Westpac business loans: products, published criteria and next steps

Westpac publishes something many banks keep in-house: a fairly complete checklist of who its Unsecured Business Loan is for. That openness is useful. Before you lodge anything, you can hold your business up against the list and see whether a quick yes is realistic, or whether a different Westpac product, or a different lender altogether, is the smarter first move.

What follows is drawn from Westpac’s own website as at October 2026. Australia’s oldest bank has a broad business range, a dedicated loan for young businesses and a reduced-paperwork pathway for straightforward ones. Criteria change, so confirm with Westpac before you rely on any detail.

Do you tick Westpac’s unsecured loan checklist?

The Unsecured Business Loan lends $5k to $250k over one to five years, at a fixed rate, with a $250 establishment fee and no monthly fee as at October 2026. No property, vehicle or stock is needed as security, although directors of a company may be asked to guarantee it. Westpac says you should be able to answer yes to all of these:

Criterion	Westpac’s published requirement
Trading history	At least 12 months, with a valid ABN or ACN
Turnover	More than $75k a year
GST	Registered
Structure	Sole trader, partnership, trust or company (not a franchisee, SMSF or charity)
Existing Westpac lending	Less than $1.5m in business lending with Westpac
Obligations	ATO payments, loan repayments, wages and super all up to date
Recent borrowing	No new business lending from any institution in the past 30 days
Outlook	No expected drop in revenue that would affect repayments

Of all eight lines, the 30-day rule trips up the most owners. If you took a vehicle loan or a new card limit last month, an application now may simply not fit.

The loan is meant for working capital, stock, invoices, equipment, marketing, hiring or a move to new premises. Westpac excludes four uses: refinancing other lending, starting a business, property development and buying residential property.

What else does Westpac lend?

Beyond the unsecured loan, Westpac’s business range as at October 2026 includes:

• Business loan (secured or flexible security) from $10k, with interest-only or principal and interest repayments, redraw on variable rates and the option to fix for up to five years. Westpac lists business acquisition, startup costs, capital investment, property purchases and refinancing among its uses. A monthly service fee from $143 applies, plus establishment and other fees.
• Startup loan of $10k to $50k for businesses under two years old (more below).
• Business overdraft, charged on the drawn balance only, with repayments whenever cash allows.
• Vehicle and equipment finance of $15k to $250k, with funds one business day after approval and an option of three months before the first repayment is due.
• Invoice finance advancing up to 85% of unpaid invoices, syncing with MYOB and Xero, with no real estate security.
• Bank guarantees, bank bill business loans and insurance premium finance.

The two pathways that change the paperwork

Westpac’s Lending Made Simple pathway is worth knowing about. For non-complex businesses that have traded for over a year without losses, Westpac says you can borrow up to $5m with fewer financials than a full application. Business activity statements can support lending up to $1.5m, and up to $500k may be possible without property as security, though some sectors and construction may still need it.

For a business owner whose accountant takes months to finalise annual accounts, that’s a meaningful shortcut. If your BAS are lodged and clean, ask your banker whether you qualify before assembling a full financial pack.

For a fuller application, Westpac lists the documents it typically wants: your latest annual financial statements or business tax return, 12 months of BAS, identification, proof of income for directors and shareholders, and a signed lease if the purchase is an investment property.

Want to know how the numbers look before any bank sees them? Our business borrowing power calculator gives a rough guide. For a human sense-check, send us the outline and we’ll ring with an honest read.

Westpac’s startup loan, explained

Most major-bank unsecured products want 12 months of trading. Westpac’s startup loan is the exception. It lends $10k to $50k, unsecured, over up to five years, to businesses that have operated for less than two years and whose ABN is under two years old. You’ll need:

• a Westpac Business One transaction account to receive the funds;
• a business plan lodged with the application;
• a cash flow forecast, on Westpac’s template or certified by your accountant;
• Australian citizenship or permanent residency.

Here’s an illustrative case. A mobile physiotherapist, eleven months into business, wants $35k for a fitted-out van and portable equipment. That falls short of the unsecured loan’s 12-month rule, but fits the startup loan if the forecast stacks up. Alternatively, the van alone could be financed through commercial vehicle finance, leaving the startup loan free for working capital. For non-bank choices open to young businesses, see startup business loans.

Who is Westpac a natural fit for?

• Established, GST-registered businesses turning over comfortably more than $75k with tidy ATO and super records.
• Newer businesses with a solid plan, through the startup loan.
• Owners with lodged BAS but slow annual accounts, through Lending Made Simple.
• Larger borrowers who want bank pricing on property-secured debt, guarantees and trade facilities under one roof.

Westpac tends to be a harder fit for franchisees on the unsecured product, businesses that borrowed elsewhere in the last month, anyone with ATO or super arrears, and businesses showing a recent loss.

Questions worth putting to your Westpac banker

1. Which pathway am I on, full application or Lending Made Simple, and what documents does that mean?
2. What’s the full dollar cost over the term, including the establishment fee and any monthly service fee?
3. Is a guarantee required, and from whom?
4. If I repay a fixed-rate loan early, what break costs could apply?
5. Will this facility be linked to my other Westpac security?

If Westpac said no, you’re in the right place

Westpac is a great bank for a business that fits its criteria, and when you do fit, its offer deserves serious attention. If you don’t, the checklist itself tells you where to look next:

• Under 12 months trading or below $75k turnover? See business loans with an ABN under 12 months and loans for low-turnover businesses.
• Wanting to refinance, which the unsecured loan excludes? Our page on refinancing a business loan compares the routes, including debt consolidation loans.
• ATO or super behind? Read ATO tax debt business loans and business loans with unpaid super.
• A decline with no explanation? Start with bank said no for no clear reason.
• Property equity but no time? A caveat loan or second mortgage can move in days.

Comparing majors? Read our profiles of Commonwealth Bank, NAB and St.George, or read our comparison of big four banks vs challenger banks.

Missed one line of the checklist? Let’s look at the rest

A bank checklist is binary: one unticked line and the application stops. Your business is rarely that simple, and the lines you did tick still count with the right lender.

Our enquiry is a quick form, done in around a minute, and sending it has no effect on your credit score. We keep your information in-house rather than circulating it among funders. A person with real lending experience looks over your circumstances and calls you back. Give us the honest figures, including the line Westpac didn’t like, and we can point you towards something that fits straight away.

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