When ILA is triggered

Every major Australian lender has its own credit policy on ILA, but the triggers are mostly consistent. Assume ILA will be required if your file has any of these features:

  • A guarantor, whether family-pledge, security guarantor, or income guarantor.
  • A non-borrowing party on the title who must consent to the mortgage.
  • A company or trust borrower with director or appointor personal guarantees.
  • A self-managed super fund using a limited recourse borrowing arrangement.
  • One party who clearly benefits less than the other — for example, a spouse signing for a loan that funds the other spouse's business.
  • Any indication in the bank's loan offer that ILA is a condition precedent to settlement.

If you can read these signals from the application stage, you can warn the client about ILA before the loan offer arrives — which removes the last-minute rush every broker has experienced at least once.

When to flag it to the client

The right time to mention ILA is during the initial fact-find, not the loan offer hand-off. As soon as the structure of the deal becomes clear, set the expectation:

  • "You will need a separate solicitor to give you independent legal advice before settlement. It costs around $550 and takes 30–60 minutes."
  • "The advice must come from a solicitor not acting for any other party in the deal — that includes me, the bank, and any conveyancer doing your property work."
  • "You can book online providers same-day, but I usually recommend allowing 48–72 hours before settlement."

Clients budget and plan better when they know about it at the start. The cost is small in absolute terms but big psychologically if it appears as a surprise the week of settlement.

The independence rule and how it affects referrals

"Independent" means the solicitor is not acting for any other party in the transaction — including the broker. As a broker, you can recommend a provider, but you should:

  1. Recommend more than one. Giving the client at least two options preserves their choice and removes any suggestion of a closed referral arrangement.
  2. Disclose any commercial relationship. If the ILA provider pays you a referral fee or there's any other commercial connection, that needs to be disclosed to the client in writing. Most professional ILA providers have a strict no-commission policy precisely to keep the chain clean.
  3. Stay out of the meeting. The whole point of ILA is that the client meets the solicitor without the broker present. Don't join the Zoom call.

The cleanest model is to maintain a short list of online providers you've vetted and let the client pick. They'll appreciate having a recommendation, and the independence is unimpeachable.

What the ILA solicitor needs from you

To run a clean appointment, the solicitor needs the complete document pack. Send:

  • The lender's loan offer and all related schedules.
  • Any mortgage documents, guarantee documents and security forms.
  • The lender's ILA certificate template (most banks provide one).
  • For SMSF deals: the bare trust deed, SMSF trust deed, and corporate trustee's ASIC company extract.
  • For trust borrowers: the trust deed and any deed of variation.
  • For company borrowers: the ASIC company extract and any director resolution.
  • The client's contact details and a photo of their ID for KYC pre-checks.

Partial packs cause delays. A common failure mode is sending the loan offer and forgetting the guarantee schedule, which is the document the solicitor actually needs most.

Building ILA into your settlement timeline

Treat ILA as a parallel workstream, not a sequential one. As soon as the loan offer is issued:

  1. Email the client the loan offer and the ILA expectation in the same message.
  2. Refer them to your preferred providers with the document pack attached.
  3. Set a target ILA-by-date that is at least 48 hours before settlement.
  4. Add the ILA certificate to your pre-settlement checklist.
  5. Confirm the bank's settlement team has received the certificate at least 24 hours before settlement.

Same-day ILA is possible and sometimes necessary, but it's a fallback, not a plan. Brokers who routinely rely on same-day are also the ones who routinely miss settlement.

Common issues and how to head them off

  • Guarantor refuses to sign at the meeting. Happens. The job of the ILA solicitor is to walk through risks; some clients reconsider. If you've briefed the guarantor properly upfront, this is much less likely.
  • Wrong solicitor selected. Client uses their conveyancer; the bank rejects the certificate. Avoid by flagging the independence rule clearly.
  • Wet-signed originals lost or delayed. Use trackable overnight couriers. For interstate guarantors, build in an extra day.
  • Bank rejects the certificate for technical fixes. Mostly avoidable with an experienced ILA provider that uses bank-accepted templates.
  • Late variation requires repeat ILA. If the loan changes after ILA is done, the bank may require a fresh certificate. More on this here.

Your next step

Build a short, vetted list of online ILA providers, embed the ILA step into your settlement checklist, and brief every guarantor client at the application stage. The mechanics aren't complicated — getting the timing right is the whole game.

General information only. This article is general guidance for Australian mortgage brokers. It is not legal advice and does not substitute for compliance training, your aggregator's policies, or independent legal counsel.