Word Your Reply **Keep it short, factual and in writing. Something along these lines works:** “I refinanced my loan on [date]. The credit quote you gave me on [date] did not disclose any fee payable if I refinanced or repaid the loan early, and I did not agree to one. As I understand it, under the National Consumer Credit Protection Regulations a consumer cannot be required to pay an amount because a lender claws back a commission. Please confirm in writing that no amount is payable, or send me a copy of the signed agreement you are relying on. If I don’t hear from you within 14 days, I will lodge a complaint with your credit licensee, [licensee name].” If the licensee’s response doesn’t resolve it, lodge a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. AFCA says “Our service is free to access”, and it recommends you raise the matter with the financial firm first, which is exactly what the steps above do. ## Before You Refinance in the First Two Years - **Run the numbers on the switch itself,** including discharge and application fees. Our guide to [the refinancing break-even](https://agentfind.com.au/refinancing-break-even-serviceability-2026/) shows how. - **Find your credit quote and credit guide** from the original loan, so you know what you agreed to. - **Ask the new broker to explain their own fees in writing,** including anything payable if you refinance again within two years. - **Don’t let a clawback threat decide for you.** The clawback is the old broker’s cost, not yours. ## Frequently Asked Questions ➕ Can my old mortgage broker charge me if I refinance? Only for a fee you agreed to in writing before they started work, such as a disclosed fee for service. Since 1 January 2021, a broker cannot require you to pay an amount because the lender clawed back their commission. ➕ What is a mortgage broker clawback? A clawback is when a lender recovers some or all of the upfront commission it paid a broker because the loan was repaid or refinanced early. It is an arrangement between the lender and the broker. ➕ How long is the clawback period? No more than two years from the start of the loan. A typical schedule is 100% within 12 months, 50% at 12 to 18 months and 25% at 18 to 24 months, though each lender sets its own terms. ➕ Can a broker charge a “clawback recovery fee”? Not after the fact. Mozo’s 2026 guide says a clawback recovery fee charged after the event would likely breach the National Consumer Credit Protection Act. Any broker fee must be disclosed in writing, in a credit quote, before the broker provides credit assistance. ➕ Who do I complain to about a mortgage broker? First, the broker’s credit licensee, named on your credit guide. It generally has up to 30 days to give a final response. If that doesn’t resolve it, lodge a complaint with AFCA, which is free. ➕ Should I move my loan back to the old broker to avoid an invoice? Only if the loan is genuinely better for you on rate, fees and features. A clawback is the broker’s cost, so it shouldn’t be the reason you choose a loan. **About AgentFind** AgentFind is an Australian directory of property professionals — selling agents, buyer’s agents, mortgage brokers, conveyancers and strata managers — searchable by location and speciality. Listings are not exclusive by area, so more than one professional can appear in the same suburb and you see the full field rather than a single paid name. Enquiries go directly to the professional you contact, and AgentFind takes no commission on any resulting sale. Compare Mortgage Brokers Near You Browse mortgage brokers by city, compare their profiles, and ask each one to explain their fees in writing before they start. [Mortgage Brokers by City](https://agentfind.com.au/mortgage-brokers/) [Conveyancers by City](https://agentfind.com.au/conveyancers/) Popular searches: [mortgage brokers in Sydney](https://agentfind.com.au/mortgage-brokers/sydney-nsw/), [mortgage brokers in Melbourne](https://agentfind.com.au/mortgage-brokers/melbourne-vic/), [mortgage brokers in Brisbane](https://agentfind.com.au/mortgage-brokers/brisbane-qld/), [mortgage brokers in Perth](https://agentfind.com.au/mortgage-brokers/perth-wa/) and [mortgage brokers in Adelaide](https://agentfind.com.au/mortgage-brokers/adelaide-sa/). Related reading: [mortgage broker vs bank](https://agentfind.com.au/mortgage-broker-vs-bank-in-australia-why-brokers-now-arrange-most-new-home-loans/), [refinancing in 2026](https://agentfind.com.au/refinancing-break-even-serviceability-2026/) and [what pre-approval guarantees](https://agentfind.com.au/home-loan-pre-approval-what-it-guarantees/). Important — currency and verification notice **This article is general information current at the time of publication (October 2026).** It summarises the clawback regulations in force since 1 January 2021, published consumer guidance and industry reporting. Clawback schedules are set by each lender and can change. Forum posts are quoted as examples of the questions borrowers ask, not as advice. AgentFind is a directory service. We do not provide legal, financial or credit advice and we accept no responsibility for decisions made in reliance on this article. If you have received an invoice you dispute, contact the broker’s credit licensee or AFCA, or get independent legal advice. *Sources: [The Adviser — Final clawback regulations released (22 September 2020)](https://www.theadviser.com.au/breaking-news/40822-final-clawback-regulations-released); [The Adviser — Clawback changes to take effect 1 January: Treasury (31 August 2020)](https://theadviser.com.au/compliance/40737-treasury-expects-clawback-changes-to-take-effect-on-1-january); [Federal Register of Legislation — Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response—Protecting Consumers) (Mortgage Brokers) Regulations 2020](https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2020L01189/asmade/text); [Mozo — Mortgage broker fees: 2026 guide (updated 10 July 2026)](https://mozo.com.au/home-loans/resources/guides/mortgage-broker-fees); [The Adviser — ASIC tightens dispute resolution guidance (RG 271)](https://www.theadviser.com.au/breaking-news/40630-asic-tightens-dispute-resolution-guidance); [AFCA — Make a complaint](https://www.afca.org.au/make-a-complaint); PropertyChat forum thread: [Broker wants to send me invoice after I refinanced (17 September 2026)](https://www.propertychat.com.au/community/threads/broker-wants-to-send-me-invoice-after-i-refinanced.86771/).* ## Classification - **Category:** Mortgage Brokers, Tips ## Images ![Person checking loan documents with a calculator and laptop](https://agentfind.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/photo-1772588627373-729b0f47e5bb.jpg)