Personal loans compared on comparison rate, not headline rate.

Almost any personal purpose: a wedding, a holiday, home renovations, medical or dental costs, education, furniture, consolidating credit cards or other debts, or an unexpected expense. Lenders ask the purpose because responsible lending rules require them to check the loan suits your needs, and some purposes such as debt consolidation attract specific products. Business purposes are financed separately through business lending.

Personal loans in Australia commonly range from $2,000 to $75,000, sometimes more for secured loans, over one to seven years. The amount a lender approves depends on your income, living expenses, existing debts and credit history, assessed under responsible lending rules so the repayment fits your budget. Your broker gives you a realistic range before you apply.

The interest rate is the cost of borrowing the money; the comparison rate adds most fees, such as establishment and monthly account fees, into a single percentage so loans can be compared fairly. Lenders must quote a comparison rate on consumer loans. A loan advertised at a low rate with high fees can cost more than one with a slightly higher rate and no fees. Lyft Money compares on comparison rate and total repayable, not headline rate.

A fixed rate keeps your repayment the same for the whole term, which makes budgeting simple, and may carry an early payout fee. A variable rate can move up or down with the market and usually allows extra repayments and early payout without penalty. If you value certainty, fixed suits; if you expect to pay the loan off early, variable can be cheaper. Your broker shows both for your situation.

Yes. A debt consolidation personal loan pays out credit cards, store cards, buy-now-pay-later balances and other loans and replaces them with one repayment, usually at a lower rate than credit cards. It helps when the new loan’s rate and fees are lower than what you are paying and you avoid running the cards up again. Your broker sets the total cost of the new loan against your current repayments so the decision is clear.

Sometimes. Some lenders specialise in personal loans for people with defaults or a low credit score, at higher rates, and assess more on current income and stability than on past events. Responsible lending rules still apply, so the repayment must be affordable. Lyft Money checks which lenders are likely to approve before any application is lodged, so you are not left with unnecessary enquiries on your file.

Identification such as a driver licence or passport, recent payslips or proof of income, and three months of bank statements, which most lenders collect electronically with your consent. Self-employed applicants provide tax returns or notices of assessment. Details of your living expenses and existing debts are part of the responsible lending assessment.

Many lenders approve within 24 to 48 hours of a complete application and fund the loan the same or next business day, with some funding within hours. Having your identification, income evidence and bank statements ready is the main thing that speeds it up. Your broker tells you which lenders can meet your timeline.

Under the NCCP Act, we must make reasonable enquiries into your requirements and objectives and your financial situation, take reasonable steps to verify what you tell us, and assess whether the credit is not unsuitable for you. In practice that means questions about income, expenses, dependants and existing debts, and asking for payslips or bank statements to verify them. It is not paperwork for its own sake — it exists so you are not put into a loan you cannot afford.

Because a comparison rate folds most standard fees and charges into the interest rate to give a single figure for comparison. A loan with a low headline rate and a large establishment fee will show a noticeably higher comparison rate. The rate is calculated on a standard example amount and term set by regulation, so it will not match your loan exactly, but it is the fairest quick comparison between two consumer loans. Always look at both figures plus the total repayable.