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From AI-powered workflows and automated client communications to financial education platforms and proactive portfolio reviews, finalists are finding new ways to make lending more accessible, transparent, and client-focused.
Ahead of the awards, Broker Daily caught up with several finalists to discuss the innovations driving their businesses and the impact those initiatives are having on borrowers.
Roshan Bhattarai, broker and partner at Derwent Finance (First Home Buyer and Metro Broker finalist)
For Roshan Bhattarai, innovation has come through refining the customer experience rather than reinventing the mortgage process. The Derwent Finance partner has focused on using technology, automation, and education to improve communication, transparency, and efficiency for borrowers.
“As my business has grown, I have carefully reviewed each stage of the customer journey to identify opportunities to improve communication, efficiency, and transparency through technology and automation,” Bhattarai said.
“By integrating digital fact finds, secure document collection, CRM systems, workflow automation, AI tools, and structured milestone-based communications, customers remain informed and supported throughout the entire lending process.
“I am also proud of stepping outside my comfort zone and creating educational content on social media.
“These improvements have made the lending process simpler, faster, and more transparent for our customers.
“Clients now receive regular updates, clear expectations, educational support, and greater visibility throughout their lending journey. This helps reduce uncertainty and gives customers confidence that their application is progressing as expected.”
Bhattarai said that the starting point for innovation was hearing customers express concern around not knowing where in the process their application was, as well as pressures on his own time.
“Rather than accepting these challenges as part of the industry, I viewed them as opportunities for improvement. I mapped the customer journey from initial inquiry through to settlement and identified areas where technology, automation, and better communication could improve both efficiency and the customer experience,” Bhattarai said.
“This led me to refine workflow stages within our CRM platform, implement automated milestone-based communications, adopt technology that streamlined document collection and assessment processes, and create educational content that helped customers understand the lending process earlier.”
Louise Best, broker at My Finance Network (New Broker finalist)
As a newcomer to the broking industry, Louise Best has focused on simplifying lending through clear communication and client education. Her approach centres on helping borrowers better understand their options and feel more confident throughout the finance process.
“I’m most proud of the way I’ve used education and communication to simplify the lending process for my clients,” Best said.
“Whether it’s through social media, personalised lending strategies or breaking down complex policies into plain English, my goal has always been to make finance feel less intimidating and more accessible.
“Being new to the industry gave me a fresh perspective. Instead of accepting things because ’that’s how they’ve always been done’, I focused on what would make the process easier, clearer and more valuable for the client.
“The biggest change has been client confidence. When people understand their options and the reasons behind my recommendations, they’re able to make informed decisions and feel far less stressed throughout the process.”
Renae Long, director of FAM Brokers (First Home Buyer Specialist finalist)
Renae Long has broadened the traditional broker–client relationship by combining lending advice with financial education and wellness initiatives. Through technology, workshops, and personalised support, she aims to make finance more accessible and easier to understand.
“I am most proud of transforming FAM Brokers from a traditional finance business into a client-focused financial wellness and education platform,” Long said.
“By integrating AI, financial education, podcasts, workshops, and personalised client support, we have created a more engaging and accessible experience that empowers clients to make informed financial decisions with every client having a structured review of their current finance situation.
“These innovations have streamlined our processes, improved communication, and reduced administrative workloads, allowing our team to focus on delivering personalised advice and support.”
Long added that the changes were driven by her own experiences, seeing people stressed or confused with the process.
“I recognised an opportunity to create a more holistic approach that combines finance, education, technology, and wellbeing. Every innovation has been designed to make finance easier to understand, more accessible, and less overwhelming for clients,” Long said.
Alvie Oliveira, broker and founder of Capta Financial (Regional Broker finalist)
At Capta Financial, Alvie Oliveira has focused on redesigning the client journey to better support migrants, first home buyers, and self-employed borrowers.
“A large part of our client base is made up of migrants, first home buyers and self-employed clients,” Oliveira said.
“Many of our clients are navigating the Australian property and finance system for the first time, often in a second language. We knew we had to make the process clearer, more human and more educational.
“The language, the structure, the assessment process, the documentation and the uncertainty can make the journey feel far more complicated than it needs to be.
“So our focus has been to build a business model that combines education, technology and human support.
“We have invested heavily in educational content, webinars, in-person events, client journey mapping, internal systems, automation and post-approval support. We also use client feedback and NPS surveys to constantly review where the process can be improved.
“Another innovation I am very proud of is how we are using technology to become more proactive with existing clients. We are building systems to review client portfolios more consistently, identify potential equity opportunities, monitor lending opportunities and start meaningful conversations before the client even asks.
“For me, innovation in broking is not about replacing the broker. It is about giving brokers and their teams better tools so they can deliver a more personal, consistent and valuable experience.”
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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