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Personal Loans

A loan just for you

A personal loan can help you pay for something special like a holiday or home renovations. Make sure you can afford to borrow, and then shop around to get the best deal on interest rates, fees and charges.

How personal loans work

If you get a personal loan, you must repay the money you borrow within a specific time, usually 1 to 5 years. You also pay interest on the amount you borrow, plus fees and charges.

What you need to give the credit provider

All credit providers are required by law to lend you money responsibly. This means they must not lend you money if they think the credit is unsuitable for you.

The credit provider may look at your credit report and ask for:

Payslips
Bank account statements
Copies of other credit contracts or bills

This is so they can verify your ability to meet the loan repayments without financial hardship.

Secured and unsecured loans

Secured loans usually offer lower interest rates than unsecured loans, but you need to put up an asset, like your car or home, as ‘security’ to get the loan. If you don’t repay the loan, the credit provider may (in some circumstances) sell your asset to get its money back without first going to court.

With unsecured loans you don’t have to put up an asset as security, but the interest rate is usually higher. To get an unsecured loan, you must convince the credit provider that you can repay the loan. If you don’t repay the loan, the credit provider may take you to court to get its money back.

Check the interest rate, fees and charges

Personal loans usually have lower interest rates than credit cards – but they are still high compared to other types of credit. Fees can also be higher. To make sure you’re getting a fair deal, see getting the best credit deal.

Annual percentage rate

The annual percentage rate (APR) is the interest rate your credit provider will charge you to borrow money. It is also known as the ‘listed’ or ‘published’ rate.

Multiply the APR by the term of the loan to find out how much interest you will have to pay over the life of the loan. You can also use our personal loan calculator to work out your interest payments.

Fees and charges

From 1 July 2013, fees charged on loans of $2,000 or less are capped (that is, limited to a maximum amount). For more information, see small amount loans.

From 1 July 2013, the fees and charges allowed on loans of more than $2,000 are also capped.

Fee limits on medium amount loans ($2001-$5000)

For ‘medium amount’ loans which are for amounts between $2,001 and $5,000 to be repaid between 16 days and 2 years, fees are limited to:

A one-off fee of $400
A maximum annual interest rate of 48%, including all other fees and charges

Fee limits on loans of more than $5000

For all loans of more than $5,000 or with terms longer than 2 years, the fees and charges must not be more than 48% annually (including any establishment or other fixed fees).

These fee caps do not apply to loans offered by Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) such as banks, building societies or credit unions.

Find out the term of the loan

A personal loan could sound good because it may offer a lower interest rate than other types of credit and repayments are spread over a long time. But keep in mind that the longer the loan term, the more you will pay in interest.

When comparing loans, make sure the term is the same for each loan. This will give you a true picture of the difference in interest rates.