How fast can a bridging loan settle in Brisbane?

A bridging loan may settle within 3–7 business days, subject to valuation, documentation, lender approval and transaction complexity.

What is the maximum LVR?

Bridging finance may be available up to 75% LVR, depending on the property, location, loan structure and exit strategy.

Can interest be capitalised?

In many scenarios, interest can be added to the loan balance and repaid when the facility exits, subject to the structure and available equity.

What happens if my property does not sell?

The exit strategy must be reviewed. Refinancing or an extension may be considered depending on the equity position and lender approval.

Are bridging loans regulated?

Consumer-purpose lending may fall under Australian consumer credit laws. Genuine business or investment-purpose finance may be treated differently.

Can self-employed borrowers qualify?

Yes. Self-employed borrowers may qualify where the security, available equity and proposed exit strategy satisfy the lender.

Are bridging loans suitable for development exits?

They may be suitable at project completion where the defined exit is a property sale or longer-term refinance.

Bridging Loans Brisbane

We arrange eligible short-term property-secured finance for Brisbane and Queensland transactions, placed with bank, non-bank and specialist lenders. What can be borrowed, over what term and on what terms depends on the security offered, the purpose, the borrower's circumstances and the plan for repayment.

Queensland rewrote its property law in 2025, and the changes affect what a buyer receives before signing and what remedies they hold afterwards. Both matter when finance is being arranged to a deadline.

The Queensland seller disclosure scheme

From 1 August 2025, the Property Law Act 2023 introduced a mandatory seller disclosure scheme in Queensland. A seller must give the buyer a completed disclosure statement, together with the prescribed certificates, before the buyer signs the contract.

The disclosure statement covers:

Seller and property details
Title information and encumbrances
Land use and planning details
Building and structure information, including pools
Any notices required under the specified Acts

The remedy, and why a lender cares about it

Queensland Government guidance states that a buyer may have a right to terminate the contract at any time up to settlement where the disclosure documents are not given at all, or where the information provided is inaccurate or incomplete. For inaccurate disclosure the buyer must show the issue was material, that they were unaware of it when signing, and that they would not have signed had they known.

That termination right running all the way to settlement is unusual, and it cuts both ways in a finance conversation.

If you are buying, the disclosure statement arrives before you sign and contains most of what a lender needs for an early view: title particulars, encumbrances, planning and land use. Send it through with your enquiry. It is the fastest route to establishing whether a lender will treat the property as acceptable security, and it can surface an encumbrance or planning issue before you are committed rather than after.

If you are selling, and a sale is the event repaying your facility, incomplete disclosure creates a risk that a contract you were relying on can be terminated late. Where a sale is the exit, get the disclosure right at listing rather than at contract.

The Queensland cooling-off period

A 5 business day cooling-off period generally applies to residential property contracts in Queensland. It starts the day you receive a copy of the contract signed by both parties, and where that falls on a weekend or public holiday it starts the next business day.

If you terminate during the period, the seller may deduct a penalty of up to 0.25% of the purchase price. On a $1,450,000 purchase that is $3,625.

Cooling-off is not available where:

The property is bought at auction, or
The contract is entered into within 2 business days of an unsuccessful auction of that property, and you were a registered bidder at that auction.

That second exclusion is Queensland-specific and it catches people. Registering to bid, watching the property pass in, then negotiating over the following two days puts you outside cooling-off entirely. Buyers frequently assume that because they did not buy at the auction, the usual five days applies. It does not.

The practical consequence is the same one that runs through this page: if you are registering to bid in Brisbane, treat your finance position as needing to be settled beforehand, not during a cooling-off window that may not exist.

This is general information, accurate as at the review date shown at the foot of the page. Exceptions apply and the rules can be amended. Take advice on your own contract before you sign anything.

Settlement timing in Queensland

No statute sets a settlement period in Queensland. The parties agree one and it goes into the contract, most often at 30, 60 or 90 days. For funding purposes the only figure that counts is how many days sit between the money being due and the sale or refinance actually producing it.

Asking for extra time before you sign occasionally solves the problem outright. A seller is free to refuse, and may trade the extension for something else in the contract.

When Brisbane buyers use short-term finance

Relocating from interstate, where a Brisbane purchase needs to settle before a property in another state sells.
Buying before the existing home settles. See buying before you sell.
Registering to bid at auction, where cooling-off may not be available afterwards. See auction bridging loans.
Bridging mismatched dates, where completion on the purchase falls due ahead of the sale proceeds arriving. See settlement timing gaps.
Townhouse and small apartment projects across the inner ring and growth corridors needing short-term funding between completion and refinance.
Releasing equity from an existing Queensland property for an investment purchase or business purpose.

Upgraders in suburbs such as New Farm, Ascot, Paddington, Bulimba and Indooroopilly commonly need to secure a purchase before an existing property settles.

Funding an interstate relocation: the figures

Brisbane sees more interstate purchasing than the other capitals, and it creates a particular problem: the buyer's equity sits in a property under a different state's rules, with its own settlement timetable. The structure below is the peak debt and end debt approach, explained in full on peak debt explained.

A household relocating to Brisbane has bought here before listing their existing home interstate.

At the point of maximum borrowing

Existing interstate home: $1,250,000, carrying a mortgage of $360,000
Brisbane purchase: $1,450,000
Purchase costs including Queensland transfer duty, assumed at $60,000
Cash contributed: $60,000
Peak debt: $1,810,000 across combined security of $2,700,000
Peak debt LVR: 67.0%

After the interstate sale

Seven month term, interest capitalised, because an interstate campaign plus settlement takes longer than a local one
Interest at 7.49% p.a. across seven months: approximately $79,082
Sale at $1,250,000, less agent and legal costs of $27,500 at 2.2%
$1,222,500 of net proceeds applied to the balance
Residual end debt: approximately $666,582
Against the Brisbane property, that sits at 46.0%

Queensland transfer duty varies with price and any concessions, so treat the purchase costs line as an assumption to be replaced with a calculation for your own purchase. Rates, LVRs, fees and availability all depend on the properties offered, the purpose, valuations and each lender's assessment. Approval, eligibility and responsible lending requirements apply.

The term is the variable people underestimate on a relocation. A seven month facility costs materially more than a five month one, and an interstate campaign, a different state's settlement conventions and the distance involved all make the longer term more realistic. Pricing the optimistic case and then needing an extension costs more than buying the time upfront.

Moving to Brisbane before selling? We need the Brisbane address, the disclosure statement if the seller has issued one, your existing property's current debt, and the total you need to raise. Expect an indication of what is workable and whether your dates hold together. Request an assessment.

Working out what you could raise

Equity headroom = property value, multiplied by the lender's LVR ceiling, minus what you currently owe

Applied to a $1,250,000 home with $360,000 outstanding: a 75% ceiling permits $937,500 of lending, leaving headroom near $577,500 before costs are deducted. Ceilings typically land in the 65% to 75% band. What the calculation gives you is a maximum, not an approval, and the purpose of the borrowing plus the credibility of the repayment plan will both pull the real figure lower.

Run your own position through the bridging loan calculator.

What we arrange in Queensland

Residential bridging for households buying, selling or relocating.
Commercial bridging for genuine business, investment and development borrowing.
Second mortgage loans for borrowers who would rather add debt behind their bank than refinance away from a rate they are happy with.
Specialist and private funding where a file sits outside bank policy, or the contract date arrives before a full application could realistically be completed.

Options are set out under loan types, with pricing on costs and fees. Eligibility across borrower types is covered in who qualifies for a bridging loan.

Security is considered across greater Brisbane, the Gold and Sunshine Coasts and regional Queensland. The further from the metropolitan area, the more weight a lender places on how long a property would take to sell, which shows up as a tighter ceiling and fewer funders. Some rural and specialised holdings will not attract an offer.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Queensland seller disclosure statement?

A statement a seller must give a buyer, with the prescribed certificates, before the buyer signs the contract. It became mandatory on 1 August 2025 under the Property Law Act 2023 and covers seller and property details, title information and encumbrances, land use and planning, building and structure information including pools, and any required notices.

What happens if the seller disclosure statement is wrong or missing?

Queensland Government guidance indicates a buyer may have a right to terminate the contract at any time up to settlement where the documents are not given at all, or where the information is inaccurate or incomplete. For inaccurate disclosure the buyer must show the issue was material, that they did not know of it when signing, and that they would not have signed had they known. Take legal advice on your own circumstances.

How long is the cooling-off period in Queensland?

Generally 5 business days for residential property, starting the day you receive a copy of the contract signed by both parties. If that day is a weekend or public holiday it starts the next business day. Terminating during the period allows the seller to deduct up to 0.25% of the purchase price.

Is there a cooling-off period after an auction in Queensland?

No at the auction itself, and importantly not for a contract entered into within 2 business days of an unsuccessful auction where you were a registered bidder. Registering, watching the property pass in and then negotiating over the next two days leaves you outside cooling-off, which is not what most buyers expect.

Can a lender review my disclosure statement before I commit?

Yes, and it is worth doing. Because Queensland sellers must provide it before you sign, you have the title particulars, encumbrances and planning detail available at the point a lender can form an early view on whether the property is acceptable security.

How long is a settlement period in Queensland?

There is no statutory period. It is whatever the parties write into the contract, commonly 30, 60 or 90 days. You can ask for longer before signing, but the seller is entitled to say no or to want something in exchange.

Can I buy in Brisbane before selling interstate?

Yes, and it is a common reason people approach us. The facility is ordinarily secured over both properties, with the interstate sale repaying the majority of it. Allow a longer term than a local move would need, because an interstate campaign and a different state's settlement conventions both add time.

Do you arrange finance outside Brisbane?

Security across the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and regional Queensland is considered. What changes away from the metropolitan area is how a valuer and a credit team view saleability, so expect a tighter ceiling and a shorter lender list. Some rural and specialised holdings will not attract an offer.

How quickly can finance be arranged?

On a straightforward file, settlement inside a week is realistic once the valuation is back and legal work is complete. The step that most often blows out the timetable is obtaining consent from an existing lender where the new facility ranks behind them, so put that request in immediately rather than waiting for approval.

Talk it through before you register to bid

What we need is the Brisbane address, the disclosure statement if it has been issued, the debt against your existing property and the amount you are trying to raise. Say early if you intend to register as a bidder or if the sale funding the purchase is interstate, because both change the timeline and the lenders who can work to it.

Request an assessment. To understand the mechanics first, start with how bridging loans work.

Selling in another state to fund a Brisbane purchase? The rules that will govern that sale are set out under bridging loan locations across Australia, including Sydney and Melbourne.