Refinance cashback offers are now less common compared to previous years, and where available, they usually come with lower amounts, stricter eligibility and clawback conditions.
Cashback does not reduce your loan balance or interest rate. Long-term costs are driven by interest rates, ongoing fees and how long you keep the loan.
Even a small interest rate difference (around 0.2%) can outweigh a $2,000 cashback within a few years, depending on loan size and balance.
Cashback may make sense only when refinancing already improves your loan, such as moving from an uncompetitive rate and using the payment to cover genuine switching costs.
Comparing cashback and non-cashback loans side by side helps clarify which option leaves you better off over time, rather than focusing on upfront incentives alone.
For a number of years, refinance cashback offers were a common feature of the home loan market. Some lenders used upfront payments to encourage borrowers to switch, helping cover refinance costs or boost short-term cash flow.
That landscape has changed. Cashback offers are far less common compared to previous years and often come with tighter eligibility criteria, higher rates or clawback conditions. While cashback hasn’t disappeared entirely, it’s no longer as available as they previously were.
This guide explains how refinance cashback deals work today, when they may (and may not) make sense, and why long-term loan costs usually matter more than a one-off incentive so you can assess any offer on its real merits, not just the headline.
What is a refinance cashback deal?
A refinance cashback deal is a one-off incentive offered by some lenders to borrowers who switch their home loan to them and meet the lender’s eligibility criteria.
Most cashback offers are paid as a lump-sum cash payment after settlement, once the new loan is in place. In some cases, a lender may offer an alternative incentive (such as gift cards for selected retailers or the waiver of certain upfront fees) instead of direct cash.
Importantly, cashback is separate from the loan itself. It does not reduce your loan balance, lower your interest rate or change your repayments. Its purpose is to help offset the upfront costs of refinancing (such as discharge fees, valuations or legal expenses), rather than offer savings.
Because of this, cashback offers should always be assessed alongside the interest rate, ongoing fees and loan features. Eligibility, amounts and conditions vary by lender and individual circumstances.
How refinance cashback deals work (and the conditions to check)
Refinance cashback deals can look straightforward, but the value often comes down to the fine print. Understanding how they work and the conditions attached is key to judging whether a cashback offer actually leaves you better off.
How does a cashback refinance typically work?
A refinance cashback is a one-off payment offered by a lender if you switch your home loan to them and meet their eligibility criteria. The cashback is usually paid after settlement, once the new loan is active. The purpose is to help offset refinancing costs such as discharge fees, valuations or legal expenses. However, what it doesn’t do is reduce your loan balance or lower your interest rate.
It’s a separate incentive, not an ongoing savings. That’s why it’s important to assess the entire loan package, not just the upfront cash.
At present, only a small number of lenders offer refinance cashback deals, and amounts are generally lower than in previous years. Typical offers may sit around $1,500 to $2,000, subject to conditions such as higher minimum loan sizes, restrictions on borrower type (including some investor loans), and limits based on loan-to-value ratio (LVR), property type or location.
Eligibility and terms vary by lender and personal circumstances.
Example: How much cashback you might get
For example, you refinance a $500,000 home loan, and you receive a $2,000 cashback. The new loan’s interest rate is 0.25% higher than a comparable non-cashback option. Over a 25-year loan term, that higher rate could add thousands more in extra interest.
In this case, the short-term cashback is outweighed by the long-term cost. This is a common trade-off. Cashback is immediate and visible, while interest costs accumulate quietly over time.
Common eligibility requirements
Cashback offers are rarely open-ended. Common conditions may include:
Minimum loan amounts, often $250,000 to $500,000 or more
Owner-occupier and investor restrictions
Maximum LVR limits
Minimum loan periods before refinancing again (often 12–24 months)
Clawback clauses requiring repayment of the cashback if you refinance too soon
These conditions directly impact whether a deal provides real value or simply short-term relief.
Cashback deals aren’t automatically good or bad; they’re just one factor in a refinance decision. What matters most is whether the loan suits your circumstances, keeps interest rates and fees competitive, and leaves you better off over time, not just at settlement.
Why do lenders offer cashback deals?
Lenders use cashback deals as a way to attract new customers in a competitive home loan market, particularly when differences in interest rates and features between lenders are relatively small.
From a lender’s perspective, a one-off cashback can be a targeted, upfront cost that encourages borrowers to refinance, without reducing interest rates across their entire loan book. It’s a short-term incentive rather than a long-term pricing change.
For borrowers, this can create opportunities, but also trade-offs. A cashback offer may help reduce refinancing costs upfront, but it can sometimes be paired with higher interest rates, stricter conditions or clawback periods that affect the overall cost of the loan over time.
Understanding why the incentive is being offered, and how it fits into the broader loan structure, is key to deciding whether it’s worth taking.
Are refinance cashback offers still available?
Refinance cashback offers haven’t disappeared, but they’re no longer a standard feature of the home loan market. In earlier years, many lenders used cashback incentives to drive refinancing activity. Upfront payments (often in the $1,500 to $4,000 range) were common, helping borrowers offset switching costs and encouraging quick lender changes.
As we approached mid 2023, that approach largely fell away. Most lenders now compete on the fundamentals that affect long-term cost, including interest rates, ongoing fees, and loan features such as offset accounts and repayment flexibility.
As a result, cashback is now an exception rather than the rule.
When refinance cashback offers do appear now, they’re usually more tightly structured than in the past. Common features include lower cashback amounts (often around $1,500–$2,000), stricter eligibility criteria (such as higher minimum loan sizes), exclusions for some borrowers (including certain investor loans or higher loan-to-value ratios), and clawback periods (where the cashback must be repaid if you refinance again within a set timeframe).
These details matter because they determine whether the incentive delivers genuine value or simply offsets costs in the short term.
If you’re considering a refinance cashback offer in 2026, it’s worth pausing before making a decision. An upfront payment can help with immediate costs, but it doesn’t automatically mean the loan is cheaper overall. The more important question is whether the loan proves worthwhile over time, once interest rates, fees, and conditions are taken into account.
The pros and cons of cashback home loans
Cashback home loans can look appealing, particularly when refinance costs are at the forefront of mind. But like any incentive, they involve trade-offs. The key is weighing the short-term benefit against the long-term cost of the loan.
Here’s a table summarising the key pros and cons of cashback home loans to help you weigh the upfront benefit against the long-term cost.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
One-off cash payment after settlement | Often paired with higher interest rates |
Can help offset refinance costs | Cashback doesn’t reduce your loan balance |
Useful for short-term cash flow | Benefit may be outweighed by interest |
Easy to understand upfront | Clawback clauses commonly apply |
Can work if the loan is still competitive | Limited availability and stricter criteria |
For some borrowers, cashback can play a practical supporting role when refinancing.
Common benefits include:
It helps offset upfront refinance costs, such as discharge fees, valuations or legal expenses.
It supports short-term cash flow, especially if switching costs would otherwise need to come from savings.
It’s simple to understand, with a fixed dollar amount paid after settlement if eligibility criteria are met.
It can make sense if you’re refinancing anyway, provided the new loan remains competitive on rate, fees and features.
Used carefully, cashback can reduce friction when changing lenders, but it generally works best as a secondary benefit, not the primary reason to refinance.
Borrowers can also run into trouble when the cashback becomes the focus, rather than the overall loan cost. Potential drawbacks include:
Higher interest rates compared to non-cashback loans, which can outweigh the upfront payment over time.
A one-off benefit only, with no ongoing impact on repayments once the cashback is spent.
Clawback clauses requiring the cashback to be repaid if you refinance again within a set period (often 12–24 months).
Tighter eligibility criteria, including minimum loan sizes, LVR limits or restrictions for investors.
Reduced flexibility, as refinancing again too soon may trigger repayment of the incentive.
Even a small difference in interest rate can add up to thousands of dollars over the life of a loan, diminishing the value of the cashback.
The real question isn’t whether cashback is good or bad; it’s whether the loan works for you over time. Interest rates, ongoing fees and loan features have a much bigger impact on what you pay in the long run than a one-off incentive.
That’s why many borrowers choose to sense-check cashback deals before committing.
Cashback vs long-term savings
Cashback feels immediate. Long-term savings don’t. That difference in visibility is why the two are often weighed unevenly, even though one usually has a much bigger impact on what you actually pay.
Why upfront cashback can be misleading
A cashback payment is received once, shortly after settlement. After that, it’s finished. Your interest rate, fees and loan structure, on the other hand, continue to affect your repayments every month, for years.
That’s where the real cost (or saving) sits. As a general guide:
Even a 0.2% difference in interest rate can outweigh a $2,000 cashback within roughly two years, depending on your loan size and balance
Over the life of a loan, that gap can grow significantly
So while cashback is tangible upfront, it can be quickly overtaken by higher ongoing costs.
A practical way to think about total loan cost
When comparing refinance options, it helps to step back from incentives and focus on the factors that compound over time:
Interest rate: The biggest driver of total loan cost
Ongoing fees: Annual and monthly charges that quietly add up
Loan features: Such as offset accounts or redraw, which can reduce interest if used effectively
How long you plan to keep the loan: Short timeframes increase risk, longer timeframes magnify small differences
Cashback sits outside this equation. It doesn’t reduce your loan balance, and it doesn’t lower the interest charged.
Where borrowers are often caught out
Many refinancers compare loans like this:
Loan A: Slightly higher interest rate + $2,000 cashback
Loan B: Lower interest rate, no cashback
The cashback can tip the decision, even when Loan B would cost thousands of dollars less over time.
That’s why experienced borrowers tend to ask a different question: Which loan costs me less overall if I keep it for several years?
An Aussie Broker looks beyond headline rates and incentives to assess the full cost of a refinance, including your current loan and remaining balance, how long you’re likely to hold the new loan, which features will be used, and the true cost difference over time, not just at settlement.
That way, you can make a decision based on long-term savings rather than short-term incentives and move forward knowing the numbers genuinely stack up for your circumstances.
What to ask your broker before accepting a cashback offer
Before saying yes to a cashback deal, it’s worth slowing the process down and asking a few direct questions. A good broker won’t rush this conversation; they’ll help you test whether the deal genuinely works for you, not just at settlement, but over time.
Does this loan cost more than other options?
Cashback doesn’t come for free; it’s often funded elsewhere in the loan. Ask your broker to show you:
How the interest rate compares with similar non-cashback loans
Whether there are higher ongoing fees or package costs
What the total cost difference looks like over several years, not just the first year
Even a slightly higher rate or fee can erode the cashback’s value faster than many borrowers expect.
Will I still be better off after two years?
Two years is a useful checkpoint because interest rate differences begin to compound, and many cashback clawback periods sit around 12–24 months. Ask your broker to model:
Your current loan versus the cashback option
A cashback loan versus a comparable non-cashback loan
What you’re likely to have paid in interest and fees after 24 months
If the cashback has already been overtaken by higher costs, that’s an important signal.
What happens if I refinance again or change the loan?
Most cashback offers come with clawback conditions, so it’s important to clarify:
How long you must stay in the Loan to keep the cashback
Whether full or partial repayment applies if you refinance early
How changes such as selling, fixing your rate or restructuring the loan are treated
If your plans aren’t settled, flexibility can be more valuable than a one-off payment.
Cashback deals aren’t inherently bad, but they’re rarely simple. Taking the time to work through these questions helps you assess whether a cashback offer delivers genuine value for your circumstances, or whether another loan option may result in lower costs over time.
When a cashback offer might be worth it
A cashback offer can make sense in specific situations, but usually only when it supports a refinance you would consider regardless. The key test is whether the numbers still stack up once the cashback is spent. A cashback deal may be worth considering if:
You’re refinancing from a much higher interest rate.
If your current rate is well above what’s available in the market, you may still be better off overall, even if the new loan isn’t the absolute lowest rate available. In this case, the cashback sits on top of genuine long-term savings rather than replacing them.
You plan to use the cashback to cover upfront refinance costs.
Using cashback to pay for valuation fees, discharge costs, or legal expenses can reduce the out-of-pocket cost of switching lenders. This can help if cash flow is tight, provided the new loan remains competitive on interest rate and fees.
The new loan stands up on its own merits.
Cashback works best when the loan also offers features that support long-term savings, such as an offset account, redraw or flexible repayments without higher ongoing fees. Features that help reduce interest over time often matter more than the upfront incentive.
In many cases, cashback can distract from costs that have a bigger impact over time.
It’s often not worth it if:
You’re moving to a higher interest rate purely for the cashback. Even a small rate increase can outweigh a one-off payment within a few years, leaving you worse off overall.
You’re likely to refinance again in the near future. Most cashback offers include clawback conditions, meaning the incentive must be repaid if you refinance again within a set period (commonly 12–24 months). If your plans aren’t settled, the benefit may disappear.
You don’t clearly meet the eligibility criteria. Cashback offers often come with minimum loan sizes, LVR limits or borrower exclusions. If you only just qualify (or don’t qualify at all), the deal may not be available or may come with less favourable terms.
A cashback offer should rarely be the reason you refinance. At best, it’s a supporting benefit, not the main event. What matters most is whether the new loan improves your position over time.
When to avoid cashback refinances
Cashback offers can be eye-catching, but in many cases, they add noise rather than value. For most borrowers in 2025, avoiding cashback altogether can be the more financially sound decision. It’s generally worth steering clear of cashback refinances if:
The cashback is the main reason you’re refinancing. If the deal only looks appealing because of the upfront payment, that’s a warning sign. A refinance should improve your loan over time through lower interest, better features or reduced fees, not rely on a short-term cash incentive.
The interest rate or fees are higher than those of comparable loans. Some cashback loans are priced above similar non-cashback options. Even a small difference in interest rate or ongoing fees can outweigh a one-off payment within a few years, leaving you worse off overall.
You value flexibility in the near future. Most cashback offers include clawback clauses, requiring you to repay the cashback if you refinance, sell or exit the loan within a set period (often 12–24 months). If you expect changes (such as upgrading, moving or restructuring your loans), that risk matters.
You’re stretching to meet eligibility criteria. Minimum loan sizes, LVR caps and borrower exclusions are common. If you only just qualify, the loan may come with compromises elsewhere, such as fewer features, tighter conditions or higher ongoing costs.
So, why does long-term value matter more than cashback?
Cashback is immediate and tangible, while interest costs build quietly in the background. Over time, it’s the interest rate, ongoing fees and loan features that determine what you actually pay.
For many borrowers, a sharper rate or a well-structured offset account can deliver significantly more value over the life of the loan than a one-off payment ever could. That’s why focusing on long-term cost, rather than upfront incentives, is often the safer approach.
Alternatives to cashback incentives
Cashback offers may be less common now, but that doesn’t mean refinancing opportunities have disappeared. In many cases, borrowers can reduce their loan costs more effectively by focusing on changes that deliver ongoing savings, not just a one-off incentive.
Below are alternatives that often stack up better over time.
Negotiating a lower rate with your current lender
Refinancing doesn’t always mean switching lenders. If you have a solid repayment history, your current lender may be willing to reduce your interest rate, waive or lower certain fees, or move you to a more competitive product to retain your business.
This approach can improve your loan without discharge costs, application fees or resetting features you already rely on.
You might also be interested in: How can I negotiate with my lender to get a better rate?
Switching to a lower-fee loan product
Some cashback deals sit on higher-fee loans. An alternative is refinancing to a low-fee or no-frills product with a competitive rate and fewer ongoing costs.
This can work well if you don’t need premium features, your priority is minimising interest and fees over time, or you plan to hold the loan for several years. Lower fees may not grab attention like cashback, but they can quietly save thousands of dollars over the life of a loan.
Using loan features to reduce interest over time
Rather than chasing cashback, many borrowers lower their loan costs by making better use of available features. Common options include offset accounts (which reduce the balance interest is calculated on) and redraw facilities (which allow you to access extra repayments while still lowering interest).
Used properly, these features can deliver ongoing interest savings that often exceed the value of a one-off cashback payment.
Cashback is just one lever and often not the most effective one. Interest rates, ongoing fees and how well you use loan features typically have a far greater impact on what you pay over time. That’s why many borrowers focus less on incentives and more on total loan cost.
You might also be interested in: What home loan features can you add to your mortgage?
FAQs about refinance cashback offers
These are some of the most common questions borrowers ask when deciding whether a refinance cashback offer is worth considering. The answers depend on your loan, your plans and the details in the fine print; there’s rarely a one-size-fits-all response.
What is a refinance cashback offer?
A refinance cashback offer is a one-off payment some lenders provide when you switch your home loan to them and meet their eligibility criteria.
The cashback is usually paid after settlement and is intended to help offset refinancing costs such as discharge fees, valuations or legal expenses. It does not reduce your loan balance, lower your interest rate or change your repayments.
Eligibility, amounts and conditions vary by lender and borrower circumstances.
Are cashback home loans still available in 2026?
A small number of lenders may still offer cashback incentives in 2026, but they’re far less common than they were a few years ago. Where cashback is available, it’s typically offered at a lower amount than in the past, subject to stricter eligibility criteria, or paired with tighter conditions (such as minimum loan sizes or clawback periods). Most lenders now compete more on interest rates, ongoing fees and loan features rather than upfront incentives.
Is it worth refinancing just for the cashback?
In most cases, cashback alone isn’t a strong reason to refinance. A cashback offer may be worth considering if you’re moving from a clearly uncompetitive interest rate, the new loan remains competitive on interest rate and fees, or the cashback helps cover genuine refinance costs.
What matters most is the total cost of the loan over time. Even a small difference in interest rate can outweigh a cashback payment within a few years.
What are the downsides of cashback deals?
Common drawbacks to be aware of include higher interest rates compared with similar non-cashback loans, a one-off benefit with no ongoing savings, clawback conditions if you refinance again within a set period, or limited availability for certain borrower types or loan structures.
These trade-offs are why cashback offers need to be assessed carefully, not taken at face value.
Can investors or refinancers still get cashback?
It depends on the lender and your circumstances. Some cashback offers are limited to owner-occupiers, excluded for investment loans, and subject to LVR caps or minimum loan amounts.
Eligibility can also change without notice. An Aussie Broker can check which lenders, if any, currently offer cashback for your situation and compare those options with non-cashback loans to help you assess the full picture.
Cashback offers come and go, but the cost of your loan remains. Looking at rates, fees, features and likely timeframes together can help you decide whether a cashback deal delivers real value, or whether another option is likely to leave you better off over time.
Refinance cashback deals: What really matters over time
Refinance cashback deals can look appealing, but they’re rarely the most important factor in a refinancing decision. What ultimately determines whether you’re better off is the total cost of the loan over time, including interest rates, ongoing fees, features and how long you plan to keep it.
In some cases, cashback may help reduce upfront costs when refinancing already makes sense. In others, it can mask higher rates or restrictions that leave borrowers worse off in the long run. That’s why cashback is best treated as a secondary benefit, not the reason to switch.
If you’re considering refinancing in 2026 or beyond, a broker can help you compare cashback and non-cashback options side by side, check eligibility and model the long-term impact so you can make a decision based on outcomes, not incentives.
Book a free^ chat with an Aussie Broker to sense-check your options and understand what refinancing could look like for your situation.
