Geographic scorecards: Different states lead in turnaround times, advocacy and overall broker satisfaction

Residential mortgage performance varies meaningfully by state. Using the latest Broker Pulse geographic scorecard, this report compares turnaround times, Net Promoter Scores, and broker‑journey experience across NSW/ACT, QLD, VIC/TAS, WA and SA/NT for the 12 months to June 2025, highlighting clear leaders and gaps. Broker Pulse is a monthly-run survey that asks residential (and commercial) brokers to share their experiences with the lenders they worked with throughout the month, rating them across turnaround time, credit assessment, BDM interactions, and the overall broker journey.

Key stats you need to know

• QLD records the quickest average turnaround at 3.82 days versus SA/NT at 4.74 days.
  
  
• NSW/ACT posts the highest lender NPS at +46, ahead of VIC/TAS at +44 and SA/NT at +41.
  
  
• WA sets the pace on application experience at 74% and leads overall broker experience at 70%.

Turnaround speed is tight but QLD is out in front

• QLD’s industry average turnaround time sits at 3.82 days in June 2025 on a three‑month moving average.
  
  
• NSW/ACT follows at 4.02 days, with VIC/TAS close behind at 4.07 days.
  
  
• All states trend materially faster than mid‑2023 peaks, but month‑to‑month volatility remains visible in the series.

Turnaround time is a critical metric that measures how quickly lending institutions process and approve loans. By June 2025, QLD leads in industry average turnaround time at 3.82 days, followed closely by NSW/ACT (4.02 days) and VIC/TAS (4.07 days). WA averages 4.19 days, indicating solid performance but behind the eastern states. SA/NT is the slowest at 4.74 days, widening the gap to the leaders. However, there is a clear improvement in turnaround times in the past 2 years. The competitive bar for service remains highest where turnarounds are already sub‑four days.

“Speed is a moving target. Markets like QLD and NSW have normalised quick turnarounds, which resets expectations for every lender operating there. In slower states, the first lenders to break the four‑day mark consistently will win disproportionate broker flows,” said Michael Johnson, Director at Agile Market Intelligence.

Advocacy is strongest in NSW/ACT, with VIC/TAS close behind

• NSW/ACT achieves an average lender NPS of +46 across the past 12 months.
  
  
• VIC/TAS records +44, indicating similarly strong advocacy among brokers.
  
  
• SA/NT sits at +41, ahead of QLD and WA which both average +40.
  
  
• NSW/ACT’s NPS result is supported by the largest respondent base in this cut at n=1,135.
  
  
• State‑level NPS dispersion is modest, but the two‑to‑six‑point spread is meaningful in competitive broker markets.

Net Promoter Score is an industry measure used to gauge customer loyalty or advocacy. Looking at broker advocacy by state, higher NPS in NSW/ACT and VIC/TAS suggests more consistent delivery against broker expectations across pricing, policy and process. States clustered around +40 still show broadly positive sentiment, but lenders face a narrower margin for error when issues arise.

“NPS north of +40 tells us brokers are getting reliable outcomes more often than not. The challenge for lenders is sustaining that while improving weaker touchpoints like credit access and communications, which can erode advocacy quickly,” said Michael Johnson.

WA leads on application, QLD tops settlement, SA/NT trails on assessment

• Overall broker experience is highest in WA at 70% average, ahead of VIC/TAS at 68% and NSW/ACT and QLD at 67%.
  
  
• Application stage satisfaction peaks in WA at 74%.
  
  
• Assessment is the weak point nationally, led jointly by VIC/TAS and WA at 66%.

We asked brokers to rate their experience at every touch point throughout their journey with lending institutions. The broker experience journey begins with communicating with BDMs, to filing loan applications, receiving assessments and ends when the loan is settled. WA has the highest broker experience scores across all points of the journey, while SA/NT received the lowest. In the entire broker experience journey, ‘application’ and ‘settlement’ received the highest overall scores. ‘Assessment’ receives the worst scores, 66% at best, and 60% at worst. Settlement experience is strongest in QLD at 71%. BDM satisfaction is highest in WA at 70%.

“Where lenders win is in the joins. If BDMs, assessors and settlements all move in sync, you see the WA‑style profile of strong results at every stage. The assessment dip is solvable with clearer policy interpretation and faster feedback loops,” said Michael Johnson.

About Broker Pulse: Residential Lending

Broker Pulse is a monthly survey of residential mortgage lenders conducted by Agile Market Intelligence. It is a community-driven knowledge base of lender performance. Broker Pulse offers transparency to the market by surfacing these collective insights from the broker community. This empowers brokers to make informed decisions and enables lenders to benchmark and improve performance.

Participating brokers receive access to a bird’s-eye view of the lender benchmarking data each month. To sign up or for more information visit https://www.brokerpulse.com.au/

The latest edition (June 2025) of Broker Pulse is based on responses from 282 residential brokers, collected between 1 and 16 July 2025. Brokers were asked to share their experiences with the lenders they worked with throughout June, rating them across turnaround time, credit assessment, BDM interactions, and the overall broker journey.