Frequently asked questions

Principal and Interest loan repayments are calculated so that you pay back all of the money you borrowed (principal) and all of the interest that will be charged over the term of your loan. When the term ends (usually 30 years), you will end up with a nil balance on your loan.

An Interest Only loan allows you to pay only the interest on the loan, rather than paying back both principal and interest. At the end of the interest only period (usually five years), you will still owe the full amount you originally borrowed if you haven’t made voluntary repayments. The advantage with the interest only feature is that the loan repayments are lower during this period, however unless you have made voluntary repayments of principal, you will have higher repayments for the remaining term of the loan to ensure that you will end up with a nil balance at the end of your loan.

A comparison rate is a calculation required by to give consumers an idea of the actual cost of the loan, as it includes the interest rate and the standard fees applicable to that loan. It aims to avoid consumers being misled by lenders advertising a lower interest rate, but charging high fees to compensate for the low rate. The comparison rate will not however take into account all fees which may be applicable to a loan but is intended to provides a basis for comparison of the overall cost of a loan and not just the interest rate.

A redraw facility is a facility where you can withdraw money from your loan account if you have made extra repayments to your home loan. The benefit of having a redraw facility is that the additional repayments can reduce the interest you pay, but you can withdraw them easily when you need them.

Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) is insurance that protects the lender in the event the borrower defaults and the security property is sold and the funds from the proceeds of the sale are not enough to discharge the loan. The LMI then pays the Lender the shortfall.  The rights to recover the shortfall from all of the parties on the loan (borrowers) are then transferred across to the LMI who will pursue the shortfall. The cost of LMI insurance is a one off payment at the start of the loan and should not be confused with Building Insurance or Income Protection Insurance. It can be added to the loan amount.

A Lenders Protection Fee (LPF) is a one-off, upfront fee that Homestar typically charges if you borrow more than 80% of the property’s value. Charged by Homestar instead of Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), the Lenders Protection Fee helps protect Homestar where a borrower has less than 20% equity in the property. It is calculated as a percentage of your loan amount and paid by you as a separate fee when your loan settles. The LPF is not added to your loan balance, does not form part of your repayments and is non-refundable if your loan is refinanced, repaid early or discharged. To find out more, view our Lenders Protection Fee explainer.

Lender Paid LMI is a unique Homestar offering available on some home loans above 80% LVR. With many lenders, the customer pays the cost of LMI separately, either upfront or by adding it to the loan balance. With Lender Paid LMI, Homestar pays the LMI instead and offers the customer a loan product, interest rate and repayment that reflect this arrangement.

You should make sure you have enough saved to cover the stamp duty, registration, insurance and legal costs that are associated with any loan that you take out, irrespective of the lender. As a guide you will generally need to have at least 10% of the value of the property available to cover these costs. If you need to borrow more than 80% of the value of your property, you may also need to save more to pay for Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

Your repayments take into account the annual interest rate, loan term, repayment frequency, loan amount and whether you wish to pay all of the principal back (Principal and Interest) or just the interest (Interest Only).

Interest is calculated on the daily outstanding balance of your loan and charged to your loan account monthly. You can reduce the interest you will pay on your loan by making extra repayments or if you have an offset facility, by depositing additional funds into your offset facility to reduce your daily balance. You may be able to withdraw these funds when you need them depending how you have set up your Homestar home loan.

Yes, you can make extra repayments either by increasing your direct debit repayment, your salary credit amount or one-off amounts, via internet. We do not charge you for making extra payments on a variable rate account. Fixed rate, however, has a maximum repayment amount of $20,000 per year and if you exceed this we may charge break fees.

Our fees are specific to each product and can be found on the applicable fact sheet. There are some costs that will apply to all our products like government fees and legal disbursements.

In general, we do not offer face-to-face appointments because this would significantly add to the cost of providing you with your loan. We would need to pass this cost on to you in the form of higher interest rates or fees – which we really do not want to do! Our Lending Specialists use great loan processing technology so that we can do all the things that you would typically expect in a face-to-face loan application process by phone- and we can do it in a fraction of the time that a face-to- face meeting would take.

A property valuation is a professional assessment of how much a property is worth. Similar to all lenders, Homestar requires a valuation of any property that is being offered as security for a Homestar loan as part of our lending process.

You should get conditional approval if all the information you have provided to us is correct and verified, and the relevant lending criteria has been met. This includes checking your credit history, financial obligations and whether your income is enough to service this loan Conditional approval does not allow you to borrow immediately so please do not rely on this to exchange contracts on the purchase of property or enter into any legal agreements.

We hire an external valuer who will inspect the property. They will consider all the factors that affect the value to produce a professional property report and valuation for Homestar.

Depending on your circumstances and where your property is located, you may have to pay stamp duty on your property purchase. Stamp duty payments are based on the value of the property you purchase. Check your state government’s revenue office website to work out how much you may have to pay in stamp duty.

If you have found a property, it is a good idea to ask a lawyer or conveyancer to look over the proposed ‘Contract of Sale’ before you sign it. You will also need a lawyer or conveyancer to assist you with the settlement process and the exchange of title documents if you are purchasing a property.

The HomeStar digital wallet for Apple was implemented on 15th of February 2022. Due to industry regulations the launch off our Homestar Card in the Samsung, Google, Fitbit and Garmin wallets happened on 15th of March 2022.

Opening your smart device wallet app, simply select the Add new card function. Take a photo of your Homestar Visa Debit card and confirm your private details.

Adding your Homestar Visa Debit card onto your digital wallet app is protected with the same technology and safeguards that purchases you make using your hard plastic. The card limits for Tap and Pay are the same on both versions of your card. Your digital wallet is protected by the passcode requirements you have set on your device.

You can use your Homestar Visa Debit card in the same way you use your Physical visa debit card. With the exception of cash withdrawal at an ATM. Both versions of your card use the same PIN which can be set and updated through your Mobile Banking application.

Unfortunately, our legacy product is not eligible for digital wallets. We are always working to make our products better. If you have our original Homestar Visa Debit product we will be in contact with you in April/May 2022 to provide you with your new card. You may have already received the communication from us about this. You can find it in your email, and on your account online portal. If you have not received this communication. Please provide me with your email address so that I can update our records and keep you across all of the exciting things going on at HomeStar.

That is absolutely fine! Your physical Homestar Visa Debit card will not be impacted by your decision not to add it into your digital wallet.

If you are unable to locate your device, you can call us on 1300 462 209 and request we remove your digital wallet token. This phone call will cancel the ability to use your digital wallet card – but will not impact your physical visa card.

For your security if you are unable to locate your physical Homestar Visa Debit card, when you call us to request a new card, your digital wallet visa card will also be terminated. This is to ensure that your visa card cannot be used if it is in the hands of someone else.

Yes you can! If your physical card is damaged and needs to be replaced, when you call us to order a replacement card. Simply tell us your card is damaged. This will ensure that your existing digital wallet visa will remain active and you will still have access to your funds as you need them.

The offset facility is linked to your home loan and any funds you hold in your offset facility will be offset against the daily interest rate calculation. It is an effective way of lowering the balance of your mortgage while having access to those funds when and as required. Your Visa Debit card can be used to access these funds.

The Homestar Finance VISA debit card is a convenient way to access your offset facility linked to your Homestar home loan. The VISA debit card allows you instant access to funds in your linked account and can be used anywhere VISA is accepted.

As the name suggests, it is a super fund, but unlike your traditional super fund, this one puts you in the driver’s seat. It will allow you to have up to 6 members, and all 6 members have control over how the funds are invested.

You can invest in new or established residential real estate. The property must be completed, no construction is available under this product.

Once you have your SMSF set up the home loan is easy, the process does not differ greatly from a standard home loan. Once approved and settled you will have easy to use online access to check balances, transfer extra funds into and out of your offset facility etc. We also have a dedicated customer service team to also help you out. (and they answer the phone quickly)

Everyone’s circumstances are different so it is best to consult with a home loan specialist to answer this question, but we do offer loans up to a maximum of $2,500,000 and a 80% LVR, but your loan specialist will guide you on interest rates and LVR’s.

Unfortunately, we cannot offer construction loans under the Star Blue SMSF loan, nor can you invest in vacant land. The loan must be on an established dwelling that is producing income so you also can not live in the property.

Yes that’s fine, we will just need a letter from your accountant advising what the ongoing costs of the SMSF will be.

If you are making a purchase using your SMSF fund then the you need to ensure that the Bare Trust is noted as the purchaser.

We participate in the Consumer Data Right ecosystem as a data holder. This means we make eligible customer data available to accredited data recipients when customers have provided the required consent and authorisation.

No. Participation in Open Banking is completely voluntary. You decide whether to share your data, who you share it with, and for how long you want the sharing arrangement to remain active.

Eligibility depends on the account type, customer relationship, and data holder. Customers with eligible accounts and products covered by the CDR framework may participate.

You can share your data only with accredited data recipients (ADRs) that have been accredited by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), or with parties operating under the CDR framework.

The data available for sharing may include:

• Account information
• Product information
• Account balances
• Transaction information
• Loan account information
• Repayment information

The exact data available will depend on the product type and applicable CDR requirements.

Yes. We will only share eligible data when a valid customer consent and authorisation have been provided in accordance with Consumer Data Right requirements.

Reasons include:

• The account is not eligible for Open Banking.
• The account is not supported under the current implementation.
• Required borrower approvals have not been completed.
• A technical issue is preventing account retrieval.

You may be unable to share data because:

• Your account is not eligible for data sharing.
• The account is not currently supported.
• Additional authorisations are required.
• There is a temporary technical issue affecting the service.

Your data will only be shared for the period covered by your consent. Once the consent expires or is withdrawn, we will stop sharing your data unless otherwise required by law.

You can manage and view your data-sharing consents through the online dashboard, accessible using your Internet Banking credentials. The dashboard enables you to:

• View Data Sharing Arrangements and amendment history.
• Revoke Data Sharing Arrangements.
• Update CDR notification preferences.
• Add and remove Secondary User Instructions.
• Manage the Disclosure Options for your Joint Accounts.

Yes. You can withdraw your consent at any time through the accredited data recipient or through the online customer dashboard available to you. Once withdrawn, data sharing will cease in accordance with CDR requirements.

When your consent expires, we will stop sharing your data with the accredited data recipient unless a new consent and authorisation are established.

Only Joint Account Customers may receive notifications regarding:

• New authorisations
• Data sharing arrangements
• Changes to existing authorisations
• Consent expiry
• Consent withdrawal

Notifications will be provided in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.

Joint account and joint borrower data sharing is subject to Consumer Data Right requirements and any approvals that may be required from other account holders.

If you believe data sharing was not authorised:

• Review the account’s data-sharing status.
• Contact us immediately.
• Contact the accredited data recipient if necessary.
• Submit a complaint if you believe the data sharing is unauthorised.

Reasons include:

• Required approvals from joint borrowers have not been completed.
• The account is not eligible for sharing.
• Joint account data sharing has been restricted or disabled.
• Technical issues are affecting the sharing arrangement.

The account is ineligible.

Yes. Open Banking uses secure application programming interfaces (APIs), strong authentication controls, and strict regulatory protections to help safeguard customer information. Customers do not need to share internet banking passwords with accredited recipients.

No. Open Banking does not require you to share internet banking credentials with accredited data recipients. Authentication occurs directly through the data holder’s secure channels.

Only accredited data recipients and authorised parties operating within the Consumer Data Right framework can receive your data, and only where you have provided the required consent and authorisation.

We apply all security, privacy, governance, and operational controls required under the Consumer Data Right framework to protect customer data from unauthorised access, disclosure, misuse, interference, or loss.

Only if they are acting through an accredited data recipient and you have provided the necessary consent and authorisation under the Consumer Data Right framework.

Yes. You should be able to view active consents and data-sharing arrangements through the online dashboard and any consent management services made available under the CDR framework. The online dashboard is accessible using your Internet Banking credentials.

You can manage your consent through the customer dashboard. Available management options may include reviewing, amending, or withdrawing consent.

Once a consent is withdrawn:

• Future data sharing will stop.
• The accredited recipient will no longer receive updated data.
• Existing obligations regarding previously shared data will continue to apply in accordance with CDR requirements.

Try the following:

• Refresh the page and try again.
• Log out and log back in.
• Use a different browser or device.
• Try again later.
• Contact support if the problem continues.

If you continue to experience issues:

• Verify your account is eligible.
• Ensure all required authorisations have been completed.
• Check for any system outage notifications.
• Contact support for assistance.

You should contact us as soon as possible. We will investigate the matter in accordance with our obligations under the Consumer Data Right framework and our complaints management process.

You can lodge a complaint with us using our complaints process. We will investigate your complaint and respond in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.

If you require assistance with Open Banking or Consumer Data Right data sharing, please contact us through the customer support channels published on our website.

Our Consumer Data Right Policy can be found in the footer of our website and explains:

• The types of data that may be shared
• How data sharing works
• Privacy protections
• Complaint handling procedures
• Your rights under the Consumer Data Right framework