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The Key Facts Sheet, box by box
A Key Facts Sheet is a short, standard summary of one home loan, worked out for the amount and term you give, in a layout set by regulation. Moneysmart calls it compulsory, with the same layout for every home loan across every lender, so that two sheets can be compared like for like.
Check the part number
Which loans have one
The duty covers a “standard home loan”: a standard form of credit contract under which a licensee provides credit to buy residential property, or to refinance credit that was provided wholly or mainly to buy residential property.
The regulations narrow that to two types. A variable rate home loan, where “the interest rate on the entire loan balance may vary at the lender’s discretion”, and a fixed rate home loan, where “the interest rate on the entire loan balance is fixed for the whole or part of the loan”. In both, the contract must oblige the borrower to make repayments that repay principal and interest for the full term.
Assembly
How a sheet reaches you
- The loan amount and the term you want the sheet worked out for.
- A choice of repayment method, repayment frequency and type of interest rate. Moneysmart lists these three as the decisions to make when asking for a sheet.
- Your name and the contact details the regulations require, if you ask the lender directly.
Generate it on the lender’s website
If a lender has a website that can be used to apply for, or ask about, its standard home loans, the site must tell you that you can generate a Key Facts Sheet there, tell you what information to enter, explain how, and then produce a sheet with up-to-date information in a form that can be printed.
Or ask for one
If you ask a lender for a sheet some other way and have given your name and the required contact details, the lender must provide an up-to-date sheet for each loan named in the request. Moneysmart notes that sheets can generally come from a mortgage broker, from the lender directly, or from the lender’s website.
Answer any request for more
If the lender needs more information to prepare the sheet, it must tell you what it needs. If it has told you and the information never arrives, that is a defence for not providing the sheet.
Know when it can be skipped
A lender is also not liable for leaving out a sheet if it already gave you one that would be the same apart from its date, if it reasonably believes someone else did, or if it reasonably believes you would not be eligible for the loan.
The duties to provide a sheet carry a civil penalty of 5,000 penalty units each, as at October 2026.
Exploded view
What each box on the sheet says
| Part | What it shows |
|---|---|
| 1. The top line | The date produced, the lender’s Australian credit licence number, and the words “THIS IS NOT AN OFFER OF CREDIT.” |
| 2. What you have told us | Loan amount, term, interest type, and the lender and product name. |
| 3. Description of this home loan | Repayment method (principal and interest), repayment frequency (worked out on monthly repayments), the interest rate on the date the sheet is produced with any discount and its period, and the personalised comparison rate. |
| 4. Estimated cost | The total amount to be paid back, including the loan amount and fees; that total for every $1 borrowed; establishment fees; ongoing monthly and yearly fees; and the repayment per month and per year including ongoing fees. |
| 5. The small print on fees | Other set-up fees such as valuation fees and lenders mortgage insurance, and government charges such as registration fees and stamp duty, are not included and “will be determined after application”. |
| 6. Rates and repaying faster | For loans it applies to, what happens at the end of a fixed period and how much the monthly repayment would rise if the rate rose by 1% a year; then whether extra repayments are allowed, with a worked line for $200 a month more. |
| 7. Further information | That the sheet is not an offer of credit, that rates and fees are those at the date of production, and that fees depending on events that may not occur, such as late payment fees, are left out. |
Worked example
Reading “for every $1 borrowed”
The sheet works this figure out as the total amount to be paid back divided by the loan amount, shown as dollars for every dollar borrowed. The total itself is the principal plus all the interest and fees certain to be payable over the life of the loan.
| Line | Example figure |
|---|---|
| Loan amount | $400,000 |
| Total amount to be paid back | $820,000 |
| For every $1 borrowed ($820,000 ÷ $400,000) | $2.05 |
Two sheets for the same amount and term can be set side by side on this one line. Moneysmart suggests lining sheets up on what the loan costs over time (the rates, the total repaid and the monthly repayment) and on its fees, both upfront and ongoing.
Not included in the box
What the sheet leaves for you to ask
Moneysmart points out that the sheet does not include every feature or condition, such as fees for extra repayments or for using an offset account or redraw facility, and suggests asking the lender or broker about those before choosing.