Macquarie discharge form: how to discharge your Macquarie mortgage

A discharge authority tells Macquarie to release its mortgage over your property. You may need one when selling, refinancing or paying the loan off yourself. Paying the balance down to zero does not automatically remove the mortgage from the property title.

Your settlement can be delayed if Macquarie has not received the completed authority. An agreed date or approved new loan does not replace that step.

The form on Macquarie’s website covers both full and partial discharges. Use one authority for the loan accounts within the same facility, and identify which properties are being released.

All parties to the loan must sign with pen on paper. Macquarie does not accept electronic signatures for this form.

After Macquarie processes the request, its solicitor LegalStream handles the discharge. For a sale or refinance, your representative books settlement with LegalStream. If you are simply paying the loan off, LegalStream contacts you with the payout figure and payment instructions.

To follow up, contact your sale representative or incoming lender. For a loan payout without a sale or refinance, call LegalStream on 02 9223 7919.

If a parent guaranteed your loan, the property you want released may be theirs rather than yours. The request goes through the lender’s discharge or security-release process.

Ask the lender which discharge or security variation request covers the guarantee. Releasing a guarantor needs the bank’s approval; submitting the form does not make the release automatic.

The bank will assess the remaining security and loan. A loan-to-value ratio of 80% means owing $80 for every $100 of property value. It can be a useful starting point, but it does not guarantee release. Our guide to removing a guarantor explains what to check.

The lender’s valuation of the property you keep as security matters. Different lenders can arrive at different values, so one valuation does not settle every option. A broker can help check the remaining loan and security before you apply to release the guarantee.

Macquarie says a discharge typically takes up to 21 days. Its authority form says a partial discharge can take up to 28 days.

Missing signatures, account numbers or contact details can delay the request. Ask the lender to confirm it has everything it needs.

Allow extra time if another party holds the title, a valuation is needed or only part of the security is being released. Tell your conveyancer or incoming lender about the settlement deadline and check the lender can meet it.

Expect a discharge or settlement administration fee from Macquarie, plus a state government fee to register the discharge on the title. If any part of your loan is on a fixed rate, break costs can apply as well, and those are calculated by the lender rather than set by a schedule.

Ask for all of it in writing before you lock a settlement date. Break costs in particular move with the market, so an earlier quote may differ from the final amount.

A discharge usually runs alongside a sale or a new loan, and the timing needs to match. If the new loan is ready but the outgoing lender is not ready to release its mortgage, settlement can be held up. If the new loan is not ready, sending the discharge request does not solve that gap.

This is where we can help with a refinance or your next purchase: work through the new loan and its timing, while your lender and settlement representatives confirm the discharge arrangements. Keep making required repayments until the old lender confirms the loan is closed. How refinancing works, step by step shows where the discharge fits.

You authorise the discharge and follow your lender’s return instructions. We do not offer a standalone discharge lodgement service.

If you are refinancing or buying again, we can help with the new loan and its timing. There is generally no fee for our service on a standard residential home loan. We are usually paid by the lender if the loan settles, and we disclose that in writing.

Tell us your current lender, why you are moving and any settlement date. Call 1300 088 065 or book a free assessment so we can help line up the new loan.

General information only. It does not consider your circumstances and is not credit, legal or tax advice. Lender processes, fees and timeframes change without notice, so confirm the current requirements directly with Macquarie Bank before you act. Hunter Galloway, Credit Representative 476903 of Australian Credit Licence 389328.