Mortgage refinance and debt consolidation
Four debts, four interest rates, four repayment dates — or one home loan repayment at one rate. Consolidating debt into your mortgage can shift hundreds, sometimes thousands, back into your monthly cash flow. The trade-off matters too, and we will show you both sides.
We compare your rates with 50+ lenders
What can be consolidated
Which debts a lender will roll into your home loan
Not all debt types are treated equally. Some are accepted across the board, others depend on which lender you apply to. The mix you bring to the application determines how many lenders are available to you.
Credit cards and personal loans
All lendersAccepted by virtually all lenders. These are the most common debts rolled into a debt consolidation home loan and the easiest to model for break-even.
Car loans
Most lendersAccepted by most lenders, with minor policy variations. Some require the car loan to be discharged at settlement; others release funds for you to manage. Confirm the mechanism before settlement day.
ATO debt
Lender-specificRestricted to specific lenders. Many refuse it outright. Lender selection is the difference between a full consolidation and being left to manage the ATO repayment separately.
Business debt
RestrictedFewer lenders accept business debt in debt consolidation mortgages, and those that do often cap the amount. Self-employed borrowers especially benefit from broker matching here.
BNPL (buy now, pay later)
Lender-dependentSome lenders treat BNPL as a liability only and require it to be closed. Others allow the balance to be consolidated. Treatment is evolving and varies by lender.
If your bank refuses ATO or business debt, a partial consolidation can leave you managing two repayment streams instead of one. This is exactly where broker access across 40+ lenders changes the outcome.
Do you qualify, and do the numbers stack up?
Before you book a call, here are the specific thresholds lenders use to assess a refinance home loan debt consolidation application. If you meet these criteria, consolidation is worth modelling. If you are borderline, a broker can identify which lenders have more flexible policies.
Loan-to-value ratio (LVR)
Most lenders require your LVR to stay at or below 80% after the consolidated amount is added. If your property is worth $750K and the new loan is $535K, your LVR is 71.3% — within range. Some lenders allow up to 90% LVR with LMI, but the premium adds thousands and must factor into break-even.
Serviceability buffer
APRA requires lenders to assess you at the loan rate plus 3 percentage points. On a $535K loan at 6.2%, you are tested as if the rate were 9.2%. This is the test that catches borrowers who qualify at the actual rate but fail at the buffer rate.
Switching costs
Refinancing involves discharge fees from your current lender, a property valuation, settlement and legal fees, possible LMI if your LVR exceeds 80%, and possible break costs if you are on a fixed rate. All factor into the break-even calculation.
Break-even calculation
Divide your total switching costs by your monthly saving to find how many months it takes to recover them. Costs of $2,500 and a saving of $1,280 per month break even in under 2 months. Costs of $8,000 (including LMI) extend break-even to about 6 months.
The trade-off
Will you pay more interest overall? Probably, unless you do this.
Original cost
$18K–$22K interest
Paying $55K across the original credit card, car loan, and personal loan terms (2 to 5 years).
Stretched cost
~$52K interest
Same $55K spread over 27 years at 6.2%. Roughly $30K more than the original total, even at the lower rate.
The fix
Pay at the old combined rate
Keep paying $4,810/month (the old combined total). The extra $1,280 attacks the principal and clears the $55K in 4 to 5 years.
Credit card debt consolidation: a worked example
Credit card debt is the most common reason Australians look into consolidation. The rate gap between a credit card and a mortgage makes the monthly saving immediate and visible. Here is what a $25K credit card balance looks like before and after, and what the pay-at-old-rate strategy does to the total cost.
$25,000 credit card debt at 21% → rolled into a 6.2% mortgage, with the split paid at the old card rate.
01
Before consolidation
Minimum repayment: approximately $625 per month. At minimum repayments, this balance takes over 30 years to clear and costs more than $40,000 in interest. The card carries on quietly bleeding cash flow every month.
02
After consolidation, at minimum
The $25K is rolled into your mortgage at 6.2%. The repayment on that $25K portion, spread over the remaining 27-year term, is approximately $165 per month. Monthly saving: $460. But total interest over 27 years on that $25K portion is approximately $24,000.
03
After consolidation, paid at old rate
Maintain the $625 monthly repayment against the $25K loan split. At that level, the split clears in approximately 3.5 years. Total interest: roughly $2,800 — a fraction of what the credit card would have cost. The monthly saving turns into real savings, not deferred cost.
04
Behavioural guardrails
Moneysmart warns that consolidation can lead to deeper debt if new credit is accessed afterwards. Closing or reducing limits on paid-out cards is a practical step, not a moral judgment. If your credit file has been affected by past missed payments, some lenders still approve — read more on refinancing with bad credit below.
Want to see your numbers, not these?
Book a free 15-minute consolidation review. A Stryve broker maps your debt mix to the right lender, models the pay-at-old-rate scenario, and tells you the break-even before you commit.
Book your consolidation reviewWhy broker access changes the outcome
The lender you choose determines whether all your debts are accepted, how settlement works, and whether the loan is structured to protect you. Our commission comes from the lender once your loan settles, not from you — and we will show you exactly how we are paid before you proceed.
Lender policy matching
Not all lenders accept all debt types. Some cap the number of debts consolidated. Others refuse ATO or business debt entirely. We match your specific debt mix to the lender most likely to approve the full consolidation from 40+ options, not a partial one that leaves you managing leftover repayments.
Settlement mechanics
Some lenders require debts to be paid out at settlement, with funds sent directly to your creditors. Others release funds to you and trust you to manage payouts. The first approach reduces risk and ensures debts are cleared. We confirm which method your lender uses before you commit.
Loan split structuring
The consolidated portion is structured as a separate loan split with its own balance and repayment target. You can attack it aggressively without changing the minimum repayment on your original mortgage. The split is the mechanism that makes the pay-at-old-rate strategy practical.
Complex situations handled
ATO debt, business debt, high LVR, self-employed income, impaired credit. These are situations we work with regularly, not edge cases we turn away. Specialist expertise for borrowers other brokers overlook is a core part of what we do.
Keep exploring
consolidation
What our customers
say about us
“Nate and Dylan were extremely helpful in helping us secure our new home. They were easy to contact from day one, and answered any questions we had. We felt reassured at all times and are very grateful for their patience with us. I have recommended Stryve to 3 friends now who have all been successful in achieving their goals of purchasing their homes. We are so happy with the service and will definitely keep on recommending Stryve to our family and friends.”
Whitney Tran
Homeowner
“I never had a problem with Dylan. From the start of our journey on mortgage til the very end and even with refinancing, he/they were very helpful, transparent, honest and really keen to help their clients! Highly recommended.”
Cristianne Del Valle
Homeowner
“On behalf of my husband and I, we would like to truly thank Dylan Bertovic for all his assistance in helping us with our new loan - approved in time before our settlement. Dylan worked above and beyond expected. He took the time to explain every step and process with us. Any questions we had, Dylan would go out of his way to ensure they were answered. He made the process stress free and ensured we got the best possible deal. We highly recommend Dylan to all our family and friends.”
Merna Yalda
Homeowner
“Nate is great to work with, very knowledgeable, responsive and genuinely invested in helping me find the right solution. Highly recommend this firm to anyone looking for reliable, competitive and professional brokerage services.”
Julia
Homeowner
“Dylan has not only been a longtime friend, but also the trusted mortgage broker of choice for my family. He answers the phone at all hours, communicates extensively through all steps of a sometimes-complicated process and manages my risk. He has a straight to the point approach which I appreciate. Simply gets the job done, and gets it done very quickly. Thanks for everything Dylan, you're a champion broker and a good mate.”
Christian Barać
Homeowner
“Nate and Dylan were the ultimate professionals in securing a home loan to help us purchase our first home! Following the purchase of our home, they have continued to provide their exceptional service and have been able to secure two rate reductions in six months! Being self-employed wasn't an issue for me as Nate knew the process back-to-front and was able to provide sound advice throughout the application process.”
Justin Tomas
Homeowner
“It was an absolute brilliant experience with Stryve. Our first purchase was with Dylan he was always clear re: the next steps, quick to respond, never tired of questions and went over and above with communication. We went back and used him again for our next investment and the experience was just as wonderful as the first. Stryve also reviews our loans every 6 months to make sure we are getting the best rates on offer. We couldn't ask for more!”
Amber Motii
Homeowner
Debt consolidation: common questions
See if consolidation saves you money
We run the numbers for your specific debts, LVR, and income. If consolidation works, we match your debt mix to the right lender from 40+ options. If it does not, we tell you. No surprises, no pressure.