The new era of broking: how brokers are innovating in 2026

No brokers reflect this more than this year’s Broker Innovation Awards finalists, demonstrating how new ideas and approaches can drive meaningful change across the profession.

Ahead of the awards, Broker Daily took a closer look at some of the finalists making their mark on the industry.

Reimagining the entry point: Aimee Bergan

Aimee Bergan, director of APC Home Loans and a finalist for First Home Buyer Specialist and New Broker, identified an opportunity to improve the client experience after conducting a broad review of market feedback.

“We identified a common frustration,” she explained.

“Many people felt overwhelmed by the amount of information required before they could speak to a broker. We also found that some clients were uncomfortable being filtered through gatekeepers before having access to a qualified specialist.

“Many first home buyers simply wanted an approachable expert they could talk to without pressure or judgement.”

In response, Bergan introduced a streamlined Discovery Call process, allowing prospective clients to book directly with a broker without needing to provide documents or meet eligibility requirements upfront.

She said the aim was to create a low-pressure environment where prospective buyers could access professional advice earlier in their home ownership journey.

APC Home Loans also expanded its educational content offering and increased the visibility of its brokers online to help make finance more approachable.

“These innovations have significantly improved the client experience. Clients are engaging with us much earlier in their home ownership journey, including many who may still be 12–24 months away from purchasing,” Bergan said.

“This allows us to build long-term relationships, provide guidance over time, and help clients feel confident and informed when they are ready to proceed.”

A system that keeps clients engaged: Paolo Llave

For Paolo Llave, senior finance broker at Berti Financial and a finalist for Specialist Lending Broker, innovation was driven by a desire to better support clients beyond the initial transaction.

“I noticed that clients would often come back years later and say, ‘I wish I had known this earlier,’ whether it was a refinance opportunity, an equity strategy, or a lender policy that could have helped them,” he explained.

“That made me realise there was a huge opportunity to be more proactive.”

Based in Waterloo, Sydney, Llave focused on building systems that improve both the client journey and ongoing engagement.

One initiative involved creating a structured end-to-end process that packages deals before submission, helping reduce delays and streamline the lending experience.

“The goal is to make the process feel seamless for the client, even though there’s a lot happening behind the scenes,” he said.

Beyond settlement, Llave has developed systems that allow him to proactively monitor client loans and identify opportunities as circumstances change.

“Traditionally, brokers help clients when they’re buying a property or refinancing. Once the loan settles, the relationship often goes quiet. I wanted to create something different,” Llave said.

“I’ve built systems that allow me to proactively review my clients’ loans, monitor opportunities, track lender policy changes, and identify ways they can save money or use equity to move towards their next goal.

“I’ve also embraced technology and automation to remove a lot of the friction from the lending process.”

Looking at the bigger picture: Sara Shome

When Sara Shome, broker at Positive Money and a finalist for Metro Broker, approached innovation, she focused more on strategy.

“For me, innovation isn’t about adopting the latest piece of software just for the sake of it. The innovation I’m most proud of is completely shifting our approach from a transactional lending process to a strategy-led experience,” she said.

“Instead of just securing finance for an immediate purchase and moving on, we built a structured process that helps clients see the bigger long term picture. We look at how a decision made today will impact their future borrowing capacity, investment opportunities and long term goals.

“This means every client gets detailed strategy sessions, a personalised roadmap and loan structuring designed around where they want to land, not just where they are right now.”

Shome said the shift was prompted by seeing clients focus on immediate lending needs without understanding the long-term implications of their decisions.

“Honestly, it was driven by noticing a massive gap between what clients thought they needed and what would actually help them long-term,” Shome said.

“Too often, people approach a broker looking for a single transaction. They don’t realise that the way their first or second loan is set up can completely stall their portfolio growth later on.”

Alongside the strategic changes, Shome said Positive Money also refined its internal processes.

“By stripping out unnecessary complexity, simplifying documentation and setting up clear communication touchpoints, we’ve cut down delays and drastically improved turnaround times,” Shome said.

She said the result has been a stronger focus on helping clients understand their long-term objectives.

“Clients leave our sessions with absolute clarity on where they stand, where they’re heading and the exact steps needed to get there. It stops them from making classic, short sighted mistakes that could lock them out of future opportunities,” Shome said.

Celebrating innovation

Winners for the Broker Innovation Awards will be announced at the awards ceremony at Ilumina, Sydney, on Wednesday, 24 June 2026.

The black-tie gala event will showcase the depth of talent of professionals and teams across the nation’s mortgage industry while affirming the sector’s essential role in supporting the expansion of Australia.

Buy tickets for the awards here.

Tickets are still available for the event, as they are for the Business Innovation Summit, two one-day events in Sydney (24 June) and Melbourne (3 July), exploring the cutting edge of tech and how brokers can actually apply it to win. Find out more here.

[Related: AI is racing ahead – are brokerages keeping up?]

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