Refinance from ANZ
Refinancing from ANZ: what to check before your fixed rate ends
If your home loan is with ANZ and your first fixed term is coming to an end, this page covers what is worth checking before you decide to move, refix or ask for a better deal. It is general information about how switching works, not a comparison of what any bank offers.
Why people look at switching from ANZ
People with an ANZ home loan look at switching for much the same reasons as people with any other bank. The renewal letter arrives, the rate on it looks different from what a friend or a rate table suggests, and it seems a fair moment to ask what another lender would offer on a loan like yours. Looking is not the same as leaving. Plenty of people look, compare, and stay.
It is your first renewal
The end of a first fixed term is often the first time you have been asked to make a decision about the loan since signing. That makes it a natural point to look around rather than let the loan roll onto a new term by default.
A rollover letter to compare
Banks commonly send a rollover rate ahead of the end date. Public reporting put advertised 1-year fixed rates at the big banks between 4.95% and 5.19%, as at September 2026, before the 28 October OCR decision. Those are indicative ranges, not quotes, and you may not qualify for the lowest figure.
Cashback you took, and cashback on offer
If you took cashback at the start, there may be a clawback date to work around. If another lender is offering cashback now, it comes with its own clawback period. Both belong in the comparison.
Your situation has moved on
A loan taken out for a first home may not suit you now. A pay rise, a baby on the way, a renovation plan or a partner joining the loan can all change what you want from the structure.
What switching involves
Moving a home loan away from ANZ is a handful of separate steps, each with its own cost or deadline. The short version:
- Break fees, if you leave mid-term. Leaving a fixed rate early can cost a break fee. Moving at the end of the term normally does not.
- Cashback clawback, if you took cashback. Leaving inside the clawback period can mean paying cashback back. The clawback period is set in your cashback letter and often runs for several years. Typical new cashback has been around 0.8% of the loan (Canstar, checked 1 October 2026).
- Legal fees. There are legal fees for the discharge and the new mortgage, and some lenders contribute to them for a straightforward switch.
- Valuation, discharge and timing. The new lender may want a valuation, ANZ may charge a discharge fee, and the whole job takes a few weeks.
The detail is in our guide to refinancing a home loan in NZ, and in our posts on how mortgage break fees are worked out and how cashback and clawback work. Indicative rates are on our home loan rates page.
A first fixed term, month by month
Picture someone who bought their first home a while back and took a fixed rate with ANZ. This is how a sensible run-up to the end of that first term might look. The dates are examples, and your own loan documents set the real ones.
1. Months before the fixed term ends
Find the end date on your loan statement or in your loan documents, and write it down. Find any cashback letter and note the date its clawback period finishes. Plenty of first-time borrowers have not looked at either since settlement, so this alone clears up a lot of guesswork.
2. A little later
Work out what you owe today, which will be a bit lower than when you started. Think about what has changed since you bought: income, plans, how long you expect to stay. Those answers decide whether a simple refix would do or whether the structure needs a rethink.
3. As the rollover letter arrives
Read the rate on it, then ask for a written figure showing what leaving would cost on the day you would settle. If the fixed term is ending, that figure is normally nil for a break fee, but a discharge fee and any clawback still need checking.
4. While you compare
Ask for what other lenders would offer on a loan like yours, including cashback and any contribution to legal costs. Put the results next to the cost of leaving, and next to the option of refixing with ANZ.
5. A few weeks before the end date
If you decide to move, the application, valuation and approval need to be finished with time to spare so settlement lands on or just after the end date. If you decide to stay, ask for a better rate before you sign anything, and make a note of when the next renewal falls.
Staying with ANZ is also an option
A review does not have to end in a move. Staying put is often a good result once the costs are netted off, and there are a few ways to do it.
- Refix with your current bank for another term. If the rollover rate looks reasonable once you have compared it, it is usually the simplest route, and the bank sets what it needs.
- Ask for a repricing before the end date, with another offer in hand. Sometimes the bank moves and sometimes it does not, but you find out where you stand.
- Split the loan so part is fixed for a shorter stretch. That spreads your renewal dates and gives you a second look sooner.
If the comparison comes out close, staying put is a perfectly sensible result. It saves the legal work and avoids a fresh clawback clock. The point of looking is to make that choice with the numbers in front of you, not to find a reason to move.
What a broker does in a ANZ switch
Online Home Loans is a referral service, so we do not do any of this ourselves. The mortgage broker we refer you to deals with you directly, and in a switch from ANZ they typically do the following.
- Starts from your loan statement and end date, then checks whether you would be leaving inside a fixed term or at the end of it.
- Asks ANZ for the exit figures in writing, so a break fee, discharge fee or clawback does not turn up late.
- Lines up the settlement date with the day your first term ends, so there is no gap and no overlap.
- Explains the paperwork to someone who has not been through it before, step by step.
For a borrower coming to the end of a first term, the main value is usually clarity: what the loan is, what it would cost to leave, and what the choices look like side by side.
What to have ready
A few documents make the first conversation quicker. You do not need all of them to enquire, but the more you have to hand, the faster the numbers come together.
- Your latest home loan statement, showing the balance, the rate and the date the fixed term ends.
- Your original loan documents, and any cashback letter with its clawback terms.
- Recent payslips, or tax returns and financial statements if you work for yourself.
- A rough idea of what your property is worth, such as a recent rating valuation.
- The settlement statement or sale and purchase paperwork from when you bought, if it is handy.
- A list of what has changed since you took the loan, such as income, dependants or renovation plans.
Start with a short enquiry
Tell us a little about your loan and we will refer you to a mortgage broker who can talk through your options. We have already filled in ANZ as your current bank, so that question is done. It takes about a minute, there is no credit check to enquire, and there is no obligation.
Common questions
- Do I have to move my loan at the end of my first fixed term?
- No. Nothing forces you to move. You can refix with ANZ, ask for a better rate, or switch. The end of a term is a natural moment to choose, because a break fee normally does not apply.
- I have never looked at my cashback letter. Where do I start?
- Find the letter or your loan offer from when you started. It names the cashback amount and the date its clawback period finishes. If you cannot find it, ask ANZ for a written statement of what, if anything, would be repayable.
- Can I leave ANZ before my fixed rate ends?
- Yes, but leaving partway through a fixed term can mean a break fee. It has to be a reasonable estimate of the lender's loss, and it is often small or nil when rates have risen since you fixed. Ask for a written figure for your settlement date.
- How early should I start looking before my first term ends?
- A few months ahead is comfortable. That leaves room for a valuation, approval and the legal work, and means a switch can settle just as the term ends instead of rolling over by default.
- Who would I deal with after I enquire?
- Online Home Loans is a referral service. We pass your details on once to a mortgage broker, who talks to you directly. We do not give advice, set rates or arrange lending.
Related reading
Everything on this page is general information about how switching works. It is not advice, and it does not say what any bank charges or offers. Your loan documents and a written figure from your bank are what count.
General information only, not advice. We're a referral service. Mortgage advisers are usually paid a commission by the lender. If your loan settles, the adviser's business may pay Online Home Loans a referral fee. It is not added to your loan and does not change what you pay.