Types of variations requests

Our Variations team can assist you with your client’s technical variation application. Most technical variations are assessed by our credit team and are subject to the requirements of the home loan credit policy. 

Technical variation requests that require credit assessment generally take 21-28 calendar days to be processed. This is dependent on how fast we receive all the necessary information and documents e.g. valuation report and loan limit instructions.  

If you’re looking to complete a change to your client’s property, land or title, such as those listed below, please email us the request and relevant documents to mortgagevariations@macquarie.com.  

  • Partial discharge  
  • Substituting your client’s security property (buying and selling) 
  • Adding or removing borrower or guarantor 
  • Consents for property (right of way, to lease, to positive covenant) 
  • Consents for land or title (subdivision, easement, boundary realignment, plan of consolidation) 
  • Adding or removing a mortgagor 
  • Registration of strata plan.

For more information, including variation types and documentation required keep reading or see our Technical and post-settlement variations reference guide.

What is a cover letter? 

You may be required to provide a cover letter or email, written by a broker, client or agent acting on behalf of our client which outlines the technical variation request they wish to submit.  

It should have a brief description of the request, outline the changes that are to be made to the loan and/or security property and any other relevant information including account details impacted by the proposed variation e.g., facility number, account number. 

Partial discharge

A partial discharge is a request to release a security property from a loan facility where multiple security properties are being held and the client doesn't wish to fully discharge the loan. This means there will be at least one security property that will remain with Macquarie after settlement of the partial discharge request. 

 The following documents are required: 

  • An email request outlining the details of the request
  • A completed and signed Discharge Authority form
  • An indicative settlement statement from Client’s Conveyancer/Solicitor (where full net sale proceeds are collected)
  • Updated Valuations for all remaining securities
  • Instructions for limit reductions on facility if required. 

Arranging settlement

 Once formal approval has been received for the partial discharge, instructions will be sent to our solicitors and the settlement will be arranged with our panel solicitors, including signing of documents. The contact details for our solicitors are included within the formal approval email.  

Your client's legal representatives will need to contact our panel solicitor to book the settlement for the variation.  

As the broker assisting, you can contact the solicitor to arrange the next steps to take place, however the client's legal representative is required to confirm settlement with the panel solicitor.

If you are subdividing, a partial discharge can only occur after the subdivision has been fully completed. The partial discharge request is treated as a separate request and can only be processed once our system has been updated with the new subdivided lots. 

Substitution of security

You can request to substitute an existing security property for a new property being purchased or an unencumbered property already owned, so that the existing loan facility remains open.  

For example, if your client is looking to sell a property and purchase a property simultaneously, this could be completed by substitution of security.  

Settlement must occur on the same day.  

The following documents are also required:  

  • A cover letter outlining the instructions 
  • A copy of the full contract of sale for any property being purchased or a copy of the title deed if the property is already owned by your client 
  • A copy of the front page of the contract of sale for the property being sold (to confirm the sale price) 
  • A Verification Of Identity (VOI) is required for mortgagor/s if the previous VOI is more than two years old
  • A valuation for the new incoming property
  • All requests are subject to credit approval. 

Arranging settlement

 Once formal approval has been received for the substituion of security, instructions will be sent to our solicitors and the settlement will be arranged with our panel solicitors, including signing of documents. The contact details for our solicitors are included within the formal approval email.  

Your client's legal representatives will need to contact our panel solicitor to book the settlement for the variation.  

As the broker assisting, you can contact the solicitor to arrange the next steps to take place, however the client's legal representative is required to confirm settlement with the panel solicitor. 

Adding or removing borrower or guarantor

You can request to remove a borrower from your client’s existing loan. The request will be subject to a full credit assessment on the remaining borrower/s who will be liable for the remaining debt.  

The following documents are required: 

  • A cover letter outlining the instructions including the reason for the removal of the borrower 
  • A completed and signed Variation Application form from the remaining borrower/s 
  • Evidence of funds to complete (if a payment is required to be made to the borrower being removed) 
  • Completed serviceability calculator 
  • If applicable, a copy of the signed Court Order or Separation Agreement
  • Updated financials from the remaining borrower e.g. 2 most recent pay slips, rental statements etc.

 When removing or adding a borrower, scenarios that will require an internal refinance include:

  • additional funds are being requested for an existing home loan, or
  • the loan is under company /trust structure.

Please note, to add a borrower or guarantor to your client’s existing loan, all borrowers must be:

  • living in Australia and have a current Australian residential address, and 
  • considered an Australian resident for tax purposes.

Removal of borrowers are not permitted on SMSF loans and Reverse Mortgages.

 

Process to seek consent for variations

The process depends on the technical variation you're seeking consent for.

Consent to a second mortgage

A second registered mortgage (2RM) request is where another lender or party requests to be noted on the certificate of title as second mortgagee behind our registered mortgage. For example, a Family Guarantee scenario where another lender has approved a loan and the parents of the borrowers have a loan with Macquarie and the other lender is requesting to use the property securing the Macquarie loan as security for the other lender. 
  
Provide a cover letter from the proposed second mortgagee which must include: 

  • A mailing address and contact details of second mortgagee 
  • An amount the second mortgage secures 
  • A proposed loan term 
  • Indicative interest rate 
  • Indicative repayments.

A signed consent from the second mortgagee granting authority to exchange information relating to your client’s home loan must also be provided.

Consent to subdivision

A subdivision is where a client wishes to subdivide a parcel of land into smaller individual lots, which will result in separate certificates of title.  

The following documents are required:   

  • A cover letter outlining the instructions confirming the lot/s that will be retained as security 
  • Updated Valuations on all properties securing the loan including the proposed new subdivided properities. For example, if the property has been subdivided into two lots, we will require a valuation for each of the two completed lots 
  • A copy of the survey plan or equivalent, confirming individual lot information and boundaries 
  • A copy of any documents requiring execution by Macquarie as Mortgagee 
  • A completed Discharge Authority form for any lots that are to be released upon registration of the Sub-Division. This is only applicable if the client is looking to do a partial discharge after the subdivision is complete.

To start the process we only need scanned copies of the documents mentioned. All original documents are to be retained by your clients and can be provided to the solicitors once the request has been approved.

Consent to lodge a Plan of Consolidation

A Plan of Consolidation allows an applicant to consolidate two or more parcels of land into one marketable parcel. For example, when your client owns two properties adjacent to each other, they can lodge a Plan of Consolidation to have the two parcels of land merged under one Certificate of Title. 

The following documents are required: 

  • A cover letter outlining the instructions 
  • A copy of the survey Strata Plan (electronic copy) 
  • A copy of any documents requiring Macquarie to execute as mortgagee (electronic copy for assessment). Original copies will need to be presented to our panel solicitors after formal approval.   

Valuation:  

  • Please provide valuations for all lots being retained as security
  • You'll need to order a short form valuation report as per normal process (with the plan of consolidation provided by client/solicitor). 

Consent to lodge a strata plan

A strata plan is a subdivision of a parcel of land into separate lots, including 'common' property that can be accessed by all owners within the strata complex. An example where this is required may be when a client constructs a duplex, they may wish to subdivide and register a 'strata' plan for the properties, rather than the land being divided into separate 'free-hold' Certificates of Title.  If it’s necessary to divide the title into 2 or more titles, this is considered a Subdivision – refer to Consent to subdivision.

If your client wishes to seek our consent to lodge a strata plan, an email can be sent to mortgagevariations@macquarie.com to start the process with the documents below.  

The following documents are required: 

  • A cover letter outlining the instructions 
  • A copy of the survey strata plan 
  • A copy of any documents requiring Macquarie to execute as mortgagee (electronic copy for assessment). Original copies will need to be presented to our panel solicitors after formal approval.
  • A valuation.

Consent to register a boundary realignment

This is where the defined boundaries of a property will be changing. For example, a boundary realignment would be required if your client was looking to purchase/sell a portion of their land from/to their neighbour. Another example would be where the council intends to reclaim land.  

If your client would like to seek our consent to register a boundary realignment, please email mortgagevariations@macquarie.com with the documents outlined below to start the process.  

To complete this application, your client will need to provide the following documents:

  • A cover letter outlining the instructions for the boundary realignment 
  • A copy of the survey plan (or equivalent) confirming the new boundary(s) 
  • A Contract of Sale – if your client is selling a portion of their land and their home loan will potentially need to be reduced (depending on LVR and updated valuation). 

Valuation:

  • If your client’s land size is increasing, generally no valuation is required 
  • If your client’s land size is decreasing, the credit team may request an updated short form valuation report depending on the size of the decrease 
  • Also, a valuation may be required in any case depending on the security type and location. 

Consent to register a covenant

A covenant is essentially a promise to do or maintain something after a property has been purchased. For example, if your client needs to maintain a storm water retention tank that was installed by their neighbour to stop your client’s property potentially being flooded in bad weather. The covenant is your neighbour’s 'promise' to maintain that water retention tank.  

If your client wishes to seek our consent to register covenant, an email can be sent to mortgagevariations@macquarie.com to start the process with the documents below.  

The following documents are required: 

  • A cover letter outlining the instructions 
  • A copy of the survey Strata Plan where applicable (electronic copy) 
  • A copy of any documents requiring Macquarie to execute as mortgagee (electronic copy for assessment). Original copies will need to be presented to our panel solicitors after formal approval. 

A valuation may be required. We’ll notify you following our assessment and will work with you to arrange this on behalf of your client.

Consent to register a lease

Where a client rents their property through a scheme, the governing body of that scheme may require the lease to be registered on the Certificate of Title. Examples where a consent to lease may be required include when your client’s property is part of Defence House Authority (DHA) or the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS).  
  
The following documents are required:  

  • A cover letter outlining the instructions 
  • Full copy of the relevant lease (electronic copy). 

Consent to register a right of way

A right of way is a type of easement that gives someone the right to travel across property owned by another person.  

The following documents are required: 

  • A cover letter outlining the instructions 
  • A copy of the survey Strata Plan where applicable (electronic copy) 
  • A copy of any documents requiring Macquarie to execute as mortgagee (electronic copy for assessment). Original copies will need to be presented to our panel solicitors after formal approval. 

A valuation may be required. 

Consent to register a transmission of title due to a deceased state

The transmission of title for a deceased estate is the transfer of the Title (or interest in the land) to another party. This provides the executor or trustee the right to deal with that property (for example, list it for sale).  

If your client, the executor or trustee wishes to seek our consent to register a transmission of title due to a deceased estate, an email can be sent to BFSSODeceasedEsta@macquarie.com to start the process with the documents below.  

The following documents may be required:  

  • An email request from you, as their broker 
  • A cover letter from executor or trustee or solicitor acting for estate 
  • A certified copy of the death certificate 
  • A certified copy of the will 
  • A certified copy of probate or letters of administration (as applicable) 
  • A copy of the transmission/ survivorship application if applicable. 

Document requirements will differ based on the circumstances of the request. All requests are subject to credit approval. 

Consent to register an easement

An easement is a section of land registered on your property’s title, which gives someone the right to use or access the land for a specific purpose even though they are not the land owner. For example, a council may have a sewerage easement listed on your client’s title.  

If your client wishes to seek our consent to register an easement, an email can be sent to mortgagevariations@macquarie.com to start the process with the documents below.  

The following documents are required:

  • A cover letter outlining the instructions. 
  • A copy of the survey/ strata plan (electronic copy). 
  • A copy of any documents requiring Macquarie to execute as mortgagee (electronic copy for assessment). Original copies will need to be presented to our panel solicitors after formal approval. 

Valuation: 

  • An updated valuation may be requested by credit depending on the type of easement and the possible impact to the security property.  We’ll notify you following our assessment and will work with you to arrange this on behalf of your client.

Consent to remove a guarantor

If your client wishes to seek our consent to remove a guarantor, an email can be sent to mortgagevariations@macquarie.com to start the process with the documents below.  
  
The following documents are required: 

  • An email request from you, as their broker 
  • A signed request from all parties to the loan agreeing to the removal of the guarantor (including the name of the guarantor being removed)
  • Additional documents may be requested by the credit team. 

Please note:  

When a company or trust is party to the loan, an internal refinance may be required.

Consent to remove a mortgagor

If your client wishes to seek our consent to remove a mortgagor, an email can be sent to mortgagevariations@macquarie.com to start the process with the documents below.  
  
The following documents are required:

  • Instructions from you or your client’s solicitor 
  • Copy of the proposed transfer (confirming if any priority is required to be paid between the parties and the reason for the removal/transfer). 

If another request is also needed (e.g. removal of borrower/guarantor), a separate request must be submitted as well. 

Change of name of title

The following documents are required: 

  • A cover letter confirming the name change is to be made on the Certificate of Title 
  • A certified copy of either of the below issued by Births, Deaths and Marriages: 
    • Marriage Certificate; or 
    • Change of Name Certificate; 
  • A Statutory Declaration from your client confirming name change to provide evidence of their old and new signatures 
  • A Verification Of Identity (VOI) required for mortgagor/s if previous VOI is more than 2 years old
  • The account name on the home loan account (and associated accounts) will be updated as a part of this request.

Please note:

Your client can change their name on their home loan and not on their Certificate of Title.

Add a mortgagor to the title of the existing security

The following documents are required:

  • A cover letter outlining the instructions 
  • A copy of the proposed transfer confirming if any priority is required to be paid. 

The above consent is subject to review and approval. 

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