A personal loan is a way to help you finance something big – like a car, home improvements, a wedding, a holiday and much more. It could also help you take control of your finances and streamline your debt – also known as consolidating your debt. Find out more about the common ways to use a personal loan.

However, there are some things you can’t use a personal loan for. They include things like:

• Business uses – such as buying equipment, paying staff or suppliers, or making BAS payments. If you need funds for your business, we have a range of business loans that might suit you
• A deposit for a home loan or covering stamp duty – although you might be able to use a personal loan to cover a shortfall after the sale of a property you bought with a Bankwest home loan, or to pay some building costs if your Bankwest construction loan doesn’t cover all the work
• Overseas property costs, including renovations and selling costs
• Everyday bills and living expenses, like utilities and rent
• Gambling
• Cryptocurrency
• Consolidating overseas debt

For more information about what you can and can’t use a personal for, give us a call on 13 17 19, or visit us in a branch.

A secured loan lets you use an asset (like a car or motorcycle) as security for the loan. This means that if you don’t make the agreed repayments, the lender can take the asset and sell it to help cover the cost of the unpaid loan. These loans often have a lower interest rate than an unsecured loan.

With an unsecured personal loan, you don’t need to use an asset as security for the loan, and the minimum and maximum loan amounts are usually lower than a secured personal loan. They can also often be a bit quicker and easier to set up.

Our personal loans have a fixed interest rate, meaning your minimum monthly repayments won’t change – so you can schedule your regular payments or arrange direct debits with confidence.

A personal loan that comes with a variable interest rate, on the other hand, means that the interest rate can go up and down over time and your repayments can change.

There are a few things we take into account when we review your application, including your eligibility, current monthly living expenses, financial situation and credit rating.

It’s a good idea to ask yourself some questions before you apply for a personal loan – they could help put you in a stronger position to get your application approved – see some helpful questions to ask yourself.

Redraw means accessing any extra repayments you’ve made towards your loan.

With our personal loans, you can make extra repayments – and that comes with benefits for you. It helps you to:

• Reduce the interest you pay on your loan and pay your loan off sooner (keep in mind that there’s an early repayment fee if you close your loan within the first two years)
• Build up a surplus that you can access (or redraw) for free if you need to – like when there’s a rainy day or emergency (although it’s important to be aware that, by redrawing your extra repayments, that surplus will no longer be reducing the interest on your loan).