Can you roll debt into your home loan?

If you are already missing repayments, contact your creditors' hardship teams early. Here's how a hardship arrangement can show on your credit file. You can also speak to a free financial counsellor through the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007. Moneysmart's debt consolidation guide explains the costs and risks to compare. A refinance review can happen beside that support. It should not delay it.

A lower repayment is only part of the assessment. The lender also checks your income, living costs, credit history and which debts will be paid out. As Georgia and Luke found, credit card limits and the way a lender assesses existing debts can make a difference. Equity alone does not settle those questions.

If your bank has said no, start with the reason before making another application. Our guide to a declined home loan explains what to check.

One repayment can be easier to manage than several due dates. I compare 4 ways of handling the same debts, so you can see which one lowers the monthly pressure and which one clears the debt sooner.

This example combines $75k of debt: a $20k card at 19.99% with $600 monthly payments, a $25k personal loan at 12% with $658.35 payments, and a $30k car loan at 9% with $622.76 payments. Rates stay constant, there are no new card purchases, and current payments continue.

Keep paying the same $1,881 and the combined debt clears in about 45 months, with about $8,860 in estimated interest. The 5 year row is option 3.

The 25 year option releases about $1,398 a month. It also produces about $46,574 more estimated interest than keeping the current debts if only the minimum is paid.

The 5 year option still cuts the required payment by about $431 a month and costs less interest than keeping the current debts. The lower rate helps, but the term decides the result.

An unsecured personal loan does not use your home as security. A home-equity loan may offer a lower interest rate, but it puts the home behind the debt. Compare the actual offers and total repayment cost rather than assuming the lowest rate is the best result.

Our home equity loan guide explains how much equity a lender may let you use.

Here is an example comparing $30,000 loans. These rates are assumptions, not current offers. Repayments include principal and interest, with a constant rate and no fees or offset balance.

In that $30k example, about $583 a month would clear the 6.20% secured loan in 5 years, or $441 in 7 years, assuming a constant rate and no fees. Compare the same repayment period before choosing a lower mortgage minimum.

I check each debt before deciding whether to move it. This is the order I use.

This sequence can leave out a nearly finished car loan while dealing with an expensive credit card. It also shows whether the main goal is a lower monthly repayment, because rolling a debt into the home loan does not automatically make it cheaper overall.

The lender compares the proposed total home lending with the value it accepts for the property.

Loan to value ratio, or LVR, equals total lending divided by the accepted property value.

At or below 80% LVR, debt consolidation may be simpler. Above 80%, lender choice can narrow and lenders mortgage insurance or another risk cost may apply. That cost must go into the total cost comparison.

Use the equity calculator for a first estimate. The figure that matters for the application is the lender's accepted valuation, which may differ from an online or agent estimate.

One client’s home, bought for $700k, received bank valuations of $800k, $720k and $740k. Same home, 3 different answers. Another valuation won't necessarily come in higher, but an agent's estimate and comparable sales can support a review. The lender still decides which value it accepts.

Adding consumer debts can rule out a refinance option that would work for the mortgage alone.

Lender rules checked 8 October 2026. This is a general starting point for the 5 lenders named, not a ranking or a recommendation. Policies change, and each lender assesses your full application.

For the lenders discussed here, see our reviews of Macquarie, Commonwealth Bank, Brighten, Pepper Money and Resimac. Check the selected lender’s current consolidation conditions before applying.

Before choosing a lender, I check your recent repayments alongside the debts and equity above.

Some refinance loans use a lower repayment assessment buffer. They generally need to closely replace the existing home loan, with tight limits on extra borrowing and what it can fund.

This is why a borrower may pass an eligible mortgage-only refinance but fail when cards and personal loans are added. Use the refinance home loan guide to compare the wider application, costs and remaining term.

In Georgia and Luke's case, the balances were paid directly and both cards were closed at settlement.

Confirm how each creditor will be paid and which accounts must be closed or have their limits reduced. Lender and insurer conditions differ. Even a paid-off card can reduce borrowing capacity if its limit stays open, and it can be used again.

ATO debt is not treated like an ordinary credit card by every lender.

I first check the type of tax debt, its balance, any payment plan and your recent repayment record. Then I check whether the loan allows that tax debt to be paid out and whether the lender must pay the ATO directly at settlement.

Compare a proposed tax-debt refinance with discussing a payment arrangement with the ATO. Get tax advice where business debts or mixed purposes are involved.

Do not use repeated applications to discover which lender may proceed. Start with the credit reports, account conduct and the reason the payments were missed.

If hardship support is needed now, contact the creditors first. A refinance is not emergency debt relief and approval is not certain.

The guide to refinancing with bad credit explains how your credit history can affect the options.

Specialist lending can cost more. Compare it with hardship arrangements and financial counselling, and do not rely on a guaranteed move back to a mainstream lender in 12 or 24 months. A Part 9 debt agreement needs financial counselling or legal advice before treating a refinance as the solution.

Start with identification, income evidence, bank statements and your assets and liabilities. Add current statements and payout figures for every debt, including limits and any early repayment fees. PAYG and self-employed applicants may need different income documents; confirm the selected lender’s requirements.

Include discharge and government charges, application and valuation fees, ongoing loan costs and any fixed-rate break cost in the comparison. Ask for written figures based on the expected payout date.

First, we agree how soon you want to repay the consolidated debt. That lets us set a repayment to aim for, rather than automatically dropping to the new loan's minimum.

A target that leaves no room for a car repair, school cost or rate change is unlikely to last. I will show you the monthly repayment and the longer term cost before the application goes in, so you know what the lower repayment would cost over time.

Already have a proposed refinance? Send the current balances, payouts, proposed rate, term and costs. I can put the 4 repayment options beside each other before the application is lodged.

The refinancing process guide explains the application, discharge and settlement stages.

I would pause when:

• urgent hardship support is needed now
• the proposed total cost is materially higher and the longer term is not a deliberate trade-off
• fees, LMI or another risk cost consume the expected saving
• the accepted property value does not support the required lending
• short unsecured debts would be secured against the home without a workable repayment plan
• you are likely to borrow again on the accounts you have just paid off
• an insolvency, debt agreement, legal or financial counselling issue needs specialist help first

The next useful step may be smaller than a refinance. It could be getting a payout figure, closing an unused card, asking for hardship support, testing the valuation or setting a repayment that clears one debt without moving it.