Investment Finance

The right structure before the right rate

Most investors get shown a rate. The structure question, which entity buys it, how the debt sits, what the exit looks like, gets left to the accountant after the fact. That order tends to be expensive. Getting the structure right before you commit to a purchase is worth considerably more than the margin between the cheapest and second cheapest rate in the market.

Structure matters even more when superannuation is involved. A loan connected to a super fund is governed by a different set of rules, requires a specific legal setup, and the rules themselves moved in 2026. What is still available, and for whom, is covered below.

What we can help with

• Investment property finance, including for self-employed borrowers and complex income structures
• Business owners buying their own premises through super, still available under the 2026 rules
• Commercial property investment for yield including industrial, retail and medical
• Refinancing an existing SMSF loan, which remains permitted for arrangements already in place
• Portfolio refinancing and debt consolidation for existing investment property owners
• Structuring advice prior to purchase, before any lender is approached

Commercial property investment

Buying commercial property directly, in a company, trust or personal name, is a straightforward asset class for investors chasing yield, and the lending question is different from residential: a lender is largely reading the lease, not just your personal income.

What moves the deal is the lease itself: the term remaining (the WALE, or weighted average lease expiry), the strength of the tenant's covenant, whether the lease is net or gross, and who is on the hook for outgoings, rates and maintenance. A long lease to a strong tenant on clean terms gets a materially better response from a lender than a short lease or a thinly capitalised tenant, even at the same purchase price and headline yield. We read the lease documentation before you commit, not after, so you know what a lender will actually see before you sign.

Super borrowing after the 2026 rule change

In June 2026 the federal government legislated the end of new SMSF borrowing for residential property. The change received Royal Assent on 26 June 2026 and applies from 10 August 2026: from that date a super fund cannot enter a new borrowing arrangement to buy a residential property, and contracts exchanged before that date can still settle afterwards. Existing residential arrangements are protected, including refinancing.

What the change deliberately left alone is business real property, the commercial side. A self managed super fund can still borrow to buy commercial property, including premises occupied by a related business, and continues to benefit from concessional tax treatment on rental income and, for members in pension phase, potentially zero tax on income and capital gains. For business owners who are also trustees, buying the premises through super remains one of the strongest structural advantages available in the Australian tax system. The full lending picture is in our guide to SMSF commercial property loans.

The residential investment picture moved in the same window. The 2026 federal budget tightened negative gearing on new purchases of established property and changed CGT discount treatment for new investors. The detail, including who is grandfathered and what counts as a new build, is in our guide to the 2027 negative gearing changes.

The tax rates inside a super fund are set by legislation and do not vary by income bracket. Rental income is taxed at 15 per cent. Capital gains on assets held for longer than 12 months are taxed at 10 per cent. For a member in pension phase, where the fund is paying a superannuation income stream, both income and capital gains can be subject to zero tax. Against a personal marginal rate of up to 47 per cent for a high-income earner, the structural gap is material.

How borrowing in super works in practice

Where a fund borrows for commercial property, it does so through a limited recourse borrowing arrangement. Under an LRBA the asset is held in a bare trust, separate from the fund, until the loan is repaid. The lender has recourse only to the property itself, not the other assets of the fund. This structure protects the fund but it also means the loan is assessed differently, with lower LVRs, different serviceability criteria, and a requirement that the fund, not just the member, can demonstrate it can service the debt.

Not all lenders offer this lending, and of those that do, appetite varies significantly by property type, fund structure, member age, and existing fund assets. Knowing who to approach and how to present the fund before any application is made is the difference between a smooth process and a series of conditional approvals that go nowhere. For typical LVRs, liquidity rules and how the borrowing structure is set up, see our guide to SMSF commercial property loans.

Not sure where you stand before you run the numbers with a lender? Our free property investor readiness check covers your deposit, equity and serviceability position in two minutes.