New business loans

Lenders are cautious with new businesses for a simple reason: they can’t see a track record yet. A business that has traded for two years has shown it can find customers, pay suppliers and handle repayments. A business that opened last month hasn’t had the chance. That doesn’t make new business lending impossible, but it does change which doors are open.

The honest picture is this. Unsecured lending in the first six months is rare. Lending backed by property, or by the asset you’re buying, is very much possible.

What lenders look at when there’s no history

Without bank statements to lean on, a lender looks for other reassurance:

What they check	Why it matters
Property you own	Security if the business struggles
Your experience in the industry	Shows you know how the work runs
Your own contribution	Shows commitment and shares the risk
A short, realistic plan	Shows where repayments will come from
Your personal credit file	Shows how you’ve handled debt before
Contracts or confirmed customers	Evidence of income on the way

An electrician who worked for someone else for twelve years and has just taken out their own ABN is assessed very differently from someone opening their first café with no hospitality background. Experience counts.

Options that tend to work early

Property-backed loans. If you own a home or investment property with some equity, a second mortgage or no doc loan can fund a new business from day one. The lender’s focus is the property and your plan to repay, not your trading history.

Asset and vehicle finance. When you’re buying a ute, a van, a coffee machine or a piece of equipment, the item itself can secure the loan. Many asset financiers will lend to new ABNs, especially where you’re putting in a deposit.

Buying an established business. If you’re buying rather than starting, the business you’re buying has its own history. Lenders can look at its financials, which opens up far more options. The government’s guide to buying an existing business is a good starting point.

What tends not to work

• A large unsecured loan in your first few months.
• Lenders that require two years of tax returns.
• Applying to several lenders at once in the hope one says yes. Multiple credit checks in a short time can count against you.

The six-month milestone

For many lenders, six months of trading under your ABN is where things change. By then your business account shows a pattern: who pays you, how often and how much. That’s when bank statement loans and small unsecured loans start to become realistic. If you can wait until then, you’ll usually have more choice.

An illustrative example

A Darwin couple open a mobile coffee van after years working in cafés. They own their home with good equity and want $60,000 for the van, fit-out and first months of stock. With no trading history, unsecured lenders aren’t interested. A lender instead offers a loan secured against their home, assessed on their equity, their hospitality experience and a simple twelve-month plan. Illustrative only.

Making your first months count

Even if you don’t need a loan yet, the habits you form now will shape your options later:

1. Open a dedicated business account from day one and run everything through it.
2. Register for GST if you need to, and lodge every BAS on time.
3. Keep invoices and receipts organised so your first return is quick to prepare.
4. Avoid using personal credit cards for business costs if you can.

Our guide to separating business and personal banking has a simple setup that works for new ABNs.

Your personal credit file matters more now

With no business history, the lender leans harder on your own. Check your credit file before you apply through one of the free credit reporting services, and correct anything that’s wrong. Pay down personal credit cards where you can, and avoid new personal borrowing in the months before you apply. A clean personal file won’t replace trading history, but a messy one can close doors that would otherwise be open.

Grants and support

Before you borrow, check whether any grants, rebates or programs apply to your industry or location. They change regularly, so search the current list at business.gov.au rather than relying on what a friend got a few years ago. Borrowing on top of a grant can work well, but money you don’t have to repay is always worth checking first.

Tell us where you’re starting from

Let us know how long you’ve been trading, what you did before, whether you own property and what you need. There’s no credit check to make an enquiry, we won’t scatter your details across lenders, and one real person reviews it and calls you. Be upfront about how new the business is so we only approach lenders who lend at your stage. Start your enquiry here.