Aussie becomes Lendi Group’s primary broking brand

A controlled pilot began in South Australia last year before expanding to Queensland and NSW. Following the successful state-level tests, the transition has now been implemented nationwide.

Around 200 brokers that were operating under the Lendi brokerage brand have moved across to become Aussie brokers following a “carefully planned, scientific process designed to ensure all brokers and retail stores would benefit from the transition”.

As of this month, thousands of customers who were utilising these Lendi broking services have now been informed that they have moved (or will transition in the coming weeks) to Aussie. They can now access the Aussie app and its 220 retail stores.

According to The Adviser’s Top 25 Brokerages ranking 2025, Lendi Group runs the second- and fourth-largest brokerages in the country (Aussie and Lendi, respectively), which operate on the group’s digital platform technology, Platform.

However, Lendi Group has said the move means that Aussie is now the largest brokerage in the country in terms of broker numbers, with around 1,300 brokers.

Lendi will continue to operate as a digital mortgage brokerage. However, it will streamline down to having fewer than 50 salaried brokers (called home loan specialists).

Why make the move?

According to Lendi Group, the plan has always been to have Aussie as the “hero” broker brand.

Since acquiring the major brokerage in 2021, the group has been working to marry the brokerage’s strong brand recognition and customer following with the technological platform and centralised support offered by Lendi (for example, its Platform technology and Client Solutions and Associates support).

With the onboarding of Aussie brokers to this model now completed, the group has moved to make Aussie its primary brand.

The key strategy is now for Lendi to be a nimble digital brokerage that can rapidly develop and test new technologies and customer experiences, with successful innovations then transferred to the main Aussie brand once perfected.

By having a “trimmed down” version of Lendi, it allows for more flexible and rapid technological development, Lendi Group said, likening it to having a Formula 1 team that can develop cutting-edge technologies that are then passed up to the parent car company for use in the mass market.

Speaking to The Adviser, Sebastian Watkins, co-founder and chief operating officer of Lendi Group, said: “When we bought Aussie, we were attracted to a couple of really interesting things in Aussie. First of all, the amazing brokers and the vast distribution network (including the retail stores), and an incredible brand with a 30-year history and heritage and incredible brand recall. It’s one of the most trusted brands and financial services.

“Those were a really core component to what attracted us to buying at Aussie in the first place. And so, from day one, it had always been part of the plan to ensure that that was our hero brand.

“But there were a number of things that we needed to do before we could make that move: we needed to migrate all the brokers across to our technology; there was a whole bunch of new services we wanted to roll out; and there was a bunch of new infrastructure.

“Over the past two and half years, we’ve laid down the technology, the support structure, new sales structures, and we’re now at the point where we’re ready to do that [make Aussie the primary brand].”

“Harnessing the power and brand recognition of Aussie to achieve economies of scale just made sense, and while the process has been complex, the results have been very positive – both in the trial stage and since the switch began.”

Watkins added: “While we are focusing on Aussie in the broker market, Lendi isn’t going anywhere. Our ability to offer our customers the choice to engage with us across digital, retail and mobile remains a really important part of our business model, and Lendi is core to that.

“So, Lendi is actually going to be a really exciting component of the story, and Aussie brokers will be the beneficiary of all the innovation.”

The future of Aussie

Aside from rolling out new technology and centralised support to Aussie brokers over the past three years, Lendi Group has been investing heavily in the Aussie brand, including through ongoing development of customer-facing products (like the Aussie App, which the company launched in mid-2024) and through widespread marketing campaigns.

For example, it launched the “We’re hoping for one too” marketing campaign last month (ahead of the central bank’s decision to cut rates) and picketed the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) building in Sydney on 18 February – the day of the rate decision announcement.

It also recently rolled out a range of AI initiatives, has joined forces with PEXA to offer real-time updates on a settlement status, and integrated Pepper Money’s loan selection tool, the Pepper Product Selector (PPS), into its Aussie Activate loan journey and Lendi platform.

Moving forward, the Lendi Group is evolving Aussie to become “the undisputed destination for buying and owning property”.

It began this transition last year by rolling out a conveyancing service, Aussie Conveyancing, in partnership with e-conveyancing provider Settle Easy.

The new offering allows home buyers to access Settle Easy’s conveyancing support, track their home loan and view real-time notifications via the Aussie broker platform.

Speaking about the new service last year, Lendi Group CEO David Hyman said: “The conveyancing process has been needlessly complex for buyers for too long. The launch of Aussie Conveyancing delivers on our promise to transform the way Australians buy homes – and further diversifies our offering.

“By integrating Settle Easy’s best-in-class conveyancing services directly into our existing platform, we’re not only streamlining a critical step for home buyers but also enhancing the overall experience.”

Later this month, Lendi Group will hold its bi-annual broker conference at Sydney’s International Convention Centre (ICC), where Watkins said the group would announce a range of new products, services, and technology advancements focused on Aussie.

He said: “I think we’ve got some pretty ambitious goals, so you will see a lot of change from us for the next five or so years as we continue to make Aussie the hero brokerage brand.”

[Related: Lendi Group announces swathe of personnel changes]