Great Southern Bank business loans: the Business+ range, secured lending and the fine print

Plenty of Queenslanders still call it CUA. Credit Union Australia became Great Southern Bank in 2021, and it remains customer-owned, which means profits go back into products and members rather than to shareholders. In the last few years it has made a real push into small business, with its Business+ app aimed at sole traders and micro businesses that the big banks often treat as an afterthought.

The result is two quite different ways to borrow: a quick, app-based Business+ range for smaller unsecured amounts, and a traditional secured channel that goes up to $5m. This profile draws on Great Southern Bank’s website as at October 2026. Because the site limits automated access, we’ve stuck to details its own product pages state consistently. Check anything critical with the bank directly.

What can you borrow from Great Southern Bank?

Product	Published amount	Security	Key details
Business+ Unsecured Loan	$20k to $50k	None	Terms of one, two or three years; $495 establishment fee; $20 monthly service fee
Business+ Unsecured Overdraft	$10k to $50k limit	None	Interest charged only on the amount you owe, not the limit
Business+ Vehicle Loan	Not published	None beyond the vehicle	No upfront deposit required
Secured Business Loan	$20k to $5m	Property (home or commercial) or cash in a term deposit	The bank sets the term case by case
Secured Business Overdraft	Not published	A home or commercial premises	Open to most business structures

The split is the thing to understand. Business+ is fast and lightly documented but narrow on who can apply. The secured products are slower, yet far more flexible on structure and size.

Who can apply for Business+?

Great Southern Bank publishes a short eligibility list for Business+, and it’s fairly firm:

• an active ABN with at least one year of trading history;
• annual turnover of $75k or more;
• registration for GST;
• a sole trader, or a company owned by individuals;
• Australian residency, with valid ID.

Company directors are expected to guarantee the finance. On the paperwork side, the bank asks for ID and a recent tax return, lodged within the last 18 months; for the overdraft it also mentions your two most recent BAS.

The exclusions matter just as much. Partnerships, trusts, and companies not owned by real people can’t use Business+ yet, though the bank says it’s working on it.

On timing, the bank says that in most cases you’ll see an indicative decision within minutes and a final decision within one to two days. That’s quick for a bank, though not same-day.

Weighing up whether $50k unsecured will be enough? Run the numbers in our unsecured business loan calculator, or let us know what you’re funding and we’ll tell you which products are realistic.

How the secured channel differs

The Secured Business Loan is Great Southern Bank’s heavy lifter. It lends from $20k to $5m, depending on the business and its finances, and must be backed by residential property, commercial property or a term deposit. Its website sets maximum lending at 80% of residential property value and 70% of acceptable commercial property value. Our loan-to-value ratio explainer shows how those percentages translate into a borrowing limit.

The secured overdraft opens the door to structures Business+ can’t serve. According to the bank, eligible borrowers range from sole traders and companies through to partnerships, trusts, co-ops and incorporated associations. There’s a $750 establishment fee, plus a securities administration fee on secured facilities, and you start by submitting an enquiry rather than applying in an app.

An example: which route fits?

Take an illustrative Townsville café owner, trading three years as a sole trader, turning over $410k and registered for GST. She wants $40k for a new coffee machine and a front-counter refit.

She clears every Business+ test, so the unsecured loan is the natural choice: fast answers, her house stays out of it, and three years to spread the cost. Now change one fact. If the café were run through a family trust, Business+ would be off the table. She could still use the secured overdraft against the family home, or look at equipment finance for the machine, which uses the asset itself as security.

Who suits Great Southern Bank, and who might not?

It tends to suit:

• sole traders and small companies past their first year, wanting up to $50k without offering property;
• owners who like managing everything through an app;
• businesses with home or commercial equity that need a larger secured loan, up to $5m;
• trusts, partnerships and not-for-profit associations seeking a secured overdraft;
• members who prefer dealing with a customer-owned bank.

It’s a harder fit for businesses under a year old, those turning over less than $75k, trusts and partnerships wanting unsecured money, anyone needing more than $50k without security, and borrowers who need funds today.

Questions to ask Great Southern Bank

1. Which fees apply beyond the establishment and monthly fees, and what’s the total dollar cost over my term?
2. Can I repay the Business+ loan early, and is there a charge for doing so?
3. For the secured loan, which property types and locations are acceptable?
4. Will I need to move my everyday business banking across?
5. If I’m declined, which criterion was the reason?

If Great Southern Bank said no, you’re in the right place

Great Southern Bank is a solid, member-focused lender, and when your business matches its rules the offer is worth taking seriously. Bank finance is often the lowest-cost money around. A decline, though, normally points to a specific gap, and each gap has its own fix:

• Trading less than a year? See new business loans with an ABN under 12 months.
• Turnover under $75k? Read business loans for low-turnover businesses.
• Run through a trust? Business loans for trusts covers which lenders accept a trustee borrower.
• Need more than $50k but don’t want to use property? Compare unsecured business loans from non-bank lenders, and weigh up secured vs unsecured business loans.
• Weighing up other banks? Queensland-born Bank of Queensland and Suncorp Bank are close peers, while AMP Bank offers a small app-based overdraft.

Missed a Business+ cut-off? Talk to us about the alternatives

Business+ draws hard lines at one year, $75k and certain structures. Lots of healthy businesses fall just short of one of them and are perfectly good borrowers.

Tell us about yours using our short form; it’s a job of about a minute, and your credit score is left completely alone throughout. Nobody else gets your details: we don’t circulate them to a panel of lenders. Instead, a person on our team goes through your circumstances and gives you a call. Fill it in carefully, including your structure and actual turnover, because guesswork leads to suggestions that don’t fit.

Check my options beyond Business+ →