What Documents Are Required for Equipment Finance?

This is one of the questions Australian borrowers ask us most, and the honest answer is that it depends on a small number of measurable factors rather than a single rule. Equipment finance is secured lending, so the asset, the applicant and the paperwork each move the outcome.

For Australian businesses, lenders start with the basics: how long the ABN has been active and GST registered, the credit files of the directors, whether they own property, existing finance commitments, and recent bank conduct. They then look at the business equipment being funded — its age, condition, make and model, and how readily it could be resold. Mainstream assets bought through a licensed dealer are treated more generously than private sales or specialised, low-volume equipment.

In practice, established property-backed applicants can usually be approved at low doc level with no financials, no deposit and a same-day or next-day answer, up to limits that commonly sit between $150,000 and $500,000 per asset. Beyond those limits, or where credit or trading history is thinner, expect to provide financials, BAS or bank statements, and to contribute a deposit of 10–20 per cent. Rates move with the asset age, the term and the strength of the applicant, and a balloon payment can lower the monthly figure at the cost of more total interest.

A Lonix broker will tell you where you sit before an application touches your credit file, and place it with the lender most likely to approve it on the terms you want.