The Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has presented its pre-budget submission for 2024-2025, urging the federal government to support borrowers and small business owners amid challenging economic conditions.
MFAA has identified four critical areas for the government’s attention in the upcoming federal budget.
These include enhancing competition in the home lending sector, cybersecurity measures for small broking businesses, regulatory reforms for the mortgage and finance broking industry, and investments in environmental sustainability.
“The federal budget presents an opportunity to focus on assisting Australian households and small businesses to weather challenging economic conditions through enhancing competition in the home loan and business lending sectors and continuing to ensure regulatory and policy settings for the mortgage and finance broking industry are fit for purpose,” MFAA CEO Anja Pannek (pictured above) said.
The MFAA chief highlighted the association’s commitment to advocating for its members and the broader industry. The submission reflects ongoing efforts to influence policy and regulatory frameworks.
“We engage proactively with stakeholders across governments, regulators, consumer groups and other industry associations to influence, shape, and inform policy and regulatory settings that are impacting, or could impact, firstly our members and additionally their clients,” Pannek said.
“We successfully led the charge on the cancellation of the 2022 review of broker remuneration, and more recently, the stop action on payroll tax and the reinvigoration of the ACCC Home Loan Price Inquiry.”
Pannek reflected on the positive impact of the MFAA’s previous budget submission, noting that it had significantly influenced government policy.
Key achievements included expanding government home guarantee schemes, which enhanced homeownership rates, reinvigorating the Home Loan Price Inquiry to address discharge issues, and broadening the scope of the mortgage broker reference checking protocol.
“And, through our 2024–2025 pre-budget submission we continue with our ambitious policy agenda for the benefit of our members and the mortgage and finance broking industry,” Pannek said.
Pannek also stressed the importance of continuously monitoring the macro-economic landscape and engaging with stakeholders as essential components for effective advocacy and securing beneficial outcomes for members.
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