- Home loan approval times vary widely across lenders, ranging from under an hour to several business days depending on complexity and documentation.
- Simple, well-prepared applications with complete documentation and steady PAYG income are generally approved fastest.
- Pre-approval does not guarantee unconditional approval and often requires full document submission and a signed property contract.
- Factors like complex loan structures, incomplete or unverifiable information, and non-standard property types can significantly delay approval times.
In Australia's host of property markets - metro and regional - homebuyers can't afford to wait too long to see if they've been approved by their bank or not. Auction marketing periods typically take four weeks, and private treaties can vary, but many properties are sold within 60 days - so you want a lender that can act with haste.
Banks will assess your income and expenses, as well as use the Household Expenditure Measure to assess your borrowing power. Provided you've done everything correctly, it's then over the bank or lender's credit assessment team to approve your mortgage.
There's no set time frame for how long this can take. Depending on the circumstances and the lender it can be anything from under an hour to several weeks. More complex applications can take even longer - so how does your lender stack up?
Home Loan Approval Times - Banks & Lenders
|
Institution |
Fast Unconditional Approval Time (Simple Application) |
Average Approval Time |
|---|---|---|
|
CommBank (CBA) |
1 business day |
4-7 business days |
|
NAB |
<1 business day |
7 business days |
|
Westpac |
1 business day |
2-4 business days |
|
ANZ |
1 business day |
2-5 business days |
|
Macquarie |
About 4 hours |
1 business day |
|
Bank of Queensland (BOQ) |
- |
2 business days |
|
AMP |
3 business days |
+2 business days (so 5) |
|
ING |
- |
3-4 business days |
|
Suncorp |
<2 business days |
3 business days |
|
loans.com.au |
- |
2-3 business days |
|
Tiimely Home |
<1 hour |
Same day |
|
UBank |
1 business day |
5 business days |
|
Unloan |
Same day |
- |
Sources: InfoChoice group original research, bank websites, and broker correspondence, mid-year 2025.
The table below displays some banks and lenders mentioned in the approvals table above.
| Lender | Home Loan | Interest Rate | Comparison Rate* | Monthly Repayment | Repayment type | Rate Type | Offset | Redraw | Ongoing Fees | Upfront Fees | Max LVR | Lump Sum Repayment | Extra Repayments | Split Loan Option | Tags | Features | Link | Compare | Promoted Product | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5.29% p.a. | 5.33% p.a. | $2,773 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $530 | 90% |
| Promoted | Disclosure | ||||||||||
5.24% p.a. | 5.15% p.a. | $2,758 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $0 | 80% |
| Promoted | Disclosure | ||||||||||
5.64% p.a. | 5.89% p.a. | $2,883 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $248 | $350 | 90% | |||||||||||||
5.79% p.a. | 5.80% p.a. | $2,931 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $null | $160 | 80% | |||||||||||||
6.04% p.a. | 6.13% p.a. | $3,011 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $8 | $350 | 60% | |||||||||||||
6.09% p.a. | 6.10% p.a. | $3,027 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $null | $0 | 97% |
CommBank (CBA) Home Loan Approval Times
According to CommBank's website, while some customers have home loan contracts in place within 60 minutes, loans can often take 4-7 business days to be accepted. The average for a simple application seems to be about one business day.
NAB Home Loan Approval Times
NAB has introduced its Simple Home Loan, a digital platform with what Home Ownership Executive Andy Kerr calls "fast and effortless" home loan approvals.
About 90% of NAB home loans are processed through the platform, with 35% of eligible customers approved in under one hour, and 50% receiving a decision within 24 hours.
NAB's home loan approval times have improved, with a simple application able to be green-lit in less than one business day. A typical timeframe, or perhaps a more complex application, could blow out to about a week.
Brokers have told InfoChoice Group that NAB has the least consistency among the major banks.
Westpac Home Loan Approval Times
Westpac says its unconditional approval time is one business day - however conditional isn't the same as unconditional.
Brokers have told InfoChoice Group that Westpac typically takes about two to four days to approve a mortgage.
ANZ Home Loan Approval Times
ANZ publishes information about its home loan servicing levels here.
As of mid-2025 these are some of the standard turnaround times for the application of an assessment.
|
Stage |
'Simpler switch'-Like for like refinances that meet certain requirements |
Simple application |
Complicated application |
|---|---|---|---|
|
New application |
1 day |
2 days |
4 days |
|
Additional documents |
2 days |
2 days |
2 days |
Once the loan has been approved, the following wait times are standard while the loan is finalised.
|
Stage |
Service level |
|---|---|
|
Document preparation |
1 day |
|
Document verification |
1 day |
In the past few years ANZ has markedly improved its 'time to yes'. In 2021 due to the volume of applications, it was reported that ANZ was in some circumstances taking upwards of six weeks to approve a mortgage. In the past couple of years, ANZ has also slashed the approval time for complicated applications in half.
Suncorp Home Loan Approval Times
Dylan Atherton, Head of Home Lending Services at Suncorp, told InfoChoice the average turnaround time for home lending applications is under three days. In 2022 it also introduced the Suncorp SunLight loan, which allows eligible lower risk applications to receive a response within 48 hours.
Mr Atherton says preparation is one of the best ways to speed up the approval process.
"Being organised with your identity documents and other approval information can significantly streamline things," he told InfoChoice.
The absorption of Suncorp into ANZ's ecosystem is yet to be fully realised.
Macquarie Bank Home Loan Approval Times
According to Macquarie's website, most applications can be turned around in under one business day if it qualifies. It says once the borrower is pre-approved it's usually a simple and quick case of the borrower entering their target property to get unconditional approval.
Bank of Queensland Home Loan Approval Times
BOQ told InfoChoice Group its average conditional approval time was two business days, but have since stopped sharing this information externally.
AMP Home Loan Approval Times
AMP's website says the majority of digital home loans can be approved these days within 24-48 hours.
However AMP's broker portal says three business days is the current run rate for regular applications where no further information is required. Expect to add two business days for any additional requirements.
ING Home Loan Approval Times
ING's website has a handy insight into its approval times. The most recent data suggests applicants can be approved, provided they have all necessary documents, in 3-4 business days.
The differences between approval times
It's important to recognise that your time to 'yes' is heavily dependent on you as a quality borrower and having all your ducks lined up.
Some banks have a lot of customers and a lot of different tech implementations, which can slow down their approval times. Some newer, digitally-focused banks have streamlined processes and might get AI and other tools to do a lot of the checking, instead of people.
That said, the major banks have come a long way in recent years to hasten the process. However, the times listed above might be pretty optimistic and rely on you having a simple application e.g. <80% LVR, buying an existing property in a metro area, not borrowing above 6x income, and having steady PAYG employment.
You'll also need to be wary of the fact that some banks might be advertising their pre-approval times, which is not the same as unconditional approval.
Borrowing Power or Lending Indicator
This is usually the first step. Your bank might have a borrowing power calculator, and after that you might start to input your expenses and income without verification. This step can be pretty easy and take as little as 10 minutes.
Some banks might call this step pre-approval but this can be misleading. Some might indicate you can borrow X amount, but don't get too confident yet. You can probably start hunting for properties, but you might not want to start putting in offers or signing contracts yet.
Pre-Approval
If this step with your bank doesn't require you to upload income and bank statements then it's arguably a moot process until you do.
Pre-approval is where the rubber starts to hit the road. Provided you've uploaded all the necessary documentation, your 'time to yes' can take less than one day depending on the bank.
If you don't have the exact property in mind yet, with most banks you can enter a few postcodes so they have an idea on where you're looking to purchase.
Pre-approval typically lasts 90 days, however some banks shorten this to 30-60 days with the opportunity to renew if you don't find a property.
Unconditional Approval
This is the last step along the rocky road. If you've uploaded all your documentation in the previous step, this is typically a simple one.
Once you've found the exact property and you've signed the contract, you then give this to your lender or broker for assessment for unconditional approval. If you're purchasing at auction, this happens after the hammer falls.
Banks will take a final look at the loan amount versus the property's value (after their valuation which could be in-person or digitally assessed), and your settlement period, and if it's all business-as-usual they'll give the green light.
Steps to a Speedy Home Loan Approval
Before you start applying for mortgages, you'll want to gather a few things on your end first, to help speed up the process.
-
Pre-approval: This is your time to upload documents and start hunting for a property. If you're not uploading documents in this step then consider pushing ahead until you do.
-
Complete information from you and your partner: This means all the required payslips, income statements, bank statements, identification, and so on. You and your partner might do this step separately, and application portals can be clunky to use, so keep that in mind.
-
Property information: If you don't have an exact property in mind, you can usually input some postcodes so the lender has some idea about the type of property you're after. Some lenders won't lend to regional areas or for big blocks.
-
A signed property contract: If you've done everything right, typically the only hurdle between conditional and unconditional approval is a signed property contract. Once you're successful with your offer and your conveyancer has reviewed the contract, sign it and send it off to your broker or lender for unconditional approval.
Factors Slowing Down Your Home Loan Approval Time
-
Complicated Applications: If you need LMI, are purchasing as part of a business or trust, or an SMSF, this can blow out your approval time considerably.
-
Incomplete or Missing Information: If you don't have all the necessary paperwork, such as payslips and bank statements, your bank will have to chase those up, which takes time.
-
Unverifiable Information: If a bank can't verify your ID, income, bank, or employment statements, then all of that can slow down your 'time to yes'.
-
Unusual Income or Circumstances: If you aren't a typical PAYG employee or self-employed with two years of BAS, or you have multiple income streams, this can slow everything down.
-
Extended Gaps in Employment: Short gaps for finding employment are usually okay, but if you've taken a year off for example, a lender might give cause to a pause.
-
Unusual Properties: Some banks and lenders don't like to lend for regional properties or acreage. Other red flags could include flood zones, bushfire zones, large apartment blocks, tiny homes, or apartments with small floor plans.
-
Using a Broker: A broker can be a blessing and a curse. If you're confident in your financial circumstances and have a dead-simple application, then a broker could be the intermediary between you and the bank that slows you down.
Photo by Rowen Smith on Unsplash
