How much does mortgage support staff cost in Australia? A 2026 worksheet

“How much does a mortgage broker assistant cost?” has no useful single-number answer. A salary, a per-file processing fee and a dedicated remote-support quote buy different amounts of work and create different management duties. The useful comparison is the cost of a defined workflow at your expected volume, with the same quality and review assumptions applied to each option.

This 2026 worksheet is for Australian mortgage brokerages planning an assistant or processor hire. It is a budgeting method, not a salary survey or a quote. Use your own offer, applicable workplace instrument and supplier terms rather than a generic “save up to” claim.

Start with the work you need covered

Choose a period, such as the next quarter. Record how many new enquiries, active files, lender conditions and settlement updates your team handles. Then estimate hours spent on tasks a support person could prepare, track or coordinate. Keep broker judgement and approval time in the model: it does not vanish when support is added.

For example, a two-broker firm may need 12 hours a week of document chasing and CRM updates but only occasional help preparing an application pack. Another firm may have a steady pack queue and little intake work. The first might test a part-time coordination role; the second may need dedicated processing capacity. Neither example sets a universal loan-volume threshold. Use our assistant-versus-processor guide if the role itself is still unclear.

Check the employment basis before using a pay figure

For a direct Australian employee, confirm the relevant award or agreement and classification. The Banking, Finance and Insurance Award defines the industry to include broking and related services, but the instrument covering a particular worker depends on the employer and duties. The Clerks Award summary also notes exclusions where another industry award applies. Use Fair Work’s classification guidance and Pay and Conditions Tool before budgeting a minimum rate. A job title alone does not choose the award or level.

Do not treat a contractor label as a cost-saving switch. Fair Work explains that the real nature of the relationship, including how it operates in practice where the whole-of-relationship test applies, matters when distinguishing an employee from a contractor (independent contractor guidance). If a supplier employs the worker, ask which entity holds the employment and payroll obligations and what the brokerage still manages day to day.

Direct-hire cost worksheet

Line	Enter your figure or method	Why it matters
Base wages or salary	Offer or applicable pay rate × hours	Use the actual classification and roster
Super guarantee	Qualifying earnings paid each payday × current rate	The 2026–27 rate is 12%; Payday Super applies
Other employment costs	Workers compensation, payroll tax if applicable, leave loading or allowances where required	Rules and thresholds differ by location and instrument
Hiring and setup	Advertising or recruiter, equipment, software and training time	Allocate one-off costs across the period you are comparing
Cover and supervision	Relief capacity plus broker or manager review time	Paid leave is within salary, but coverage may cost extra

The ATO super guarantee table lists a 12% general rate for 2026–27. Under the Payday Super rules that began on 1 July 2026, employers calculate super on qualifying earnings and make contributions each payday, as the Australian Government employer guide explains. Fair Work says full-time and part-time employees receive four weeks of annual leave based on ordinary hours, and full-time employees accrue ten days of paid sick and carer’s leave per year (annual leave; sick and carer’s leave). Do not add four weeks of salary again to an annual salary that already pays those weeks. Instead, decide whether work needs covering while the person is away.

A worked example using assumptions, not market rates

Suppose your proposed base salary is $72,000 and, for this example, all of it is qualifying earnings. At 12% super, the simple salary-plus-super subtotal is $80,640. Assume $2,400 for equipment and software in year one and $4,000 for recruitment and initial training. The illustrative first-year subtotal is $87,040. It excludes any applicable payroll tax, workers compensation, award allowances, leave loading, overtime and relief cover. Replace every assumed figure with your own quote or payroll calculation before making a decision.

That subtotal does not tell you the cost per completed file. To estimate it, record how much of the person’s time will serve the defined workflow, expected completed files and the broker’s review time. If the role combines enquiry coordination and loan processing, avoid assigning the entire annual cost to only one of those outputs.

Compare service models on equivalent scope

A per-file provider may quote for pack preparation only. A dedicated support person may also maintain the CRM, chase documents and handle milestone updates. A direct employee may take on broader duties but needs recruitment, supervision, leave planning and systems setup. Build one scope table listing included tasks, excluded tasks, turnaround, rework, quality review, customer contact and data access for each option.

Use this calculation for a per-file quote: quoted fee × expected eligible files + exception charges + brokerage review time. Use this for a recurring service: monthly fee × months + setup and excess charges + brokerage review time. Compare them with the direct-hire total for the same period. Ask what happens when volume falls, a file becomes complex or the worker is absent. A low headline unit price may exclude the very step where your backlog occurs.

ASIC’s RG 205 says credit licensees remain responsible for outsourced functions related to credit activity and should select suitable providers, monitor performance and deal with failures. That means approval and oversight belong in every option’s operating cost. It also means a cost comparison should not assume an outsourced file is complete merely because a supplier marks it finished.

Make the decision with a short trial and real measures

Before committing to a long arrangement, agree on a small sample of work and a named reviewer. Track time to a complete handoff, missing-document rate, corrections after broker review and hours of broker time spent resolving exceptions. Compare the actual results with your starting assumptions. Review customer communication and information access as well as speed.

MFAA reported brokers facilitated 81.6% of new Australian residential home loans in the June 2026 quarter. That industry measure explains why capacity planning matters, but it cannot tell an individual brokerage which role or price will pay off. Your own queue and file quality provide the decision evidence.

Common cost questions

Is salary the full cost of a direct hire?

No. Add applicable super, employment on-costs, setup, equipment and management time. Keep leave pay and leave cover separate to avoid counting the same wages twice.

Is an offshore or per-file quote directly comparable?

Only after aligning the scope, hours, review, information access, exceptions and cover arrangements. Request written terms and confirm which entity employs and pays the worker.

Where should we get a pay benchmark?

Start with the applicable Fair Work instrument and classification for minimum entitlements, then use current, role-specific market evidence for an offer. Do not use the hypothetical figures in this article as a salary recommendation.

Enter your assumptions in Mortgage Talent’s workforce cost planner, then discuss the role and scope you actually need. A useful hiring budget is one you can update when the workflow changes.