There's a hard truth circulating in Australian broking right now: if your entire pitch to a client is that you can find them a cheaper home loan, your days are numbered.
That's the message from Rachael Howlett, finance strategist and team leader at Infinity Group Australia, in a recent interview with Australian Broker. Her warning is blunt but well-founded, commoditisation, accelerated by technology and AI, is the single biggest threat facing the profession.
When rate comparison becomes a commodity
Ten years ago, scanning the lender panel for the sharpest deal took genuine expertise and relationships. Today, software can do most of it in seconds and it's only getting better.
That doesn't make brokers obsolete. It means the rate-finding part of the job is being absorbed by machines, and what remains is precisely what machines can't do: judgement, strategy, and human relationships. Howlett's answer isn't to resist the technology but to lean into it, let automation strip out the administrative grind so brokers can spend their time where it actually creates value.
From "which lender?" to "where do you want to be in ten years?"
The transactional broker asks which lender will approve the deal. The strategic broker asks how this borrowing decision shapes the client's position five or ten years down the track. That's a fundamentally different job and it's one Howlett lives professionally, with Infinity's model built around helping clients pay off their home loans in under a decade. That kind of outcome is impossible with a one-off settlement mindset; it demands long-term relationships built on trust. As Howlett puts it, trust comes down to "communication, education and doing what you said you were going to do."
What this means in practice
Upskill beyond the loan. Client needs are getting more complex, especially around investment lending and borrowing structures. The brokers who thrive will understand structure, not just product.
Build a bench of experts. Working closely with accountants and financial planners turns a broker into the quarterback of a client's financial team.
Let the robots do the paperwork. Every hour on admin is an hour not spent on the work clients will pay a premium for.
Measure success in relationships, not settlements. A settled loan is a moment; a client whose financial life you've improved is years of repeat business and referrals.
The bottom line
The rate will always matter but it's fast becoming the entry ticket, not the value proposition. The brokers who survive the next decade won't be the ones who found the cheapest loan in 2026. They'll be the ones their clients wouldn't dream of making a major financial decision without.