Quick answer
Most Australian business lenders ask for photo ID for every director and guarantor, your ABN and entity details, three to six months of business bank statements, recent BAS, and the latest financial statements and tax returns. Property-secured loans add rates notices and mortgage statements; equipment finance adds a supplier invoice; invoice finance adds an aged receivables report. Low doc loans need less, but never nothing.
Key points
- Every application needs four things: identity, entity, trading evidence and tax position
- The loan type decides the extras: property papers, supplier invoices or debtor reports
- Trusts need the full deed with every variation, not just the first and last pages
- Out-of-date or partial documents are the most common reason files stall
- Low doc lending swaps tax returns for bank statements or an accountant's letter; it doesn't skip ID or security
A lender’s first look at your file takes minutes. Whether it then moves in days or drags over weeks comes down largely to the papers: were they all there, recent and legible? This checklist is built to be printed or copied into a notes app and ticked off. It starts with what every lender wants, then adds the extras for each kind of loan, and finishes with the documents that most often bounce back.
If you’re still deciding whether you’re ready to borrow at all, begin with our guide on how to prepare for a business loan, then come back here.
What does every business loan application need?
Whatever the product, a lender has to answer four questions. Who are you? What is the business, legally? Is it trading the way you say? And what does it owe the tax office? The documents line up behind those questions.
1. Identity: for every director, partner and guarantor
- Australian driver licence or passport (current, not expired)
- A second ID document if asked, such as a Medicare card
- Residential address history for the last three years
- For visa holders: visa grant notice showing the subclass and expiry
Lenders verify ID under anti-money-laundering rules, so this step can’t be waived. If a spouse is guaranteeing the loan, they need to supply the same set.
2. The entity: who is actually borrowing
- ABN, plus ACN for a company (check both on ABN Lookup and the ASIC register first)
- Registered business name, where the trading name differs from the legal one
- Company: current ASIC extract showing directors and shareholders
- Trust: full trust deed with every deed of variation, plus details of the trustee
- Partnership: partnership agreement, if one exists
- Business address and, for a leased premises, a copy of the lease
The trust deed catches people out. Lenders read it to make sure the trustee is actually permitted to take on debt and pledge assets, and they need every variation since the trust was settled, because a later change might have altered those powers. Our page on business loans for trusts covers the other quirks.
3. Trading evidence: is the business doing what you say?
- Business bank statements, usually the latest three to six months (twelve for seasonal trade)
- Statements for every business account, including a second account used for tax or payroll
- Financial statements (P&L plus balance sheet) covering one or two completed years
- A year-to-date P&L exported straight out of Xero, MYOB or similar
- Aged receivables and aged payables reports (essential for larger loans)
- Details of existing finance: lender, balance, repayment and what it’s secured on
A full account picture matters. If deposits regularly move to an account you haven’t supplied, the assessor can’t see where the money goes and will ask. Our explainer on how lenders read your bank statements shows what they’re looking for.
4. Tax position: what’s owed to the ATO
- The last four BAS lodged (if registered for GST)
- Latest business tax return, and each director’s individual return
- Notices of assessment matching those returns
- A current integrated client account statement from Online services for business
- Payment plan confirmation, if you have one
A lender who sees “tax debt: nil” in the application and then a balance owing on the ATO statement will stop and ask why. Supplying the statement yourself, with any plan attached, removes the doubt. If your returns are behind, read business loans when tax returns aren’t up to date before you apply.
Which extra documents does each loan type need?
The core four above apply almost everywhere. The table adds what each type of finance usually wants on top.
| Loan type | Extra documents on top of the core set |
|---|---|
| Unsecured business loan | Often only ID, ABN and bank statements for smaller amounts; financials for larger ones |
| Property-secured (first or second mortgage, caveat) | Property address, latest council rates notice, latest mortgage statement for every loan on it, and an exit plan for short terms |
| Equipment or vehicle finance | Supplier tax invoice or quote showing make, model and serial or VIN; for private sales, proof the seller owns it outright |
| Invoice or debtor finance | Aged receivables ledger, sample invoices, key customer contracts and credit terms |
| Business acquisition | Signed contract of sale, the vendor’s last two or three years of financials, lease of the premises and franchise agreement if relevant |
| Commercial property purchase | Contract of sale, plus current leases and rent figures for any tenants |
| Low doc | An accountant’s declaration of income, or BAS plus bank statements in place of full financials |
Property-secured loans: what to have ready
For loans backed by real estate, the pace is set by how soon the lender can pin down the value and the existing debt. The lender usually orders its own title search and valuation, but you can save days by supplying:
- the full street address, plus the title reference (lot and plan) if it’s handy
- your latest council rates notice (it confirms ownership and land details)
- a recent statement for each mortgage on the property, showing the balance and lender
- for a property in a company or trust name, the entity documents above for that owner too
Estimate your available equity before you call anyone with the property equity calculator.
Equipment finance: the invoice decides
With equipment finance, the machine or vehicle itself secures the loan, so the funder must be able to pinpoint exactly which one. A quote that says “excavator, $95,000” will come back. One that lists the make, model, year, serial number, supplier ABN and the GST amount won’t. For used equipment bought privately, expect the lender to check the PPSR for existing finance owed on the item.
What about low doc and quick online loans?
Low doc doesn’t mean no documents. It means the lender accepts substitutes for full financial statements and tax returns, typically:
- six to twelve months of account statements for the business
- the latest BAS, as evidence of turnover
- or a signed letter from your accountant confirming income
ID, entity checks and, for secured loans, the property details still apply. The difference between the two approaches is laid out in low doc vs full doc business loans, and if your financials simply haven’t been prepared yet, business loans without financials has the realistic options.
Paperwork half-sorted and need an answer anyway? Start an enquiry now and keep gathering while we look; it’s roughly a minute, with no credit check involved.
Which documents get sent back most often?
Most delays come from the same handful of problems. Check yours against this list before you upload anything.
- Expired ID. Licences expire quietly. Check the date.
- Partial statements. Page 1 of 4 isn’t a statement. Send every page, with the bank’s name, BSB and account holder visible.
- Old statements. Many lenders want the most recent statement to be current to within roughly a month.
- Screenshots instead of PDFs. Use the download from your bank or the ATO portal.
- Trust deed without variations. If there’s a deed of variation, it must be included.
- Draft financials. Unsigned drafts may be accepted early in the process, but final versions will usually be wanted before settlement.
- Mismatched names. The account holder on statements, the ABN register entry and the application should all show the same legal entity.
- Missing guarantor documents. The loan can’t settle until every guarantor has supplied ID and signed.
A quick example: two applications, same business
Here’s an illustration. A Newcastle electrical contractor, whose business sits in a family trust run by a trustee company, applies for $220k against the directors’ home to buy a second work van and fund a commercial contract.
In the first version, the owner sends three months of statements for the main account only, the first page of the trust deed and a rates notice. The lender asks for the tax account statements (where the BAS payments go), the full deed, the 2019 deed of variation, the mortgage statement and the van quote. Each request takes a day or two to answer. Two weeks pass.
In the second version, the owner sends the full set on day one, in a single folder with clear file names: ID for both directors, ASIC extract for the trustee company, the complete deed with its variation, six months of statements for both accounts, the last four BAS, the ATO account statement, the latest rates notice and mortgage statement, and a supplier invoice listing the van’s VIN. The assessor can go straight to a decision.
Nothing about the business changed. Only the paperwork did.
Keep a standing loan folder
Once you’ve gathered this set, don’t let it go stale. A shared folder updated after each BAS lodgement means the next application, or a lender’s annual review, takes an afternoon rather than a fortnight. Our guide to keeping clean business records has a simple monthly routine.
Got most of it together? Send us the outline
You don’t need every box ticked before talking to us. Tell us what you’re borrowing for, what security there is and roughly what your statements show, and we’ll tell you which of the documents above will actually matter for your situation.
Filling in the form is around sixty seconds of effort, and nobody runs a credit check because you asked. What you send is kept in-house, not blasted out to a dozen funders competing to call you. Someone from our team, a real person, looks over it and gives you a ring. Be exact about the sum, the reason and any property involved; accurate detail means we can name the right paperwork and the right lender straight away.
Frequently asked questions
How many months of bank statements do I need for a business loan?
Usually three to six months for unsecured and cash flow loans, and sometimes twelve for larger amounts or seasonal businesses. Many lenders now retrieve them directly from your bank through a secure, read-only link, which is faster and avoids questions about edited PDFs.
Do I need tax returns for a business loan?
For bank loans and most full doc lending, yes: generally the last one or two years for the business and each director. Low doc and many online lenders will assess on bank statements and BAS instead, though they may still ask for a recent notice of assessment.
What documents do I need as a sole trader?
Photo ID, your ABN, business bank statements (or personal ones if you run the business through them), recent BAS if you're registered for GST, and your latest individual tax return and notice of assessment. There's no company or trust paperwork to supply.
What if I can't find my trust deed?
Ask your accountant or the solicitor who set the trust up; they usually hold a copy. If the original is lost, a lawyer can advise on reconstructing it. Lenders lending to a trust will almost always want to read the deed before settlement, so start the search early.
Can I send screenshots or photos of documents?
Phone photos of ID are often fine if they're sharp and show all four corners. For statements, BAS and financials, send the PDF downloaded from your bank, the ATO portal or your accounting software. Screenshots and cropped images usually trigger a request for the original.