The Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) continues to expand its reach and influence.
The mortgage broking advocacy group's membership rose by 5.17% in the financial year ending 30 June, according to its 2025 Annual Report, which was released on Tuesday, to 16,172 total members. That's on top of the 3.17% growth recorded in financial year 2024.
"We consider it a privilege to represent our members," said MFAA chief executive officer Anja Pannek. “As we look ahead to FY26, we will be focused on strengthening the mortgage and finance broking industry, driving greater recognition of brokers’ value and ensuring the MFAA continues to deliver meaningful advocacy outcomes for our members and the clients they serve.”
But, in addition to looking ahead, the group took stock of its 2025 performance. While the MFAA noted that 97% of its more than 16,000 members were mortgage and finance brokers, the member list also included aggregators, lenders, mortgage managers, mortgage insurers and other "key industry participants."
Of those members, 71% were male, while 29% were female. The majority fell between the ages of 40 and 49 (5,058 members.) Also, the bulk of members reside in New South Wales, 5,801 to be exact, followed by Victoria, with 4,555 members.
In addition, more brokers than ever before are expanding their skill sets. While mortgage brokers now write a record number of new residential home loans — 77.6%, according to the MFAA's June quarterly report — many are also moving into commercial and asset finance broking. The portion of mortgage brokers writing commercial loans is now 31.54%, according to the Industry Intelligence Service 19th Edition Report, the most recent data available.
"This is more than a milestone," Kerri Buurman, chair of the organization, wrote in the report. "We continue to evolve with purpose. This year, we refreshed our branding and launched a new website that reflects the professionalism, accessibility and modern outlook of the MFAA and our members."
Pannek added that the MFAA "remains in a very sound financial position, which enables us to continue driving positive change and supporting members in the future."
The group had an operating surplus of $347,240, during the most recent financial year, slightly less than the $479,295 in FY2024. Still, total revenues increased by 11% during FY2025, to more than $11.5 million.
Achievements throughout the year included a number of advocacy initiatives, a new consumer campaign that reached roughly 3.9 million people, and the launch of the Mortgage Finance Professional Australia (MFPA) designation during the MFAA's national conference in July.
The designation marked a series of firsts for Australia's broking community: the first professional designation for mortgage brokers Down Under and the nation's first university-level mortgage broker qualification.
"The MFPA is the result of years of hard work," Pannek said. "The MFPA sets a new benchmark for professionalism.
"We are delivering the framework… for brokers to be clearly recognized as a professional," Pannek said in July, when the designation was first launched.
"By achieving the designation, which is voluntary, you are highlighting to consumers your commitment to ethical standards, to extensive experience, to ongoing ongoing education and a commitment to examination of those standards as well."
The MFPA designation was developed in partnership with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Online (RMIT Online) and is offered exclusively to experienced MFAA mortgage brokers. Brokers who complete the RMIT Online Mortgage Finance Professional (MFP) Program and demonstrate excellence across ethics, education, conduct and customer engagement will earn the MFPA designation.
