MFAA Educational Requirements


Listed below are the MFAA's requirements for membership

MFAA Membership Criteria

Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia

Full Membership is available to individuals, firms, companies, corporations and partnerships predominantly or substantially engaged in the mortgage and business finance industries or support services.

ALL APPLICANTS FOR MEMBERSHIP:

  • must be of good character and repute and a fit and proper person

  • must not be bankrupt or under a Personal Insolvency Agreement

  • must not have pending charges or convictions involving fraud or dishonesty

  • must not be an externally-administered body corporate as that expression is defined in the law

  • must be over 18 years of age

  • must reside in Australia with Australian or New Zealand citizenship, permanent residency, or an approved Australian work visa

  • must either hold an Australian Credit Licence (ACL) or be a Credit Representative under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009

WHO CAN APPLY FOR FULL MEMBERSHIP?

  • Individuals operating as loan writers, being either employees of, or contractors to, broking or mortgage management businesses
  • Individuals (other than loan writers) engaged as employees by any MFAA Full Member
  • Broking businesses (each loan writer employed by, or contracted to, the broking business, must be a Full Member)
  • Broking or Aggregator groups
  • Mortgage Managers (where the mortgage managing business deals directly with the public, each loan writer employed by, or contracted to, the business, must be a Full Member)
  • Lenders/funders
  • Trustee companies
  • Mortgage Insurers
  • Other businesses supplying support services

MFAA MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES FOR LOAN WRITERS

The categories of membership can be found here and include:

FINANCE BROKER:

The Finance Broker Category ($550 membership fee + $125 application fee) is available to applicants that will practice as a loan writer in the mortgage and finance broking industry and is suitable for both those starting out their career as a finance broker or someone who is an experienced finance broker:
  • MFAA Compliance Essentials course and
  • FNS40815, FNS40820 or FNS40821 Certificate IV qualification (and commitment to complete Diploma qualification within 12 months) and
  • Confirmation of Mentor or enrolment into the MFAA Mentoring Program.
The National Finance Institute is a preferred RTO so no additional case study is required. A Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Requirement for each Annual Membership Period applies.

BROKING BUSINESS:

This Category ($550 membership fee + $125 application fee) is offered to mortgage and finance broking businesses that employ or contract other loan writers. This membership category is available to Accredited Finance Brokers and is also available to directors, partners or principals of a broking business who are not writing loans:

  • MFAA Compliance Essentials course and
  • Diploma of Finance and Mortgage Broking Management qualification.
The National Finance Institute is a preferred RTO so no additional case study is required. A Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Requirement for each Annual Membership Period applies.

REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUAL APPLICANTS

  • A copy of your Current AFCA / External Dispute Resolution (EDR) Scheme Membership Certificate
  • A copy of your Professional Indemnity (PI) Insurance Certificate
  • A copy of your National Criminal History Record Check
  • A copy of an Identification Document
  • A copy of your Credit Report
  • A copy of your Current Resume / Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  • A copy of your qualifications

REQUIREMENTS FOR BUSINESS APPLICANTS

  • A copy of the Current AFCA /  External Dispute Resolution (EDR) Scheme Membership Certificate
  • A copy of the Professional Indemnity (PI) Insurance Certificate

  • A copy of the National Criminal History Record Check for each Director, Partner or Principal directly involved in the business.

  • A copy of an Identification Document for each Director, Partner or Principal directly involved in the business.
  • A copy of the Credit Report for each Director, Partner or Principal directly involved in the business.
  • A copy of the Current Resume / Curriculum Vitae (CV) for each Director, Partner or Principal directly involved in the business.

MEMBERSHIP FEES

Membership Fees are payable annually in advance and a renewal document is emailed approximately one month prior to the anniversary of the commencement date of membership. A one-off application fee of $125 applies for all new members and covers the cost of processing new applications.

Additional information can be found on the MFAA website here.