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Mortgage Choice Limited
Annual Report 2019

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FY2019 Annual Report · Mortgage Choice Limited
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2019 Annual Report

A

Contents

01  2019 Performance
03  Chairman’s Report
05  CEO Overview
09  Mortgage Choice’s  

Innovative Technology

11  Directors’ Report
37	 Auditor’s	Independence  

Declaration

38  2019 Financial Report
90  Shareholder Information
92  Corporate Directory

Our commitment to help more Australians 
make better choices for a better life drives 
everything we do.

27.5k+

home loans 
written in FY19

FY2019 was a landmark year for Mortgage 
Choice, making substantial leaps forward 
in how we equip our franchisee network to 
best serve their customers. 

23.4

22.6

20.5

18.6

$14.0m

Against the backdrop of a challenging 
property and mortgage market and 
significant regulatory scrutiny, the Company 
made considerable improvements to its 
mortgage broker and financial adviser 
offerings to build a platform for long-term 
sustainable growth.

These investments have given the Company 
a competitive advantage, strengthening 
the overall customer experience and 
advocacy for the brand.

15

16

17

18

2019

NPAT Cash 
$m

Across

28

lenders

Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019
B  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF  THE WAYOthers 2%

Financial Planning 6%

Diversified products 3%

Broking 89%

$54.3bn

Loan book in FY19

Gross revenue
by division

$9.4bn

$54.3bn

6c

$29.65m

12.2 12.3

11.5

11.5

54.6

53.4

18.0

17.5

16.5

15.5

51.7

49.5

Funds under advice
1,000

Premiums in force
35

27.829

24.182

19.196

15.034

800

600

400

200

0

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

15

16

17

18 2019

15

16

17

18

2019

15

16

17

18 2019

15

16

17

18

19

Total settlements 
$bn

Loan book 
$bn

Total dividends
Cents

Funds under advice
and Premiums in force
$m

02

WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF  THE WAYChairmans Report

Nov 2015

Government announces 
ASIC Review into Mortgage 
Broker Remuneration

Mar 2017

APRA introduces Macro-
Prudential controls including 
caps on interest-only lending 

Feb 2018

Royal Commission  
commences

Mar 2017

ASIC releases findings and 
recommendations with 
focus on changes to broker 
remuneration structure

Jan 2018

FINANCIAL PLANNING INDUSTRY ONLY 
Life Insurance Remuneration 
Reforms commence 

May 2018

APRA directed lender  
credit policy tightening

03  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019
03  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

“ A thriving professional broker channel is essential so that all Australian consumers can continue to experience real choice and access to credit.”Vicki Allen, ChairmanThe past year was one dominated by scrutiny of the financial 
services sector by government, regulators and the media. 
In addition, the broking sector was impacted by tightened 
lending policies and a slowing property market across Australia. 

Uncertain business environment
The past year was one dominated by 
scrutiny of the financial services sector by 
government, regulators and the media. In 
addition, the broking sector was impacted 
by tightened lending policies and a slowing 
property market across Australia. 

The scrutiny prevailed through the Royal 
Commission into Misconduct in the 
Banking, Superannuation and Financial 
Services Industry (Royal Commission). 
The Royal Commission recommended 
significant changes to broker remuneration 
structures, which created much uncertainty 
for the broking sector. However, both sides 
of parliament acknowledged the important 
role mortgage brokers play in driving 
competition in the home lending market. 
Consequently, the current remuneration 
model, which delivers brokers an upfront 
and trail commission on settled residential 
mortgages, will be retained for the next 
three years. Treasury will then review the 
broker remuneration structure.

We will continue to work with regulators, 
industry and government to ensure 
Mortgage Choice brokers and financial 
advisers provide professional support and 
advice for our customers within a sound 
governance framework.

Important role of mortgage brokers 
Over the past year a record share of 
Australians turned to a mortgage broker. 
In uncertain times, borrowers value the 
choice and support of a professional 
broker. We are committed to enabling 
competition in the home lending market. 
A thriving professional broker channel is 
essential so that all Australian consumers 
can continue to experience real choice and 
access to credit. 

Strong leadership 
Last year we welcomed Susan Mitchell 
as the Chief Executive Officer of Mortgage 
Choice. In her first full year, Susan delivered 
a new online broker platform as well as 
enhanced software for our financial advisers. 
Both were designed to provide a better 
customer, broker and adviser experience, as 
well as deal with the increasing compliance 
requirements for both lending and advice 
through more efficient tools and processes. 
She remains highly committed to evolve 
and strengthen the business within the new 
lending landscape. 

Board Renewal
Our ongoing board renewal continued this 
year and in February 2019 Dharmendra 
(Dharma) Chandran was appointed to 
the Mortgage Choice Board. Dharma is 
an experienced non-executive director 
and brings a deep understanding of the 
financial services industry and franchising, 
as well as a track record in transformational 
business and cultural change. 

Steve Jermyn retired as a director of the 
Company in June 2019. Steve joined the 
Mortgage Choice Board in May 2004 
and made a significant contribution 
to Mortgage Choice during that time. 
Steve chaired the Audit Committee 
for most of his tenure and his financial 
nous and franchising experience was 
invaluable. On behalf of my fellow Board 
members, I would like to thank Steve 
for his commitment to the success of 
Mortgage Choice over the last 15 years. 
We wish him well for the future.

Dividends
The Board has resolved to pay a final 
ordinary dividend of 3 cents per share. 
This results in a total ordinary dividend 
payment for the year ended 30 June 2019 
of 6 cents per share.

On behalf of the board, I would like to 
thank our staff and franchisees for their 
commitment and efforts over the past 
year and thank our shareholders for your 
continued support. 

Vicki Allen 
Chairman

Jun 2018

Productivity Commission 
releases final report on 
Competition in the Australian 
Financial System, which is 
consistent with findings 
and recommendations in 
ASIC Report

Dec 2018

APRA softens Macro Prudential 
controls including those on 
interest-only lending 

Feb 2019

Royal Commission releases 
final report and findings 

May 2019

Australian  
Federation Election 

Sep 2018

Royal Commission releases 
Interim Report

Jan 2019

FINANCIAL PLANNING INDUSTRY ONLY
Higher educational requirements 
commence under FASEA for new 
financial advisers

Feb 2019

Industry rolls out consumer 
campaign to highlight importance 
of brokers to competition 

04

CEO Overview

Susan Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer

05  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019
05  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

“Looking to the financial year ahead, in FY2020 Mortgage Choice will continue to implement its strategic change program to build a platform for growth over the long term.”The most pleasing outcome of this difficult year is the undisputed 
value of the mortgage broker industry, which received the 
strongest vote of confidence yet from borrowers, lenders and 
the Australian Government. 

Following a tumultuous year for the 
financial services industry, Mortgage 
Choice continued to excel in helping 
Australians with their evolving financial 
needs by delivering a range of financial 
choices teamed with trusted expert advice. 

The most pleasing outcome of this 
difficult year is the undisputed value of 
the mortgage broker industry, which 
received the strongest vote of confidence 
yet from borrowers, lenders and the 
Australian Government. 

Before I discuss Company performance 
and achievements over the past 
12 months and look ahead to the goals 
for the coming year, I’d first like to review 
the challenging economic and regulatory 
environment the business faced in FY2019. 

Tightened lending environment 
and falling	property	prices
Over the course of the year lenders 
tightened their lending policies and 
increased the level of information 
required on home loan applications in 
response to heightened scrutiny by APRA 
in parallel with the Royal Commission 
inquiry. As a result, in FY2019, home loan 
applications took longer to complete and 
people borrowed less money. This had 
a flow-on effect on prices and lending 
volumes, with lending volumes reaching 
their lowest point in 5 years.

Impact of Royal Commission 
At the half-year, ABS housing and finance 
approval volumes were impacted by 
the slowing property and home loan 
markets with a 9.7% decline in approvals 
in comparison to the same period in the 
previous year (1H2018) 1. These volumes 
were further impacted in the second 
half by a significant level of uncertainty 
regarding the impact of the Banking Royal 
Commission recommendations. In the 
second half we saw a further 8.9% drop 
on the first half, resulting in a full year 
reduction of 12.9%. 

1. ABS Data 5601 Table 01 Total Lending to Households; 

Value of Commitments

2.  Comparator Quarterly Report commissioned 

by MFAA, Jan-March 2019 quarter

3.  Deloitte, The Value of Mortgage Broking July 2018

Impact of election result
The election result in May 2019 has shifted 
the economic outlook for property. 
Proposed tax changes affecting property, 
specifically to negative gearing and capital 
gains tax, are now off the table. Interest 
rates have moved to further historical lows 
and the trajectory of the fall in property 
prices in both Melbourne and Sydney 
has levelled out. The signs all point to a 
recovery in lending volumes. It remains 
to be seen how these early signals are 
translated into strong market statistics.

Royal Commission – 
impact on remuneration
As part of this inquiry, broker remuneration 
and conduct was scrutinised and 
the Commissioner made two key 
recommendations. The first related to 
changes to trail commission structures which 
post-election will not be implemented by 
the Government. The current structures 
are to be retained with a review to be 
undertaken by Treasury in three years 
time. The second recommendation related 
to the introduction of new governance 
frameworks ensuring customer’s best 
interests are at the forefront of brokers’ 
minds in each transaction. 

We have over 25 years of doing the right 
thing by our customers. In a period where 
conflicted remuneration is subject to 
the scrutiny of regulators and a Royal 
Commission, Mortgage Choice’s history of 
its ‘paid the same’ commission structure 
gives customers confidence that our 
brokers are putting their clients’ interests 
ahead of their own.

There were also a number of 
recommendations by the Royal 
Commission related to Financial Planning, 
including ceasing Grandfathered 
commissions (by January 2021). Due to 
the fundamentals underlying the existing 
Mortgage Choice Financial Planning 
model, these recommendations will have 
minimal impact on the business. 

As CEO of Mortgage Choice I am happy 
to support any inquiry that strives to 
strengthen the industry and improve 
outcomes for the customer. I remain 
committed to working collaboratively with 
the industry to implement these changes 
whilst retaining competition within the 
home lending market. 

Brokers	fight	for	competition	
As the broker industry was called into 
the spotlight, Mortgage Choice joined 
forces with the Mortgage and Finance 
Association of Australia (MFAA) and 
other industry participants to execute an 
advertising and lobbying campaign to the 
consumer public. 

I am so very proud of our network and 
brokers who stood together under the 
Mortgage Choice banner to lobby their 
local members of Parliament, and take 
every opportunity available to influence 
opinion by sharing their customer success 
stories, while the Company engaged in 
activity at a national level. 

The high impact campaign raised 
awareness of issues impacting 
mortgage brokers and created a deeper 
understanding of their role, and stronger 
reputation for trust and customer 
care by communicating the benefits 
brokers bring to borrowers and the 
wider economy. 

This coordinated approach demonstrated 
the strength in a unified voice of the 
industry and the collective ability to work 
together and achieve a positive result for 
both brokers and their customers. 

59.7%

share of residential home loan 
market originated through 
the broker channel 2

90%

of customers are satisfied 
with services provided 
by a mortgage broker 3

06

CEO Overview

51.9%

53.7%

53.6%

55.3%

59.7%

60

58

56

54

52

50

48

46

44

Sep
14

Dec
14

Mar
15

Jun
15

Sep
15

Dec
15

Jun
16

Sep
16

Mar
17

Mar
Sep
Dec
16
17
16
Broker usage, MFAA 1 
%

Jun
17

Dec
17

Mar
18

Jun
18

Sep
18

Dec
18

Mar
19

Growth in broker market share 
As housing affordability and the increasing 
complexity of the lending environment 
continued to challenge investors and 
home buyers in FY2019, mortgage brokers 
achieved the highest ever residential home 
loan market share at 59.7% 1 and 90% 
of customers are satisfied with services 
provided by a mortgage broker 2. This is a 
testament to the choice of products 
that cater to wider financial needs and 
professional service brokers provide, which 
make mortgage applications proceed more 
smoothly to settlement. 

With six out of ten Australian borrowers 
choosing the services of a broker to 
secure their property finance, Mortgage 
Choice’s reach into local communities 
across Australia deepens our relationship 
with lenders. 

Property market outlook 3 
Over the last year, Mortgage Choice 
brokers faced challenging conditions in 
the Australian property market, which 
continued its correction. National dwelling 
values recorded an annual decline of 6.9% 
in the 12 months to June 2019, Led by 
Sydney (-9.9%), Darwin (-9.3%), Melbourne 
(-9.2%) and Perth (-9.1%), followed by 
Brisbane (-2.6%) and Adelaide (-0.3%). 
Hobart and Canberra were the only cities 
to record dwelling value growth, rising 
2.9% and 1.4% respectively. 

Across the regional markets, values were 
down 3.1% for the financial year. The 
decline in the property market was due 
in part to tightening credit policy from 
lenders whose forensic scrutiny of home 
loan applications significantly delayed 
loan approvals and reduced the borrowing 
power of many applicants.

Since the federal election the decline in 
property prices has lost its momentum 
and we have seen more stability in house 
prices. In July the RBA cut the official 
interest rate to a historic low of 1% which 
many lenders have passed on, reducing 
the cost of borrowing for investors and 
Australian families. This, added to APRA’s 
serviceability changes, will enable people 
to borrow more, which could put some 
positive motion back in to Australia’s 
property cycle. 

As the spring buying season approaches, 
these factors provide an improved 
backdrop for better business flows. As 
lenders continue to forensically assess 
home loan applications against borrower 
debt to income ratios and living expenses, 
brokers remain to be borrowers’ preferred 
method for securing home finance in an 
increasingly complex lending environment.

1.  Comparator Quarterly Report commissioned by MFAA, Jan-March 2019 quarter
2.  Deloitte, The Value of Mortgage Broking July 2018
3.  CoreLogic Hedonic Home Value Index July 2019 

07  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Broker remuneration 
As FY2019 began, the Company undertook 
a program of change to introduce a new 
broker remuneration framework and drive 
operational efficiencies. The Company 
acknowledges the impact this measure 
has had on shareholders and believes this 
was a necessary step to ensure Mortgage 
Choice is better placed in the mortgage 
broking industry to attract franchisees 
thus supporting the long term viability 
of the business. 

Network regeneration 
The uncertainties overshadowing the 
broker industry in FY2019 created a 
difficult set of circumstances in which 
to recruit. Looking ahead, improved 
conditions should help Mortgage Choice 
drive the regeneration of its franchise 
network, by attracting new business 
owners who are motivated to partner with 
the experience and expertise our national 
brand provides. 

Financial Planning
There has been a significant restructuring 
of wealth businesses across a number 
of Australia’s financial institutions in 
FY2019. Following the delivery of the 
Royal Commission recommendations, the 
financial planning industry continues to 
experience an intense period of disruption. 

Due to the fundamentals underlying 
the existing Mortgage Choice Financial 
Planning model, many of the Royal 
Commission recommendations will have 
little impact on Mortgage Choice, which 
has a fee for service advice model and is 
not reliant on Grandfathered commissions. 

Mortgage Choice Financial Planning 
continues to perform with Premiums In 
Force growing by 7% and Funds Under 
Advice rising 30%. Overall the financial 
planning arm achieved $10.5m in gross 
revenue in FY2019 to deliver a loss 
of $0.1m. These results reflect a new 
remuneration model for the Financial 
Planning business introduced on 
1 October 2018.

The Company continues to capitalise 
on the disruption in the financial planning 
industry by seeking out high quality 
advisers who are considering changing 
licensees and take advantage of the 
opportunity to build strong referral 
relationships within the Mortgage 
Choice network.

Despite the challenging operating 
environment in FY2019 the Company 
has performed well against its profit 
guidance given in 1H2019, to deliver 
Net Profit After Tax at $14.0 million. 

Business priorities for FY2020
Looking to the financial year ahead, in 
FY2020 Mortgage Choice will continue to 
implement its strategic change program to 
build a platform for growth and long term 
sustainability. This entails: 

Attracting brokers and advisers 
 – Attract new brokers to regenerate 

our existing network, as longer tenure 
franchisees look to sell their businesses 
to franchise owners who can take the 
business to the next level. Additionally, 
attract new business owners into the 
network who are motivated to partner 
with the experience and expertise our 
national brand provides.

 – Capitalise on the disruption in the 

financial planning industry by attracting 
talented advisers who are considering 
changing licensees to Mortgage Choice 
Financial Planning.

Attracting customers 
 – Mortgage Choice will focus on 
attracting and retaining more 
customers by continuing to invest 
in the Mortgage Choice brand.

Structuring the business for success
 – Ensure the majority of the Company’s 
resources are focused on revenue 
generating activities while maintaining 
a program of operational efficiencies to 
reduce costs. 

Maintaining our investment in IT
 – Continue IT investment to enhance our 
broker and adviser platforms, while 
enabling back office automation and an 
improved digital customer experience.

Susan Mitchell  
Chief Executive Officer 

Innovative Technology 
Mortgage Choice has proven its skill 
in building, delivering and maintaining 
technology that provides the Company 
and its franchise network with a 
competitive edge. 

Our new Broker Platform was built to meet 
the specific requirements of Mortgage 
Choice brokers and enables them to 
operate more efficiently and achieve 
higher business performance outcomes. 

As technology advancements continue 
unabated, our technology team 
is well placed to incorporate new 
features to futureproof the Company 
for tomorrow’s business needs and 
customer requirements. 

In late FY2019, Mortgage Choice 
incorporated its new File Management 
feature, which is a workflow engine with 
a set of standard tasks that can be set 
and managed at a franchise level. This 
technology will be a key driver of efficiency 
in our franchisees businesses and will 
support consistent process management 
of loans from application to settlement. 

Our continued investment in best of breed 
technology was extended to the financial 
planning business in FY2019 to enable 
our advisers to improve the efficiency and 
success of their businesses. 

Business Outcomes 
In our last annual report, I shared the 
Company’s four priorities for the year. 
They were:

 – Embed the new broker and adviser 

remuneration models.

 – Undertake a program of 
operational efficiencies.

 – Build brand awareness and improve 

customer experience. 

 – Position Mortgage Choice as 
an aggregator of choice for 
potential franchisees.

08

BUILDING A STRONGER  REPUTATION FOR TRUST  & CUSTOMER CAREMortgage Choice’s Innovative Technology

Mortgage Choice Technology strives to deliver state of 
the art digital services and solutions that connect people 
and information, enabling insights and understanding to 
build loyalty and brand advocacy. 

In FY2019, the business focussed its IT investment on uplifting the broker and adviser systems to build a strong 
foundation for the future and enable efficiency improvements for Group Office and the franchise network.

Broker Platform
The Mortgage Choice broking network 
has been using the Broker Platform to 
process customer loan applications since 
its release in October 2018. The system 
was specifically designed to transform the 
loan-processing experience for our broker 
network whilst providing an interface that 
is equally engaging for customers. The 
Broker Platform is now Mortgage Choice’s 
core system, enabling the network to 
work more efficiently whilst supporting 
future growth and increased productivity. 

Some of the ways in which the Broker 
Platform benefits franchisees include:

 – Single data entry and one source 

of truth for all customer home loan 
related data;

 – A more user-friendly tool that can be 
accessed online in realtime from any 
tablet or laptop; 

 – Improvement in broker productivity 
in the loan submission process by up 
to 30% as compared to the previous 
technology system; and

 – Improved system reliability and 

availability, with the system in operation 
over 99.99% of the time, including real 
time platform upgrades.

The introduction of this new system 
has also created some productivity 
improvements in Group Office, with 
a 50% reduction in loan submission 
system support costs including 
reduced call volumes into the IT 
HelpDesk and a reduction in the level 
of system maintenance and network 
training required.  

With all franchisees now operating on 
this new robust, dynamic, reliable and 
feature-rich platform, the business is 
positioned for faster and easier updates 
and enhancements going forward. 
Mortgage Choice is now also a step closer 
to providing its network with a  
one-platform user experience.

09  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

“ The new Broker Platform has 

delivered substantial business 
productivity	benefits	including	
consolidation of several 
previous systems into one 
platform, easier access to lender 
product and rate information, 
and a very impressive loan 
comparison tool called the 
Home Loan Doctor, allowing us 
to	more	effectively	recommend	
the right lending solution for 
clients.	A	key	benefit	has	been	
the way in which we present 
lending solutions to clients in a 
more	visually	effective	manner	
that helps reinforce and engage 
clients in the lender selection 
decision.	In	terms	of	benefit	
realisation, we estimate a 15% 
improvement in productivity and 
a stronger client engagement in 
lender choice decisions”

Paul Williams,  
Mortgage Choice Franchise Owner, 

South Melbourne, Victoria

“ I am really enjoying using the 

Broker	Platform.	I	find	the	new	
platform	has	more	data	fields	so	
it allows me to build a complete 
picture	of	my	client’s	financial	
position in minimal time, that 
data	also	flows	directly	into	
ApplyOnline so there’s less 
double handling of data. I’m a big 
fan of the reporting functionality 
too – I can run reports quickly and 
easily so I can track and analyse 
my monthly activity, conversion 
and loan book balance as part of 
my regular business operations. 
It’s the	best	place	to	go	to	take	
the pulse of your business”

Jo Duncan,  
Mortgage Choice Franchise Owner,  
Inner South West Brisbane, Queensland

File Management
The delivery of the Broker Platform is 
one part of our journey to delivering 
an exceptional digital home-buying 
experience for mortgage brokers and 
customers. It is the fundamental building 
block on which further developments will 
be built to help us achieve the desired 
outcome and grow our business. The 
second phase of this journey – the delivery 
of a File Management solution, focuses on 
building on the platform’s foundation to 
enable a one-platform user experience.

In FY2019, Mortgage Choice developed 
a standardised, best practice file 
management process and built this into 
File Management software. This software 
delivers efficient workflow management 
to our broking franchises enabling more 
consistent business processes when it 
comes to managing loan application 
pipelines. As this solution has been fully 
integrated with the Broker Platform, it 
also provides greater efficiencies for our 
network and delivers a more consistent 
customer experience for those engaging 
the services of a Mortgage Choice broker. 

In essence, the File Management 
workflow engine: 

 – Enables improved productivity of 

mortgage brokers, with less switching 
between systems and prompting 
of subsequent tasks for loan 
application management;

 – Reduces training requirements for loan 
processors and new recruits due to its 
intuitive system capability; and

 – Enables Mortgage Choice to move 

towards a standardised ‘best practice’ 
approach across the network so 
the process is ‘one-way, same-way’ 
improving operational governance.

Mortgage Choice took the new software 
into pilot with a group of franchisees at 
the close of FY2019. The solutions are 
being released to the wider network in 
the first quarter of FY2020.

In time, Mortgage Choice has the 
opportunity to expand the workflow 
management capabilities of File 
Management into Group Office driving 
further efficiencies, and to leverage the 
system for future growth opportunities.

This leading edge technology helps 
us to deliver a great client experience 
now and into the future, and positions 
our business more competitively for 
adviser recruitment. 

“It took some time to learn the 
new software but now that 
we’ve done that we can see it’s 
a good solution which provides 
efficiencies	in	running	the	
business. CommPay makes it 
easy to lodge and then track 
& reconcile expected revenue 
to	effectively	manage	cash	
flow.	The	workflows	are	more	
streamlined with an easier 
flow,	supporting	the	processes	
the business needs. Both the 
insurance and super research 
tools provide a quicker and 
more comprehensive way 
to input client data, do the 
comparative research and make 
recommendations for clients 
than the process with the 
previous software. ”

Matthew La Rocca,  
Mortgage Choice Financial Adviser 
Hoppers Crossing, Victoria

HelpCentre
The delivery of the new Mortgage Choice 
HelpCentre at the end of June 2019 
forms the basis of our new service model 
to the franchise network. 

The HelpCentre has transformed the 
way we support our network, enabling 
users to self-serve information and lodge 
requests or enquiries to Group Office in 
the one portal. By bringing all network 
interactions into one dynamic interface, 
it enables the business to better manage 
requests from the network and be more 
productive, while providing the network 
an easier, faster and more efficient way 
of obtaining information. Our phone 
based support team is also freed up to 
focus on the more complex queries. 

“ We have been using File 
Management during the 
pilot phase and while we 
understand there are still some 
enhancements to be made prior 
to	final	release,	the	improvement	
that has occurred already is 
fantastic. We see the end result 
of	this	system	as	a	time	effective	
and user-friendly loan tracking 
and communications tool that 
will save an immense amount of 
time throughout the loan process 
and enable us to communicate 
effectively	with	our	clients”

Scott Bament,  
Mortgage Choice Franchise Owner 
 Morphett Vale, South Australia 

XPLAN
The development of the Broker Platform 
sets the foundation for future integration 
of client data across all Mortgage Choice 
businesses. In FY2019 our focus has been 
on driving the enhancements and process 
efficiencies required across our financial 
planning business to ensure advisers 
can provide advice in a cost-efficient 
manner. This also prepares both sides 
of the business for the closer integration 
of client data. We have transitioned the 
adviser network to new financial planning 
software, market-leading XPLAN, and in 
doing so delivered the network a more 
robust solution, whilst helping to reduce 
the cost to provide advice into the future.

Operating on this new platform will:

 – Significantly reduce the time required 
to manage client files, enabling our 
advisers to work with more clients 
over time without increasing resources 
and costs;

 – Allow advisers to produce more advice 
in-house, reducing the need to use 
external paraplanning providers; and

 – Provide better tracking and reporting 
on the delivery of ongoing regulatory 
requirements. 

All advisers are now operating on the 
new system, with regular training available 
and continued system improvements 
and functionality enhancements being 
delivered on an ongoing basis to ensure 
the experience is continually optimised. 

In addition, the benefits of the HelpCentre 
to the network include:

 – Quick and easy search functionality 
with an intuitive search engine; and

 – Ability to submit and track enquiries 

and view any previous requests.

Additional benefits for Group Office include:

 – Analytics and insights on the type of 

questions and issues being raised by the 
network to help improve processes  
and/or network knowledge and 
training; and

 – Improved governance through a 

consistent content management process.

Our aim is to now build on the HelpCentre 
functionality to continue to transform 
the way we service our network, bringing 
about further improvements in the service 
experience while seeking additional 
operational efficiencies for the business.

“ The delivery of the HelpCentre 
is	the	first	step	in	transforming	
our service experience for our 
network of brokers, advisers 
and	staff.	The	new	platform	
brings all network support 
interactions together so we 
can	respond	more	effectively	
and obtain insights that will 
assist in identifying further 
opportunities	for	efficiency	
and innovation. We’ve been 
receiving great feedback since 
its launch and I’m excited about 
the additional functionality 
that we can add in the future 
that will further enhance the 
network’s experience.”

Dan O’Malley,  
HelpCentre Manager 

10

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Your Directors present their report on the consolidated entity 
consisting of Mortgage Choice Limited (“the Company”) and the 
entities it controlled at the end of, or during, the year ended 
30 June 2019, hereafter referred to as “Mortgage Choice”, or 
“the Mortgage Choice Group” or “the Group”. 

Directors
The following persons were the Directors of Mortgage Choice 
Limited during the financial year and up to the date of this report:

V L Allen

S J Brennan 

D Chandran (appointed 20 February 2019) 

S J Clancy

A C Gale

P G Higgins

R G Higgins

S C Jermyn (retired 19 June 2019) 

Principal activities 
Mortgage Choice is a full financial services organisation helping 
Australians with their financial needs by delivering a range of 
financial choices teamed with trusted expert advice. The Group’s 
principal activities include:

Mortgage Broking
 – The provision of assistance in determining the borrowing 
capacities of intending residential mortgage borrowers;

 – The assessment, at the request of those borrowers, of a 

wide range of home loan products; and

 – The submission of loan applications on behalf of intending 

borrowers.

Loans & Other Credit Services 
 – The provision of assistance with credit services, for example 

car loans, equipment finance, general insurance and personal 
loans to support personal and home pursuits and/or 
consolidate debts.

Financial Planning 
 – The provision of assistance in determining superannuation and 

wealth management strategies;

 – Coaching and active management of the above 

mentioned strategies;

 – The assessment of the customer’s protection insurance needs;

 – The submission of insurance policy applications on the 

customer’s behalf; and

 – Budgeting and cash flow management advice.

11  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Dividends
Dividends paid or payable to members during the financial year are 
as follows:

A final ordinary dividend of $11.250 million (9.0 cents per fully paid 
share) was declared for the year ended 30 June 2018 on 20 August 
2018 and paid on 10 October 2018.

An interim ordinary dividend of $3.750 million (3.0 cents per fully 
paid share) was declared for the half-year ended 31 December 
2018 on 20 February 2019 and paid on 15 April 2019.

A final ordinary dividend of $3.750 million (3.0 cents per fully 
paid share) was declared for the year ended 30 June 2019 on 
21 August 2019 to be paid on 15 October 2019.

Corporate Governance Statement 
The Company’s Corporate Governance Statement can be found at 
http://www.mortgagechoice.com.au/about-us/shareholder-centre/
corporate-governance

Review of Operations 
A review of the Group’s operations is set out in the Operating and 
Financial Review below. 

Operating and Financial Highlights 
The FY2019 results were driven by three significant factors. 
Firstly, we made a considered strategic decision to change our 
broker remuneration model to competitively position Mortgage 
Choice to attract high quality new franchisees now and into the 
future. During the year, we saw a substantial fall in settlements 
unrelated to the change in the model, but linked to the external 
lending environment. Tightening credit conditions, easing of 
property markets and economic uncertainty surrounding the 
Royal Commission and Federal Election had a combined effect 
to slow settlement activity across the business. We also saw the 
withdrawal of our white label home loans partner mid-year. 

Mortgage Choice’s IFRS NPAT of $13.7m reflected the change in the 
broker payout as well as a fall in annual settlements of 18%. It is not 
comparable to the prior year which included a one-off adjustment to 
reflect the retroactive nature of the change in the broker payout of 
more than $28m. The cash NPAT fell significantly to $14.0m for the 
year, or down 40% on FY2018 primarily as a result of the change in 
broker payout introduced from 1 August 2018.

During the year, Mortgage Choice rolled out several significant 
IT projects. It invested $3.4 million in its new Broker Platform in 
FY2019 to enable our brokers to write loans faster while improving 
the overall customer experience.

Further investments were made within the Financial Planning 
business. It refreshed its technology platform by transitioning its 
advice software to XPLAN and revised its remuneration structure 
to encourage growth in the business. 

The new financial planning adviser remuneration model, which was 
introduced in October 2018, is reflected in the result for Mortgage 
Choice Financial Planning (MCFP).

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Mortgage Choice focussed on reducing operating expenses by 
10% in FY2019 as compared to FY2018. The actual result achieved 
for the year exceeded our target for a total reduction in operating 
expenses of 17%. This further reduction was achieved due to the 
non-payment of employee performance incentives in a challenging 
economic environment. We do, however, expect this to reset next 
year as the lending environment improves. 

Following the broker remuneration model review a number of 
smaller franchisees and/or offices were rationalised through 
the merging by owners of multiple franchises and the buyback 
of a number of very small books. New franchise recruitment 
was impacted by the uncertainties resulting from the Royal 
Commission leading up to the Federal Election. Together these 
influences led to a one-off reduction in overall franchise numbers.

Operating Review 
Regulation
FY2019 was dominated by the highest form of public inquiry, the 
Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation 
and Financial Services Industry. Despite the range of issues 
identified by the Commission across the financial services industry, 
there was no evidence of systemic misconduct in the mortgage 
broking industry introduced. 

Further, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) 
revealed that of 35,263 complaints against financial service 
providers, 107 related to mortgage brokers in the six month 
period from 1 November 2018 to 30 April 2019. This is 0.3% of 
reported complaints. 

As an active participant of the Combined Industry Forum (CIF), 
Mortgage Choice is committed to the implementation of the 
recommendations developed by the CIF, in response to ASIC’s 
2017 Review of Mortgage Broker Remuneration. 

In the face of regulatory pressure, the Board is confident that the 
valued service our mortgage brokers and financial advisers have 
provided will continue to deliver positive outcomes for consumers.

New Remuneration Models 
Mortgage Choice underwent a program of companywide change 
in FY2019 which included the implementation of a new broker 
remuneration model to drive sustainable growth. The revised 
model coupled with the support services the Company provides 
franchisees is expected to attract new, motivated individuals with a 
business-owner mindset to our organisation over the coming years.

In a similar vein, a new remuneration model was rolled out to 
the MCFP network. It recognises growth sooner and faster to 
encourage MCFP franchise owners to invest in growing their 
businesses and improves the competitiveness of the model. 

Investment in innovative technology 
In FY2019 Mortgage Choice has delivered best in class technology 
that provides our brokers with the platform to operate more 
efficiently and achieve higher business performance outcomes. 
We have achieved this by ensuring the reliability and 99.99% 

availability of our new Broker Platform. In achieving the ‘four nines’ 
of high availability, Mortgage Choice has proven its undisputed 
skills in building, delivering and maintaining technology 
that provides the Company and its franchise network with a 
competitive edge. As technology advancements continue to be 
rolled out, our technology team are well placed to incorporate 
new features to futureproof the Company for tomorrow’s 
business needs and customer requirements.

Our	key	technology	achievements	in FY2019
New Broker Platform 
In FY2018, Mortgage Choice invested $3.4 million on the new 
Broker Platform. Our core IT stack was built to meet the specific 
requirements of Mortgage Choice brokers and reduces data 
entry across multiple systems to enable a quicker, smoother 
loan submission. By building the new Broker Platform on 
microservices based architecture and exposing capability based 
APIs, the Company has futureproofed this core platform for the 
technological needs of tomorrow.

In FY2019, technology continued to be an important enabler at 
Mortgage Choice, with activity focussed on delivering powerful 
new features that allow our brokers to increase efficiencies and 
better serve their clientele. 

 – Within the heart of the new Broker Platform, the Product 
Catalogue enables brokers to quickly and simply show 
customers suitable home loan products from thousands of 
product options.

 – Through our Home Loan Doctor brokers can compare home 
loan products and show customers useful graphs and loan 
payment schedules to assist them in making informed 
purchasing decisions.

 – Driving efficiencies in processing files whilst delivering 
a consistent customer experience across our franchise 
network has been enabled through the establishment of File 
Management software, a rules-based workflow engine with a 
simple interface and a standard set of tasks that brokers can 
add to and customise for their franchise business. 

 – We have built a secure online Customer Portal where the 

customer can interact with the broker through a document 
repository and by sharing personal finance information such as 
salary slips, bank statements and tax returns, so our brokers can 
accurately model scenarios.

 – With security at the forefront, the Company adopted next 

generation firewall products and further protects customer 
data with leading identity and access management platforms. 

HelpCentre
The new Mortgage Choice HelpCentre is an online self-service 
resource that is designed to assist franchisees across our network 
easily locate information and submit requests to Group Office. The 
new tool provides a range of operational efficiencies for Group 
Office, while providing a fast and user-friendly experience to the 
franchise network due to its functional design and enhanced 
search capability. 

12

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Advisers XPLAN migration 
To further increase practice efficiency, in FY2019 Mortgage 
Choice Financial Planning rolled out a fully configured version 
of the industry-leading technology platform XPLAN. The new 
system provides many enhanced features and functionality that 
will enable our advisers to improve efficiency and strengthen 
compliance processes, all of which are critically important in the 
current environment. Mortgage Choice successfully migrated our 
advice franchises to the integrated financial planning software and 
provided each adviser and staff member with face-to-face training. 
The new software will be both a powerful and practical tool to 
help advisers provide clients with quality, goal-oriented advice as 
enhancements continue to roll out over the next six months. 

Technology roadmap
In the fiercely competitive mortgage broker market, companies 
that choose to innovate through technology have a higher 
propensity to drive financial performance. To reflect this, we have 
ambitious plans for our FY2020 roadmap, where the focus will 
shift to enabling back office automation and an improved digital 
customer experience. 

Diversification
Mortgage Choice continues to develop its product offering in line 
with increasing customer expectations and our objective to build 
on our full financial services proposition.

Products to meet customer needs 
To provide our customers with increased choice, Mortgage Choice 
added eight new business partners to its product panel in FY2019. 
The broadening of our panel ensures we can offer a greater 
breadth of tailored solutions across mortgages, insurances, 
personal loans and commercial finance. This enables our brokers to 
navigate increased complexities in lending policies to better meet 
the evolving needs of our customers. We expect to further expand 
our panel across multiple products throughout FY2020. 

Financial Planning
Mortgage Choice Financial Planning continues to perform with 
Premiums In Force growing by 7% and Funds Under Advice rising 
30%. Overall the financial planning arm achieved $10.5m in gross 
revenue in FY2019 to deliver an IFRS loss of $88,000. 

In a watershed year for the advice industry, which saw the 
restructuring of wealth businesses across a number of Australia’s 
financial institutions. Mortgage Choice is active in attracting 
quality advisers seeking the backing of a national brand and the 
opportunity to build referral relationships within the Mortgage 
Choice broker network.

Brand Presence
For over 27 years, Mortgage Choice has been helping Australians 
with their financial needs by delivering a range of financial choices 
teamed with trusted expert advice. Effective brand marketing 
is key to customer acquisition and retention and our marketing 
communications strategy continues to drive awareness of how our 
wide range of products and services can help. 

By connecting with customers in a meaningful way, via a range of 
traditional and digital channels, we have driven engagement and 
preference for Mortgage Choice in FY2019. 

13  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Boot Camp
In the current lending environment borrowers need to be 
financially fit to get a home loan. In response to borrowers’ 
increasing need for financial education, we launched our first 
Mortgage Choice Home Loan Boot Camp in FY2019. Based around 
a core digital content program including interactive quizzes and 
educational videos, Boot Camp was spearheaded by a national 
advertising campaign and supported by providing brokers with 
local area marketing materials. The successful collaboration 
enabled us to increase our brand awareness to drive over 6,000+ 
webpage views and an additional 250,000 views through our paid 
partnership with realestate.com.au. 

Customer communications program 
In FY2019 we have continued to have success in reaching our 
customers via our flagship customer communications program, 
MC Connect. This centralised program sends curated emails that 
are relevant to a customer’s stage in the home loan journey, which 
are personalised with local broker’s details. Our Lead Nurture 
and Trigger based communication programs create further 
opportunities to provide information and cross sell opportunities.

Social Media 
In FY2019 we have enabled more brokers to connect with customers 
through social media via our custom-built Metigy platform. This 
platform gives brokers access to a range of quality content created by 
the Mortgage Choice Marketing team, to post across a range of their 
social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. 

Corporate Affairs 
The Corporate Affairs team drives our strategic communications 
outreach to position Mortgage Choice as a pioneer of opinion 
and thought leadership with key business, trade, consumer and 
political media. 

This year, the Mortgage Choice Corporate Affairs team have been 
successful in securing regular broadcast media segments for CEO, 
Susan Mitchell to provide market updates and discuss current 
industry issues. This gave the Company a presence in Canberra 
and enabled Mortgage Choice to show case the value of mortgage 
brokers with decision makers, in this most important of years. 

The Mortgage Choice press office is prolific in its creation of national 
media opportunities through the provision of customer case studies; 
independent commissioned research and whitepapers, which 
support the Company’s advertising campaigns; and provide a broader 
narrative on the Mortgage Choice value proposition.

The Company’s renewed focus on entering Industry Awards helps 
solidify brand reputation and market positioning as we look to 
regenerate the franchise network. 

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Distribution
Mortgage Choice is active in driving the regeneration of its broker network through recruitment. We are selling new franchise areas with 
existing marketing databases, which enable new entrants to kickstart their business, with opportunities to service clients and build a sales 
pipeline from day one.

Where franchise owners are seeking a transition of their business by recruiting for future growth, or transitioning out of the business, 
Mortgage Choice assists with succession planning to introduce new talent into the network. 

It should be noted that FY2019 was a challenging period for new business owners and brokers across the industry due to the ongoing 
Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. With this major inquiry behind us and 
clear support from government and consumers, Mortgage Choice continues to attract new business owners who are keen to partner with 
the experience and expertise our brand provides. 

Financial Review 
Our statutory IFRS profit increased by 224% to $13.7 million as the prior comparable period included a one-off adjustment of $28m to 
reflect the retroactive nature of the remuneration model change introduced as of 1 August 2018, as discussed earlier. Our cash profit 
decreased by 40% to $14.0m, also reflecting the strategic change in the broker remuneration model. Settlements for the year were 
$9.4 billion, down 18% on FY18. 

1,200

1,100

900

800

700

600

500

Jul 14

Dec 14

Jun 15

Dec 15

Jun 16

Dec 16

Jun 17

Dec 17

Jun 18

Dec 18

Jun 19

Settlement Trends 
$m

As at 30 June, Mortgage Choice’s total loan book (including residential and commercial loans) was $54.3 billion – down from $54.6 billion 
in FY18.

54.35bn

53.37

54.62

51.74

49.54

45.29

43.57

47.36

41.43

39.30

36.23

33.27

29.64

25.70

21.69

17.69

13.08

9.52

6.84

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

11
09
10
Loanbook 
$bn

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

As in prior years, an actuarial review was conducted on the residential loan book. The review found the run-off rate of the loan book was 
slower than the assumptions used in the valuation at 30 June 2018. Management determined that this required a positive balance sheet 
adjustment of $2.7m at year end to bring the valuation in line with the actual loan book position and assumed future run-off profile. 
The underlying operating revenue before adjustment, is down 15.8% year on year due to the fall in settlements. The table below shows 
the movement in the underlying statutory results year on year. 

14

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Underlying Statutory Results 

Operating Revenue

Underlying operating revenue

Adjustment to NPV receivable (contract asset) for changes in run-off and other assumptions

Total operating revenue

Profit	after	tax

Underlying result after tax

Adjustment to net NPV receivable (contract asset) for changes in run-off and other assumptions

Adjustment to valuation of loan book payable due to model changes

Total	profit	after	tax

2019
$’000

2018 
$’000

163,711

13,644 

177,355

194,439

23,369

217,808

11,058

2,666

25,651

7,055

—

(28,468)

13,724

4,238

Cash results decreased 40% to $14.0 million for the year. 
This fall in cash results was due to a reduction in settlements 
combined with an increase in payout offset by a 17% reduction in 
operating expenses.

Focus areas for FY2020
Mortgage Choice will continue to implement its strategic 
change program to build a platform for growth and long 
term sustainability. 

Attracting brokers and advisers 
The remuneration and system changes delivered in FY2019 
strengthen both the broking and financial advice recruitment 
propositions and with the dissipation of the uncertainty 
surrounding the Royal Commission, Mortgage Choice is now in a 
strong position to attract new franchise owners. 

The recruitment efforts for mortgage broking will be focused on 
regenerating the existing network as longer tenure franchisees 
look to turn over their businesses to new franchise owners set to 
take the business to the next level. 

The recruitment efforts for MCFP will focus on growing the scale 
of the financial planning network. Due to the amount of change 
occurring in the advice industry, advisers are considering changing 
licensees in unprecedented numbers. Many are leaving the large 
institutions in favour of self-licencing or smaller, established 
licensees. There is an opportunity for Mortgage Choice to capture 
a share of this market. 

Attracting customers 
Mortgage Choice will continue to invest in ensuring Mortgage Choice 
is a strong, well known brand that creates value for the Company and 
its franchisees by attracting and retaining more customers. 

Structuring the business for success
The business will continue to challenge the current operating 
model in order to reduce costs whilst maintaining the service 
support for brokers and advisers. Processes will be re-engineered, 
automated or outsourced to improve efficiencies and to ensure 
the majority of the Company’s resources are focused on revenue 
generating activities. 

Maintaining our investment in IT
Our future success is dependent on continued investment in IT. We 
will continue to enhance the broker and adviser platforms with an 
added focus of enabling back office automation and an improved 
digital customer experience. 

Significant changes in the state of affairs
Except for the matters disclosed in the Review of Operations 
section of this annual report, there have been no significant 
changes in the state of affairs of the Group.

Matters subsequent to the end of the financial year
No matters or circumstances have arisen since 30 June 2019 that 
have significantly affected, or may significantly affect:

a)  the Group’s operations in future financial years,

b)  the results of those operations in future financial years, or

c)  the Group’s state of affairs in future financial years.

Likely developments and expected results of operations 
Information on likely developments in the operations of the Group 
and the expected results of operations have not been included in 
this report because the Directors believe it would be likely to result 
in unreasonable prejudice to the Group.

Environmental regulation 
The Group is not subject to any significant environmental 
regulation under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or 
Territory in respect to its activities.

Information on Directors 
Mortgage Choice made two changes to its Board of Directors 
in FY2019. 

In June 2019 we announced the retirement of Steve Jermyn as a 
Director of the Company. Steve joined the Mortgage Choice Board 
in May 2004 and has provided invaluable guidance and leadership 
through his extensive franchising experience. 

Mortgage Choice continues to attract highly experienced board 
members who can leverage the fresh skills and knowledge needed 
to effectively steer the company to future success. In February 
2019 the Company announced the appointment of Dharmendra 
(Dharma) Chandran to the Mortgage Choice Board of Directors. 

15  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

 
 
 
 
Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Board of Directors 

Vicki Allen
BBus, MBA, FAICD
 – Independent Non-Executive 

Chairman

 – Chairman of nomination 

committee and member of 
remuneration committee
 – Director since 19 June 2017

Vicki was appointed the Independent Non-Executive Chairman in July 2017. Vicki has over 
thirty years of senior executive and board experience across the financial services and 
property sectors. During her executive career she held various senior roles at The Trust 
Company, National Australia Bank, MLC and Lend Lease Corporation. She has held a number 
of non-executive director roles in recent years and is currently a non-executive director of 
Bennelong Funds Management Limited, Bennelong Funds Management Group Pty Ltd and 
Chairman of the BT Funds board. She is a member of the Audit and Risk Committee of the 
NSW Ombudsman. Vicki is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a 
Trustee Fellow of The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia. Age 57.

Sarah Brennan
FFPA, GAICD
 – Independent Non-Executive 

Director

 – Member of remuneration 

committee and Chairman of 
the Mortgage Choice Financial 
Planning investment committee

 – Director since 21 March 2018

Sean Clancy 
Dip Mkt, FAICD
 – Independent Non-Executive 

Director

 – Chairman of remuneration 
committee and member of 
audit and risk committee
 – Director since 18 May 2009

Andrew Gale 
BA (actuarial major), MBA, 
FAICD, FIAA
 – Independent Non-Executive 

Director

 – Chairman of audit and risk 
committee and member of 
nomination committee

 – Director since 21 March 2018

Sarah Brennan is an entrepreneur with over 25 years’ experience in the financial services 
industry at an Executive, Consultant and Board level. She brings with her an extensive 
background in the areas of strategy, innovation, professionalism and regulatory and 
corporate governance. Sarah founded Comparator, the leading provider of benchmarking to 
the Australian financial services market, which she then sold to CoreLogic. She has held senior 
roles at Citibank, MLC, Deutsche Bank and has provided consulting services across financial 
services and wealth management to both domestic and international clients. Age 52.

With a sales and marketing background across many industries including banking, fast moving 
consumer goods, liquor, pharmacy, consumer electronics, telecommunications and hardware, 
Sean brings a diverse range of knowledge and expertise to the Mortgage Choice Board. He 
is also a Director and Chief Executive Officer of Transfusion Ltd, Chairman of Metropolis 
Inc., Campaign Express, Non-Executive Director of Gowing Brothers and of Whitecoat and 
Ambassador to Business Events Sydney. Age 59.

Andrew Gale is a qualified actuary with extensive knowledge of the financial services sector. 
He has had a deep involvement in financial services regulatory issues in a range of capacities 
and brings expertise in general management, M&A, corporate strategy, marketing, distribution 
and risk management. He has over 35 years’ experience in the industry, including roles as 
Executive Director with Chase Corporate Advisory, CEO and Managing Director for Count 
Financial Ltd, Managing Partner for Deloitte Actuaries and Consultants, and various senior 
executive roles at MLC and AMP. Andrew has over 25 years’ experience as a board director. He 
is a non-executive director (NED) for the NAB Advice & Licences Board, NULIS Nominees (Aust) 
Limited (trustee for MLC’s superannuation entities), and Harper Bernays Limited. He was a NED 
of the SMSF Association Limited for 6 years to June 2018, and its Chairman for 2 years. Andrew 
is a past President of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia. Age 62.

Peter Higgins
 – Non-Executive Director
 – Member of audit and risk 

committee

 – Director since 30 November 

1989 

Peter is co-founder of Mortgage Choice. He is also Executive Chairman of Technology 
Company Power & Data Corporation Pty Ltd, trading as Mainlinepower.com and a Director of 
Argosy Agricultural Group Pty Ltd and a Member of the Hawkesbury Valley Economic Advisory 
Committee. Peter is also an Ambassador of the International Federation of Polo. Having 
been successfully self-employed for over 30 years, Peter is an investor in a diverse number of 
industries covering manufacturing, agriculture, technology, property and finance. Age 59.

Rodney Higgins
 – Non-Executive Director
 – Member of nomination and 
remuneration committees 
 – Director since 30 January 1986

Rodney is co-founder of Mortgage Choice. With a background in residential and commercial 
property, sales and leasing, he has been a Director of companies involved in manufacturing, 
wholesaling, importing, retailing and finance. Age 64.

Dharmendra Chandran

MCom, LLB, BCom
 – Independent Non-Executive 

Director

 – Member of audit and risk 

committee

 – Director since 20 February 2019

Dharma is a highly respected corporate strategy and human resources executive with a 
track record in business transformation and cultural change. Dharma developed a deep 
understanding of the financial services industry throughout his time in various consulting 
roles and his five years at Westpac. He has held various Board roles for private companies and 
government related organisations, more recently, as a Non-Executive Director and Chair of 
the Board People Committee for 7-Eleven. Age 55.

Steve Jermyn

FCPA
 – Independent Non-Executive 

Director, resigned 19 June 2019

 – Director since 24 May 2004

Steve joined McDonald’s Australia in 1984 and joined the Board of Directors in 1986. In June 
1999, he was appointed Deputy Managing Director. Steve has been involved in all aspects 
of the development of the McDonald’s restaurant business in Australia and brings with him 
significant experience in the development of new business and franchising. He retired from 
McDonald’s Australia in 2005. Steve is Chairman of Half the Sky Foundation Australia Ltd, 
Director of Guzman Y Gomez (Holdings) Pty Ltd and Director of Ronald McDonald House 
Charities. Age 70.

16

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Directors’ interests
The table below sets out the DIrectors’ interests at 30 June 2019:

Director 

V L Allen 

S J Brennan 

D Chandran 

S J Clancy 

A C Gale 

P G Higgins 

R G Higgins 

Particulars of Director’s interests in shares
Ordinary shares

60,000

—

— 

120,000

— 

259,253

15,380,212 

Company Secretary
The Company Secretary is Mr Ian Parkes BEc, MBA, CA who is also the Company’s Chief Financial Officer.

Meetings of Directors
The numbers of meetings of the Company’s Board of Directors and of each board committee held during the year ended 30 June 2019, 
and the number of meetings attended by each Director were:

Full meetings of Directors

Audit

Nomination

Remuneration

Meetings of committees

A

10

10

2

9

10

9

6

9

B

10

10

2

10

10

10

10

10

A

*

*

*

3

3

3

*

3

B

*

*

*

3

3

3

*

3

A

4

*

*

*

4

*

2

*

B

4

*

*

*

4

*

4

*

A

3

3

*

3

*

*

2

*

B

3

3

*

3

*

*

3

*

V L Allen

S J Brennan

D Chandran

S J Clancy

A C Gale

P G Higgins

R G Higgins

S C Jermyn

A = Number of meetings attended
B = Number of meetings held
* = Not a member of the relevant committee

17  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

 
Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report
This Remuneration Report sets out the FY 2019 remuneration 
information for the Company’s Non-executive Directors, 
Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and other key management 
personnel (collectively “KMP”) as defined in the Glossary at the 
end of this report. 

The report contains the following sections: 

a)  Chairman’s introduction

b)  KMP included in this report

c)  Remuneration governance

d)  Executive remuneration policy and framework

e)  Executive remuneration for FY 2019

f)  Relationship between remuneration and Mortgage Choice 

Limited’s performance

g)  Non-executive Director remuneration 

h)  Statutory disclosures 

i)  Glossary

a)  Chairman’s introduction 

Dear Shareholders

On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to present the FY 2019 
Remuneration Report to you.

The Board is committed to a transparent remuneration approach 
linked to company strategy and performance which balances the 
long term interests of shareholders and the need to attract and 
retain talented professionals who can deliver on the company 
goals and business objectives.

Despite the achievement of a number of key strategic initiatives 
during the year, and the achievement of a range of individual KPI’s, 
the KMP did not achieve the cash profit target gateway set by the 
Board and accordingly for FY2019, there were no executive KMP 
STI payments. 

In addition, the performance hurdles for the 2016 Long Term 
Incentive were only partially met and as a result 50% of the 2016 
LTI vested and 50% of the 2016 LTI lapsed.

Looking ahead, we will continue to monitor and adjust our 
remuneration policies and processes to ensure we create the best 
environment to achieve our strategic goals.

Sean Clancy 
Chair of the Remuneration Committee

b)  KMP included in this report

Table A: KMP during FY 2019
Name

Non-executive Directors 

Vicki L Allen

Sarah J Brennan

Sean J Clancy

Andrew C Gale

Peter G Higgins

Rodney G Higgins

Dharmendra Chandran 1

Stephen C Jermyn 2

Executive KMP

Susan R Mitchell

Ian J Parkes 3

Neill C Rose-Innes

Position

Non-Executive Chairman

Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Chief Executive Officer

Chief Financial Officer

General Manager – Distribution

Melissa J McCarney

General Manager – Group Marketing

Emma A Dupont-Brown 

Tania J Milnes

Marie J Pitton

General Manager – Product and 
Corporate Communications

General Manager – Financial Planning

General Manager – Human Resources

Vincent C ten Krooden

Head of IT 

1  Mr Chandran was appointed as a Director on 20 February 2019. 
2  Mr Jermyn retired from the Board on 19 June 2019.
3  Mr Parkes commenced in the role of Chief Financial Officer on 15 October 2018.

18

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued

c)  Remuneration governance
The diagram below provides an overview of the Company’s remuneration governance framework.

Remuneration Governance Framework

Board

Remuneration Consultants

Responsible for overseeing the Company’s 
remuneration structure and ensuring it is 
appropriate for the Company’s circumstances, 
performance, and aligned with the long-term 
interests of the Company and its shareholders.

Oversee  
& delegate

Recommend  
& inform

Remuneration Committee

Holds primary responsibility for remuneration 
governance. 

Makes recommendations to the Board on:

 – Non-executive Director fees;

 – Executive remuneration; and

 – Operation of the incentive plan.

Seeks advice from independent 
remuneration consultants.

The Corporate Governance Statement located 
on the Mortgage Choice website provides 
information on the role and composition of 
the Remuneration Committee.

www.mortgagechoice.com.au/about-us/
shareholder-centre/corporate-governance.aspx

Remuneration consultants and other independent advisors are 
engaged by the Remuneration Committee from time to time to 
advise on various issues, including structuring of remuneration, 
benchmarking data and market practice of other listed companies.

During FY2018, the Company’s Remuneration Committee engaged 
the services of AON Hewitt to review and provide guidance on the 
Executive Team’s remuneration framework. This formed the basis 
for the remuneration framework applied in FY 2019.

The following arrangements were made to ensure that the 
remuneration recommendations were free from undue influence: 

 – AON Hewitt was engaged by and reported directly to the 

Chair of the Board and Remuneration Committee;

 – The agreement for the provision of remuneration consulting 
services was executed by the Chair of the Board and the 
Remuneration Committee under delegated authority of all 
Board members;

 – The report containing remuneration recommendations was 

provided by AON Hewitt directly to the Chair of the Board and 
the Remuneration Committee; and

 – AON Hewitt were permitted to speak to management 
throughout the engagement to understand company 
processes, practices and other business issues and obtain 
management perspectives.

As a consequence, the Board is satisfied that the recommendations 
were made free from undue influence from any members of the 
key management personnel.

Engage

Advise

19  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued

d)  Executive remuneration policy and framework
The following diagram shows the remuneration policy and framework that the Board, as advised by the Remuneration Committee, 
applies in setting executive remuneration. 

Executive Remuneration Policy & Framework

Remuneration policy

Aim to ensure that remuneration practices are:

 – fair and reasonable, enabling the Company to attract and retain key skills and experience;

 – aligned to the Company’s strategic and business objectives and the creation of shareholder value; 

 – transparent; and 

 – acceptable to shareholders.

Fixed

Performance based

Fixed Remuneration

Short Term Incentive (“STI”)

Long Term Incentive (“LTI”)

–  Fixed remuneration consists of base 

–  Designed to reward short 

–  Designed to reward longer 

cash salary and superannuation.

term performance.

term performance.

–  Base salary is reviewed annually against 

–  STI awards are awarded based on 

–  LTI awards are delivered as performance 

external benchmarks to ensure it 
remains within market parameters.

–  Superannuation is paid up to the 

maximum super contribution base.

performance against a balanced scorecard.

–  Scorecards are structured as a 

combination of financial, strategic and 
operational KPIs.

–  CEO’s STI is delivered 50% in cash and 
50% in deferred performance rights. 
The performance rights vest in 2 tranches 
(50% after 1 year and 50% after 2 years), 
subject to continued employment.

–  Other executive KMP receive cash STI.

share rights with vesting subject to 
performance hurdles.

–  40% of the award is subject to a relative 

Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) 
performance hurdle and the remaining 
60% subject to cash EPS growth hurdles.

Total remuneration = Fixed Remuneration + STI + LTI

20

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued
CEO Remuneration
The Company appointed the CEO, Susan Mitchell, in April 2018. Her remuneration is as follows:

 – Base Salary: $550,000

 – Maximum STI: $440,000 (50% at target to a maximum STI of 80% at stretch performance)

 – Maximum LTI: $275,000

 – Maximum Total Remuneration: $1,265,000 (plus Superannuation in accordance with the superannuation guarantee legislation).

In accordance with Susan’s employment agreement, she received a special one-off grant of 90,000 performance rights which vest in two 
equal tranches in April 2019 and April 2020 subject to achievement of performance criteria set by the Board. The performance criteria 
for the April 2019 tranche were associated with the implementation of the new broker and adviser remuneration structures. These rights 
vested during the year. The second tranche, due to vest in April 2020, has performance criteria relating to network engagement measures 
and continued service.

The CEO’s remuneration mix (excluding the one-off share rights grant) is below.

Table B: CEO remuneration mix

Position

CEO

Fixed

Performance Based

Base remuneration

Maximum STI opportunity Maximum LTI opportunity

45%

34%

21%

e) Executive remuneration for FY 2019
Fixed remuneration
An executive’s fixed remuneration comprises a base cash salary plus superannuation limited to the maximum super contribution base. 
Executives have an opportunity to salary sacrifice amounts from their base salary towards additional superannuation as well as a series of 
prescribed benefits including any associated fringe benefits tax. 

Fixed remuneration is reviewed annually by the Remuneration Committee against external benchmarks, to ensure it remains appropriate 
relative to the market. Although fixed remuneration adjustments may be made after comparison to external benchmarks, or on 
promotion, there are no guaranteed fixed remuneration increases in any executive contracts.

Short-term incentives 
A summary of the Company’s STI arrangements are set out in the table below:

Table C: Summary of FY 2019 STI arrangements 

What is the STI plan?

The STI plan is an incentive plan under which participants are eligible to receive an annual award if they satisfy 
pre-determined performance criteria. The criteria are designed as a balanced scorecard to deliver against 
the Company’s strategic and financial goals as well as motivate and reward high performance. This aligns the 
executives’ interests with the Company’s performance. 

Who can 
participate? 

What is the 
maximum 
opportunity for 
executives?

Is there a gateway 
performance 
requirement before 
any incentive is paid?

What is the 
performance period?

The CEO and other executive KMP are eligible to participate in the STI plan. 

The maximum STI opportunity is:

 – CEO – 80% of fixed remuneration.

 – Other executive KMP – between 24% and 42% of fixed remuneration.

The maximum STI opportunity for exceptional performance against the KPIs is set at 120% of target.

Yes, the Board will not authorise the payment of STI to any executive KMP unless a minimum cash NPAT 
gateway has been achieved. 

Individual executive KMP cannot receive an STI unless they have met a minimum conduct gateway.

The performance period is 1 year and aligns with the financial year. For FY 2019, the performance period was 
1 July 2018 – 30 June 2019.

21  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued

What are the 
conditions for an STI 
award to be made?

STI awards are paid to participants where:

 – the executive has been continuously employed until the end of the relevant financial year; 

 – the executive has satisfied his or her individual KPIs to at least a minimum standard;

 – the executive has met the conduct gateway; and

 – the Company has achieved the NPAT gateway.

How does the 
STI Pool Group 
Modifier work? 

What are the 
performance 
conditions for 
the CEO?

The Group Modifier adjusts the STI pool in line with the Group’s profit result. This means that STI payments will 
vary with the Company’s capacity to pay. 

If the Group does not meet the gateway level of cash NPAT performance, as set by the Board, the modifier is 
zero and the STI outcome is $0 regardless of the performance by individual executive KMP in accomplishing 
their Individual and Business KPIs. 

The Group Modifier for FY2019 was set at zero and no STI payments were awarded.

The CEO was assessed against the following three areas of strategic focus in support of the Group’s business 
objectives for FY 2019 to drive profitability for the benefit of our franchise network and shareholders: 

 – Operational Efficiencies (including key IT projects);

 – Recruitment/Distribution Growth; and

 – Network Engagement. 

The CEO’s individual goals/KPIs that were linked to the above objectives were broken down to: 

Scorecard Category

Weighting Measurement

Achievement

Cash NPAT

Gateway

Cash NPAT target as set by board

Operational efficiencies

Recruitment / 
Distribution Growth

Engagement

20%

20%

20%

10%

30%

Delivery of IT Projects to schedule and agreed budget

Identify & implement efficiency opportunities

Achievement of growth targets set for new 
franchisees & loan writers

Achievement of growth targets set for new 
financial advisers

Franchisee Engagement Survey Score

As the cash NPAT KPI gateway was not met in FY 2019, the STI outcome for the CEO was nil regardless of the 
successful outcomes achieved against the majority of her individual KPIs.

Key: Percentage of achievement against targets set: 

Exceed expectations: 

105.1%+ 

All objectives met: 

95.01–105% 

Most objectives met: 

75.01–95% 

Several objectives met: 

55.01–75% 

Few objectives met: 

35.01–55% 

Not met: 

<35% 

22

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued

What are the 
performance 
conditions for other 
executive KMP?

The executive KMP were assessed against the following four areas of strategic focus in support of the Group’s 
business objectives for FY 2019 to drive profitability for the benefit of our franchise network and shareholders: 

 – Sustainable Growth;

 – Operational Efficiencies;

 – Recruitment / Distribution growth; and

 – Franchisee engagement. 

KMP individual goals/KPIs that were linked to the above objectives were broken down to: 

Scorecard Category

Weighting Measurement

Achievement

Cash NPAT

Gateway

Cash NPAT target as set by Board

Sustainable Growth

Brand awareness

10–25%

Achievement of target to increase Diversified Revenue

Operational Efficiencies

Delivery of IT Projects to schedule and agreed budget

Recruitment / 
Distribution Growth

10–25%

Identify & implement departmental 
efficiency opportunities

15–45%

Achievement of growth targets for new franchisees 
and loan writers

Achievement of growth targets set for new 
financial advisers

Engagement

10–35%

Franchisee Engagement Survey Score

Staff Engagement Survey

As the cash NPAT KPI gateway was not met in 2019, the STI outcome for executive KMP was Nil regardless of 
the outcomes delivered against individual KPIs.

Key: Percentage of achievement against targets set: 

Exceed expectations: 

105.1%+ 

All objectives met: 

95.01–105% 

Most objectives met: 

75.01–95% 

Several objectives met: 

55.01–75% 

Few objectives met: 

35.01–55% 

Not met: 

<35% 

How is performance 
assessed?

The Remuneration Committee assesses the CEO’s performance against KPIs and determines the CEO’s 
STI award (if any). For other executive KMP, this assessment is completed by the CEO and approved by the 
Remuneration Committee.

Performance against the performance measures is assessed annually as part of the broader performance review 
process for each member of Executive KMP. 

Both financial and non-financial conditions are assessed quantitatively against predetermined benchmarks 
where appropriate. For the purposes of testing the financial hurdles, financial results are extracted by reference 
to the Company’s audited financial statements. Where quantitative assessment is not practicable, qualitative 
performance appraisals are undertaken. 

These methods of assessing performance were chosen because they are, as far as practicable, objective and 
fair. The use of financial statements ensures the integrity of the measure and alignment with the true financial 
performance of the Company.

How is the STI 
pool calculated?

STI awards are paid out of a defined STI pool. The STI pool is based on the combined value of the STI 
participants’ target STI (an agreed percentage of the individual’s base salary) and is funded from the NPAT 
result delivered for the year. 

The actual cash NPAT result operates as a modifier to the final STI pool value. i.e. as cash NPAT increases or 
decreases so does the STI pool and in turn the individual’s potential STI payment for the year. 

As the cash NPAT threshold for FY2019 was not delivered the Group Modifier for FY 2019 was set at zero and 
the STI pool for FY 2019 was reduced to $0.

23  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued

How is reward 
delivered under the 
STI Plan? 

CEO: If an STI award is made, the STI award is delivered 50% in cash and 50% in performance rights. Vesting of 
performance rights is deferred for up to two years. Further details regarding the deferred component of the 
CEO’s STI award are set out below. 

Other executive KMP: If an STI award is made, the STI outcome is paid 100% in cash. 

STI cash payments (if any) are made following board approval of the Annual Report.

Is there discretion to 
adjust STI awards?

Individual STI awards are not formulaic and the Board may adjust awards up or down where circumstances 
warrant e.g. positive franchisee outcomes and engagement or where the risk tolerance is breached. 

Deferred STI arrangements for the CEO

How do the deferred 
STI arrangements 
work?

If an STI award is made to the CEO, 50% of the award is deferred in the form of performance rights granted 
under the Company’s Share Rights Plan. 

The number of performance rights granted is determined by dividing 50% of any STI awarded to the CEO by the 
volume weighted average price (VWAP) of shares in the Company traded on the ASX over the 5 trading days 
prior to the grant date.

Performance rights are offered at no cost to the CEO.

Subject to the vesting conditions being met (see below), the CEO will be allocated one share for every 
performance right that vests, plus the number of shares that would have resulted from dividend reinvestment 
during the vesting period. Shares may be sourced on-market, from a new issue of shares or from shares held by 
the trustee of the Company’s employee share plan trust. In certain circumstances the Board has the discretion 
to pay a cash equivalent amount in lieu of an allocation of shares.

Performance rights are subject to both a continuous service condition and clawback provisions. No other 
performance conditions are applicable on the basis that challenging performance conditions relating to the STI 
award were met before any performance rights were granted. 

Vesting of performance rights occurs as follows: 

 – 50% 12 months after the end of the STI performance period; and 

 – 50% 2 years after the end of the STI performance period.

No performance rights have been or will be granted in relation to FY 2019 STI.

Performance rights do not carry any voting or dividend rights, however shares allocated upon vesting of 
performance rights will carry the same rights as other ordinary shares. 

Performance rights may be forfeited if a material financial misstatement is uncovered relating to the year of the 
original STI award.

If the Board determines that the CEO has acted fraudulently or dishonestly; has breached her obligations to 
the Group; or is knowingly involved in a material misstatement of financial statements; any shares to which she 
may have become entitled at the end of the performance period, and any rights held by the CEO under the 
Performance Rights Plan are forfeited.

What are the 
vesting conditions 
applicable to the STI 
performance rights?

What rights are 
attached to the 
performance rights? 

Does the Board 
have discretion 
to clawback 
the award?

What happens if 
the CEO ceases 
employment?

The CEO will forfeit unvested performance rights on cessation of employment with the Company unless 
cessation results from death, total and permanent disability, retirement or redundancy as determined by 
the Board in its absolute discretion. In these circumstances the Board may, in its discretion, determine the 
treatment of any unvested performance rights.

What restrictions 
apply?

The CEO is prohibited from entering into any hedging (or risk reduction) arrangements in relation to unvested 
performance rights. In addition, all shares allocated on vesting can only be dealt with in accordance with the 
Company’s Share Trading Policy.

24

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued
Long-term incentives 
A summary of the Company’s LTI arrangements is set out in the table below.

Table D: Summary of FY 2019 LTI arrangements

What is the LTI Plan?

The LTI plan awards executives for achieving specified performance conditions which underpin sustainable  
long-term growth.

Who can 
participate? 

What is the 
maximum 
opportunity for 
executive KMP? 

How is reward 
delivered under the 
LTI Plan?

What is the 
performance 
period?

What are the 
vesting conditions 
for an LTI award? 

The Company believes that granting performance based equity to its executives under the LTI plan is an 
effective way of aligning the interests of executives with shareholders. 

The CEO and other executive KMP are eligible to participate in the LTI plan. Subject to the Board’s discretion, 
grants are made annually to executives. 

The maximum LTI opportunity is:

CEO: 50% of base salary face value at the grant date. 

Other executive KMP: between 20% and 35% of base salary face value at the grant date.

LTI awards are delivered in the form of performance rights granted under the Company’s Share Rights Plan. 

The number of performance rights granted to an executive is determined by dividing the executive’s maximum 
LTI opportunity by the volume weighted average price of shares in the Company traded on the ASX over the 5 
trading days prior to the grant date. 

Shares allocated on the vesting of performance rights may be sourced on-market or from a new issue of shares.

The number of performance rights that will vest will be determined by the % vesting outcome applied to each 
tranche as detailed below. Subject to these vesting conditions being met, executives will be allocated one share 
for every performance right that vests, plus the number of shares that would have resulted from dividend 
reinvestment during the vesting period.

Performance rights are offered at no cost to the executives.

Performance is measured over a 3 year performance period. Following testing, vesting of performance rights 
(if any) occurs in September of each year. 

In order for an LTI award to vest:

 – the executive must be continuously employed by the Group until the vesting date (unless service ends due 

to death, disability, redundancy or other exceptional circumstances); and 

 – the performance conditions must be met (see below).

25  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued

What are the 
performance 
conditions?

Performance rights are divided into two tranches:

 – 40% of the performance rights are subject to a relative TSR performance hurdle (the “TSR component”); and

 – 60% of the performance rights are subject to a performance hurdle based on cash earnings per share(“EPS”) 

growth on a compound annual growth basis with target performance consistent with the Company’s 
strategic plan (the “EPS Component”).

Further details about each performance hurdle are set out below. 

Relative TSR hurdle 
TSR is the percentage increase in the Company’s share price plus reinvested dividends, expressed as a percentage 
of the initial investment, and reflects the increase in value delivered to shareholders over the performance 
period. The relative TSR comparison group is comprised of companies within the ASX Financials sector with a 
market capitalisation between $40 million and $2 billion as at 31 August 2018, excluding illiquid stocks. The 
performance period is 1 September 2018 – 31 August 2021. Vesting (if any) will occur in September 2021.

The specific Comparator Group for the FY 2019 LTI award is detailed in the Glossary at the end of this 
Remuneration Report.

The following vesting schedule shows the proportion of the TSR component that will vest for various 
performance levels.

TSR ranking relative to the Comparator Group 
over the performance period

% of TSR component that vests

Below the 50th percentile

At the 50th percentile

Between 50th and 75th percentiles

Between 75th and 90th percentiles

At or above the 90th percentile.

Nil

50%

Pro rata vesting between 50% and 100%

Pro rata vesting between 100% and 125%

125%

Cash EPS growth hurdle 
Cash EPS growth is based on cash profits as presented to the market and stated in the notes of the Company’s 
audited statutory accounts and the average number of ordinary shares on issue during the performance period. 
Growth is measured using the compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The Performance Period is 1 July 2018 to 
30 June 2021 with the budget approved by the Board for the financial year ended 30 June 2019 to be used as 
the base. Vesting (if any) will occur in September 2021. 

Cash profits are calculated by adjusting audited statutory profits for trail commission recognised on a net 
present value basis and excluding non-cash share based remuneration expense. 

The following vesting schedule shows the proportion of the EPS component that will vest for various 
performance levels.

CAGR of cash EPS over the performance period

% of EPS component that vests

Below 3%

At 3%

Between 3% and 8%

At or above 8%.

Nil

25%

Pro rata vesting between 25% and 100%

100%

26

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued

What happens if an 
executive ceases 
employment?

What restrictions 
apply?

Executives will forfeit unvested performance rights on cessation of employment with the Company unless the 
cessation results from death, redundancy, disablement, retirement or other special circumstances, in which 
case, unvested performance rights may vest at the Board’s discretion. 

Executives are prohibited from entering into any hedging (or risk reduction) arrangements in relation to 
unvested performance rights. In addition, on vesting allocated shares can only be dealt with in accordance with 
the Company’s Share Trading Policy.

Is there discretion to 
adjust awards? 

As per the Performance Rights Rules, the Board has absolute and unfettered discretion in exercising any power 
or discretion concerning the Share Rights Plan. 

If the Board determines that a participant has acted fraudulently or dishonestly; has breached his or her 
obligations to the Group; or is knowingly involved in a material misstatement of financial statements; any shares 
to which the participant may have become entitled at the end of the performance period, and any rights held 
by the participant under the Performance Rights Plan are forfeited by the participant.

As per the Performance Rights Rules, the Board has absolute and unfettered discretion in exercising its power 
to either lapse or vest some or all unvested performance rights as appropriate to the context of the event.

What happens if 
there is a change 
in control?

f)  Relationship between remuneration and Mortgage Choice Limited’s performance
The CEO and other executive KMP have a significant proportion of their remuneration structured to be dependent on achieving 
performance based criteria aligned to the Company’s financial and strategic objectives. Awards made under the STI and LTI programs 
all have minimum thresholds that must be achieved to receive any award at all thus ensuring KMP are not rewarded unless value in the 
enterprise has been enhanced. 

The KPIs established as performance criteria for STI and LTI programs are focused primarily on growth in sustainable net profit that 
directly leads to increased value for shareholders whether distributed as dividends or increasing shareholder value. The STI performance 
criteria tend to be more short term and operational in nature but designed to push profits forward for the period. 

LTI performance criteria are strategically focussed on long term value creation with 60% subject to sustained long term cash profit 
creation (tranche 1), which is a direct component of value creation, and 40% subject to the relative shareholder value created over the 
performance period (tranche 2). Further information on the LTI performance criteria is set out below.

Tranche 1: EPS Component
LTI grants made under the Performance Share Plan (PSP) from FY2014 to FY2017 and the Performance Rights Plan (PRP) since FY2018 
have been subject to cash EPS growth hurdle. The following table shows the Company’s cash EPS results in FY2019 and the previous four 
financial years:

Table E: Cash EPS for FY 2015 – FY 2019

Financial year

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

Cash EPS (cents per share)

15.0

16.5

18.1

18.7

11.2

The cash EPS growth hurdle is consistent with the Company’s remuneration philosophy and strategic plan, and recognises that increasing 
cash results is important to our shareholders. 

27  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued

Tranche 2: TSR Component
LTI grants made under the PSP from FY 2014 to FY 2017 and the PRP since FY2018 have also been subject to a relative TSR performance 
hurdle which compares the Company’s TSR against the TSRs of comparator groups of companies. TSR is the percentage increase in 
the Company’s share price plus reinvested dividends and reflects the increase in value delivered to shareholders over the period. The 
following table shows the Company’s TSR expressed as a percentage of the opening share price for each period. The table also shows the 
opening and closing share price and dividends paid in FY 2019 and the previous four financial years:

Table F: Share price movements, dividends and TSR for FY 2015 – FY 2019

Financial year

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

Opening share price 
$

Closing share price 
$

Dividends  
paid during year  
¢

2.85

2.30

1.95

2.15

1.42

2.30

1.95

2.15

1.42

1.09

15.5

16.0

17.0

18.0

12.0

TSR

-14%

-8%

19%

-26%

-15%

The figure below illustrates and compares the Company’s TSR performance with the ASX 200 index return performance for the five-year 
period to 30 June 2019.

Mortgage Choice TSR compared to S&P / ASX 200 Index TSR

Total Shareholder Return

80%

60

40

20

0

-20

-40

-60

-80

S&P/ASX 200

Mortgage Choice

Jun
14

Jun
15

Jun
16

Jun
17

Jun
18

Jun
19

Source: Guerdon Associates

g)  Non-executive Director remuneration 
Remuneration Policy 
The Company’s remuneration policy for Non-executive Directors aims to ensure it can attract and retain suitably qualified and 
experienced Directors having regard to:

 – the level of fees paid to Non-executive Directors of other major Australian companies;

 – the size and complexity of the Company; and

 – the role and responsibilities of Directors.

Non-executive Directors do not receive any short-term cash incentives or share-based payments. The chairmen of the Audit Committee, 
the Remuneration Committee and the Mortgage Choice Financial Planning Pty Ltd Investment Committee receive an additional payment 
for their role on these committees.

No element of Non-executive Director remuneration is performance-based to preserve the independence and impartiality of Directors.

Fee levels and fee pool 
Shareholders set the maximum aggregate fee pool for the Non-executive Directors of the Board at $1,000,000 per annum at the 2016 
Annual General Meeting. 

28

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued
The following table shows the annual fees payable to the Chairman and Non-executive Directors as at 30 June 2019:

Table G: Non-executive Director fees

Role

Chairman

Non-executive Director

Fees for Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee

Fees for Chairman of the Remuneration Committee

Fees for Chairman of Mortgage Choice Financial Planning Pty Ltd Investment Committee

Fees

$145,000 

$95,000

$10,000

$10,000

$20,000

The Board reviews fees paid to Non-executive Directors periodically. There were no changes to the level of Directors fees in FY 2019. 

Non-executive Directors do not receive retirement allowances. Superannuation contributions, are paid on Non-executive Directors’ 
remuneration in addition to the fees above as required under the Australian superannuation guarantee legislation, unless there is a 
specific individual exemption. 

h)  Statutory disclosures
The following table sets out the statutory disclosures required under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) for the 2018 and 2019 financial 
years for KMP and has been prepared in accordance with the Australian Accounting Standards. 

Table H: Statutory remuneration table

Short-term benefits

Post-
employment 
benefits

Long-term 
benefits

Share-based payments

Cash Salary 
and Fees  
$

Employee 
Entitlements 
$

STI 
$

Name

Non- 
monetary 
Benefits 
$

Super-
annuation 
$

Long  
Service  
Leave 
$

Deferred   
STI and  
Other 
$

Performance 
Shares and 
Rights 
$

Total 
$

Non-Executive Directors

V L Allen, Chairman

FY2019

FY2018

 145,000 

 148,123 

S J Brennan 1

FY2019

FY2018

S J Clancy 2

FY2019

FY2018

 115,000 

 29,149 

 105,000 

 96,295 

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

D Chandran (from 20 February 2019 to 30 June 2019)

FY2019

 34,224 

A C Gale 3

FY2019

FY2018

P G Higgins

FY2019

FY2018

R G Higgins

FY2019

FY2018

 113,150 

 29,082 

 95,000 

 95,000 

 95,000 

 95,000 

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

S C Jermyn (from 1 July 2018 to 19 June 2019) 4

FY2019

FY2018

 96,667 

 96,295 

—

—

29  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 13,775 

 14,072 

 10,925 

 2,769 

 9,975 

 9,148 

 3,251 

—

—

 9,025 

 9,025 

 9,025 

 9,025 

 9,183 

 9,148 

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 158,775 

 162,195 

 125,925 

 31,918 

 114,975 

 105,443 

 37,475 

 113,150 

 29,082 

 104,025 

 104,025 

 104,025 

 104,025 

 105,850 

 105,443 

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued
Table H: Statutory remuneration table continued

Short-term benefits

Post-
employment 
benefits

Long-term 
benefits

Share-based payments

Cash Salary 
and Fees  
$

Employee 
Entitlements 
$

STI 
$

Name

Non- 
monetary 
Benefits 
$

Super-
annuation 
$

Long  
Service  
Leave 
$

Deferred  
STI & Other 
$

Performance 
Shares & 
Rights 
$

Total 
$

Other key management personnel

S R Mitchell 5

FY2019

FY2018

550,000 

—

375,077 

127,653 

—

5,635 

4,928 

5,066 

20,531 

20,049 

15,615 

49,846 

99,658 

4,379 

62,355 

33,004 

753,087 

620,709 

I J Parkes (from 15 October 2018 to 30 June 2019)

FY2019

220,417

—

8,167 

2,091 

15,399 

—

N C Rose-Innes 6

FY2019

FY2018

337,346 

327,230 

—

(16,566)

75,624 

13,681 

M J McCarney 6

FY2019

FY2018

260,991 

240,975 

—

58,548 

E A Dupont-Brown 6

228,426 

219,103 

—

47,632 

227,154 

209,223 

—

44,929 

FY2019

FY2018

T J Milnes 6

FY2019

FY2018

M J Pitton 6

FY2019

FY2018

4,928 

5,186 

4,928 

4,211 

4,907 

—

—

—

20,531 

20,049 

20,531 

20,049 

20,531 

20,049 

5,959 

9,145 

5,473 

5,076 

2,290 

837 

20,531 

20,049 

(5,550)

8,663 

2,353

(574)

3,414 

5,626 

254 

5,528 

177,794 

158,643 

—

5,242 

27,477 

(8,261)

4,426 

4,869 

19,002 

18,840 

V C ten Krooden

FY2019

FY2018

Totals

FY2019

FY2018

195,000 

173,567 

—

4,542 

38,173 

(1,433)

—

—

20,531 

19,532 

2,996,169

—

7,406

26,208

222,746 

2,292,762 

420,036 

20,202 

19,332 

191,804 

3,204 

2,827 

3,183 

1,177 

30,174 

77,571 

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

14,029 

260,103 

35,656 

30,152 

387,854 

481,067 

27,026 

20,802 

321,302

349,087 

19,207 

12,147 

278,775 

305,394 

19,330 

14,304 

261,719 

302,696 

12,667 

222,335 

9,092 

213,487 

5,611

228,867

—

231,016 

99,658 

195,881

3,578,242

4,379 

119,501 

3,145,587

1  Ms S J Brennan is the Chairman of the Mortgage Choice Financial Planning Investment Committee and receives fees in addition to her base Non-executive Director fees for this 

role – see section g) for further details.

2   Mr S J Clancy is the Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and receives fees in addition to his base Non-executive Director fees for this role – see section g) for further details.
3  Mr A C Gale was appointed Chairman of the Audit Committee on 20 August 2018 and receives fees in addition to his base Non-executive Director fees for this role – see section 

g) for further details. Mr Gale has reached his maximum superannuation contribution and has requested he receives his SGC as additional salary.

4  Mr S C Jermyn resigned as Chairman of the Audit Committee on 20 August 2018 and received fees in addition to his base Non-executive Director fees for this role – see section 

g) for further details.

5  Share based payments (Deferred STI and other) relating to Ms S R Mitchell include 2 components:

a)  90,000 performance rights granted to the CEO to focus on critical medium term strategic objectives necessary for successful transition from the prior broker remuneration 

model. The grant vests in two equal tranches in April 2019 and April 2020. The performance criteria for the April 2019 tranche was the implementation of the new broker and 
adviser remuneration structures. These right vested during the year. The second tranche, due to vest in April 2020, has performance criteria relating to network engagement 
measures and continued service.

b)  Deferred STI of $33,151 in relation to FY 2018 being 50% of the total STI granted or to be granted as share rights with 50% due to vest in 12 months and 50% to vest in 

24 months. The terms of the performance rights are described in section d).

6  Cash salary includes a one-off payment to compensate KMPs for changes to the LTI Plan.

30

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued
The following table shows the relative proportion of remuneration that each executive received during FY 2019 and whether it is fixed 
remuneration or performance based remuneration. 

Table I: Remuneration mix

Fixed/service based remuneration

Performance based remuneration

Name

S R Mitchell

I J Parkes

N C Rose-Innes

M J McCarney

E A Dupont-Brown

T J Milnes

M J Pitton

V C ten Krooden

Fixed 
remuneration 
%

Share based 
%

Commencement 
share rights 1 
%

78%

95%

91%

92%

93%

93%

94%

98%

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

11%

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

1  Footnote 5a) in Table H describes the terms of this grant. 

Total 
%

89%

95%

91%

92%

93%

93%

94%

98%

Cash ST 
% I

Share based 
%

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

11%

5%

9%

8%

7%

7%

6%

2%

Total 
%

11%

5%

9%

8%

7%

7%

6%

2%

Details of share-based remuneration
The key terms of performance shares granted as LTI awards to executive KMP that were tested during, or remain on foot at the end of, FY 
2019 are set out in the following table. The table also explains the vesting outcome of awards that were tested during the year:

Table J: Performance shares on foot or tested during FY 2019

% Vested

100

0

% Vested

100

Grant date

FY 2016 LTI grants

17 September 2015

17 September 2015

FY 2017 LTI grants

25 October 2016

25 October 2016

Vesting date

Value per performance  
share at grant date 1

14 September 2018

14 September 2018

14 September 2019

14 September 2019

$2.01

$1.19

$2.28

$1.30

1 The value at grant date calculated in accordance with AASB 2 Share-based Payments of shares granted during the year as part of remuneration.

The key terms of performance rights granted that were tested during, or remain on foot at the end of, FY 2019 are set out in the 
following table. The table also explains the vesting outcome of awards that were tested during the year.

Table K: Performance rights on foot or tested during FY 2019

Grant date

Commencement grant 

5 November 2018

5 November 2018

FY 2018 deferred STI award 

7 September 2018

7 September 2018

FY 2018 performance rights 

6 October 2017

6 October 2017

FY 2019 performance rights 

28 November 2018

28 November 2018

Vesting date

Value per performance right 
at grant date 1

3 April 2019

3 April 2020

14 September 2019

14 September 2020

14 September 2020

14 September 2020

14 September 2021

14 September 2021

$1.26

$1.26

$1.50

$1.50

$1.78

$1.40

$1.23

$0.81

1  The value at grant date calculated in accordance with AASB 2 Share-based Payments of shares granted during the year as part of remuneration.

31  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Financial  
year 
granted

Vested 
%

Forfeited 
%

Financial 
years in 
which shares 
or rights 
may vest

Minimum 
total value 
of grant yet 
to vest 
$

Maximum 
total value 
of grant yet 
to vest 1 
$

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued

Details of remuneration paid, vested or forfeited during FY 2019
The percentage of the available grant that was paid, vested or forfeited in FY 2019 is set out below. 

Table L: Remuneration forfeited and vested during FY 2019 and outstanding at 30 June 2019 

Cash STI

LTI (Performance shares or rights)

Potential 
FY 2019 
bonus paid 
%

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Potential 
FY 2019 
bonus 
forfeited 
%

 100 

—

—

—

—

—

—

 100 

 100 

—

—

—

 100 

—

—

—

 100 

—

—

—

 100 

—

—

—

 100 

—

—

—

 100 

Name

S R Mitchell

I J Parkes

N C Rose-Innes

M J McCarney

E A Dupont-Brown

T J Milnes

M J Pitton

V C ten Krooden

2019

2019

2019

2018

2018

2017

2016

2019

2019

2018

2017

2016

2019

2018

2017

2016

2019

2018

2017

2016

2019

2018

2017

2016

2019

2018

2017

2016

2019

—

—

 100 

—

—

—

 50 

—

—

—

—

 50 

—

—

—

 50 

—

—

—

 50 

—

—

—

 50 

—

—

—

 50 

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

 50 

—

—

—

—

 50 

—

—

—

 50 

—

—

—

 50 

—

—

—

 50 

—

—

—

 50 

—

30/6/22

30/6/20

—

30/6/21

30/6/20

30/6/20

—

30/6/22

30/6/22

30/6/21

30/6/20

—

30/6/22

30/6/21

30/6/20

—

30/6/22

30/6/21

30/6/20

—

30/6/22

30/6/21

30/6/20

—

30/6/22

30/6/21

30/6/20

—

30/6/22

1  The maximum value is based on the fair value at grant date using a Monte Carlo simulation model utilising a lattice-based trinomial valuation method.

nil

nil

—

nil

nil

nil

—

nil

nil

nil

nil

—

nil

nil

nil

—

nil

nil

nil

—

nil

nil

nil

—

nil

nil

nil

—

nil

 188,080 

 56,475 

—

 101,487 

33,200

 76,408 

—

 66,683 

66,248

 65,944 

 73,787 

—

 51,275 

50,559

 56,575 

—

36,601

 36,428 

40,995

—

 37,497 

 35,803 

 40,289 

—

 24,065 

 23,948 

 27,104 

—

26,673

32

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued

Legacy performance awards
Full details of prior year equity awards are set out in the Remuneration Report for the year in which the award was granted. 

Service agreements
Non-executive Directors appointed to the Board enter into a service agreement with the Company in the form of a letter of appointment. 
The letter summarises the Board policies and terms, including compensation, relevant to the Director.

Remuneration and other terms of employment for the CEO, Susan Mitchell, and other executives are set out in their respective letters 
of employment and employment contracts. The employment terms do not prescribe the duration of employment for executives. 
The periods of notice required to terminate employment are set out below:

a)  The employment contract of Susan Mitchell is terminable by either the Company with 12 months’ notice or the executive with 6 months’ notice.

b)  The employment contracts of all other executive KMP are terminable by either the Company or the executive with one or three months’ notice.

No provision is made in the contracts for termination payments other than amounts paid in respect of notice of termination.

KMP equity holdings
a)  Performance shares

The movements in performance shares held by executive KMP and their related parties are set out below.

Table M: Movements in performance shares during FY 2019

Balance  
at the start 
of the year

Granted as 
compensation

Value 
granted 
$

Value at 
vesting date 
$

Vested

Balance  
at the end 
of the year

Forfeited

89,053 

—

83,355 

60,214 

41,676 

42,066 

27,478 

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

(23,184)

33,849 

(23,184)

42,685 

—

(21,066)

(14,304)

(9,287)

(9,779)

(6,168)

—

—

30,756 

20,884 

13,559 

14,277 

9,005 

—

—

(21,066)

(14,304)

(9,287)

(9,779)

(6,168)

—

—

41,223 

31,606 

23,102 

22,508 

15,142 

—

Executive KMP

Susan Mitchell

Ian Parkes

Neill Rose-Innes

Melissa McCarney

Emma Dupont-Brown

Tania Milnes

Marie Pitton

Vincent ten Krooden

b)  Performance rights

The movements in performance rights held by executive KMP and their related parties are set out below.

Table N: Movements in performance rights during FY 2019

Balance 
at the start 
of the year

Granted as 
compensation

Value 
granted 1  
$

Value at 
vesting date  
$

Vested

Forfeited

S R Mitchell (Commencement)

—

90,000 

112,950 

(45,000)

44,223 

S R Mitchell (deferred STI)

19,052 

—

—

Share rights plan

S R Mitchell

I J Parkes

N C Rose-Innes

M J McCarney

E A Dupont-Brown

T J Milnes

M J Pitton

V C ten Krooden

41,946 

177,100 

188,080 

—

40,506 

31,056 

22,376 

21,992 

14,710 

—

62,790 

62,380 

48,282 

34,464 

35,308 

22,660 

25,116 

66,683 

66,247 

51,275 

36,600 

37,497 

24,065 

26,674 

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Balance 
at the end 
of the year

45,000 

19,052 

219,046 

62,790 

102,886 

79,338 

56,840 

57,300 

37,370 

25,116

1  The value of commencement performance rights granted to Susan Mitchell during the year was $1.255 each. The unit value of performance rights subject to EPS hurdles granted 
during the year under the share rights plan was $1.23. The unit value of performance rights subject to TSR hurdles granted during the year under the share rights plan was $0.81.

33  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued
c)  Share holdings

The number of shares in the Company held during the financial year by each KMP, including their close family members and their 
controlled entities, are set out below. 

Table O: Movements in KMP shareholdings during FY 2019

Name

Non-executive Directors

Vicki Allen

Sarah Brennan

Sean Clancy

Andrew Gale

Peter Higgins

Rod Higgins

Dharmendra Chandran

Steve Jermyn 2

Executive KMP

Susan Mitchell

Ian Parkes

Neill Rose-Innes

Melissa McCarney

Emma Dupont-Brown

Tania Milnes

Marie Pitton

Vincent ten Krooden

Received during 
the year on 
the vesting of 
performance  
rights 1

Received during 
the year on 
the vesting of 
performance  
shares

Balance at the  
start of the year

Purchases/sales 
during the year

Balance at the 
end of the year

 60,000 

— 

 120,000 

— 

 259,253 

 15,380,212 

— 

 2,500,000 

 112,208 

— 

 63,341 

— 

— 

 124,072 

 1,558 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

 48,068 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

23,184

— 

 21,066 

 14,304 

 9,287 

 9,779 

 6,168 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

 60,000 

— 

 120,000 

— 

 259,253 

 15,380,212 

— 

 N/A 

183,460

— 

 84,407 

 14,304 

 9,287 

 133,851 

 7,726 

— 

1  Shares issued on vesting of 45,000 performance rights. Additional shares represent the value of dividends over the vesting period.
2  For S Jermyn, the shareholdings disclosed are for the period for which he was a Non-executive Director of the Company.

34

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Remuneration Report continued

i)  Glossary
The following table defines terms used throughout this Remuneration Report:

Table P: Glossary of terms used

Term

Definition

Comparator 
group 

KMP 

KPI

LTI

Pinnace Investment Management Group Ltd, Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia Ltd, Credit Corp Group Ltd, 
Navigator Global Investments Ltd, Moelis Australia Ltd, AUB Group Ltd, Eclipx Group Ltd, HUB24 Ltd, FlexiGroup 
Australia Ltd, ClearView Wealth Australia Ltd, Scottish Pacific Group Ltd, OFX Group Ltd, EQT Holdings Ltd, 
Evans Dixon Ltd, IMF Bentham Ltd, MyState Ltd, Centuria Capital Ltd, Money3 Corp Ltd, Australian Finance Group 
Ltd, Zip Co Ltd, Pacific Current Group Ltd, Bell Financial Group Ltd, Credible Labs Inc, Auswide Bank Ltd, Onevue 
Holdings Ltd, Pioneer Credit Ltd, Euroz Ltd, Australian Ethical Investment Ltd, FSA Group Ltd, Kina Securities 
Ltd, Fiducian Group Ltd, APN Property Group Ltd, Blue Sky Alternative Investments Ltd, Axsesstoday Ltd, 
Mainstream Group Holdings Ltd, Managed Accounts Holdings Ltd, Raiz Invest Ltd, Freedom Insurance Group Ltd. 

Key management personnel, being those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, directing and 
controlling the activities of the entity, directly or indirectly, including any directors. KMP includes the Executives 
and Non-executive Directors as detailed on page 18. 

Key Performance Indicator

Long Term Incentive

Performance  
right

A performance right is a right to one Mortgage Choice share, plus the number of shares that would have resulted 
from reinvestment of dividends paid during the vesting period on the shares acquired on vesting of the rights. In 
certain circumstances the Board has a discretion to pay a cash equivalent amount in lieu of an allocation of shares. 

Performance rights are used to deliver the CEO’s deferred STI awards and LTI awards to executive KMP. Prior to 
FY2019, KMP LTI awards only entitled the holder to one share per performance right.

Performance 
share

Performance shares are shares in Mortgage Choice that are held in an employee share plan trust. From: 2017, 
LTI awards to executive KMP are delivered using performance rights.

PSP 

PRP

STI

VWAP

Prior to 2017, the Performance Share Plan was used to make LTI awards to executives.

The Performance Rights Plan is used to make LTI awards to executives.

Short Term Incentive

Volume weighted average price 

35  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Auditor’s independence declaration
A copy of the auditor’s independence declaration as required 
under section 307C of the Corporations Act 2001 is set out on 
page 37.

Rounding
The Company is a company of the kind referred to in 
ASIC Corporations (Rounding in Financials/Directors’ Reports) 
Instrument 2016/191, dated 24 March 2016, and in accordance 
with that Corporations Instrument amounts in the directors’ 
report and the financial statements are rounded off to the nearest 
thousand dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

Auditor
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu continues in office in accordance with 
section 327 of the Corporations Act 2001.

This report is made in accordance with a resolution of the Directors.

Vicki Allen 
Chairman

Sydney 
21 August 2019

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Insurance of Directors and Officers
Insurance premiums were paid for the year ended 30 June 2019 in 
respect of Directors’ and Officers’ liability and legal expenses for 
Directors and Officers of the Company and all controlled entities. 
The insurance contract prohibits disclosure of the premium paid. 
The insurance premiums relate to:

 – Costs and expenses incurred by relevant Directors and Officers 

in defending any proceedings; and

 – Other liabilities that may arise from their position, with 

the exception of conduct involving dishonesty, wrongful 
acts, or improper use of information or position to gain 
personal advantage.

The Company has entered into deeds of access, insurance and 
indemnity with the Directors, the Chief Executive Officer and 
Company Secretary. The indemnity is subject to the restrictions 
prescribed in the Corporations Act. Subject to the terms of the 
deed, it also gives each executive a right of access to certain 
documents and requires the Company to maintain insurance 
cover for the executives.

No indemnities were paid to current or former officers or auditors 
during or since the end of the year.

Proceedings on behalf of the Company
No person has applied to the Court under section 237 of the 
Corporations Act 2001 for leave to bring proceedings on behalf 
of the Company, or to intervene in any proceedings to which 
the Company is a party, for the purpose of taking responsibility 
on behalf of the Company for all or part of those proceedings. 
No proceedings have been brought or intervened in on behalf of 
the Company with leave of the Court under section 237 of the 
Corporations Act 2001.

Non-audit services
The Company may decide to employ the auditor on assignments 
in addition to their statutory audit duties where the auditor’s 
expertise and experience with the Company or Group are 
important. Details of the amounts paid or payable to the auditor 
(Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu) for non-audit services provided during 
the year are set out in Note 19.

The Board of Directors has considered the position and, in 
accordance with the advice received from the audit committee, is 
satisfied that the provision of the non-audit services is compatible 
with the general standard of independence for auditors imposed 
by the Corporations Act 2001. The Directors are satisfied that 
the provision of non-audit services by the auditor, as set out 
below in Note 19, did not compromise the auditor independence 
requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 as none of the services 
undermine the general principles relating to auditor independence 
as set out in APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.

36

Auditors Independence Declaration 

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu 
ABN 74 490 121 060 
Grosvenor Place 
225 George Street 
Sydney, NSW, 2000 
Australia 

Phone: +61 2 9322 7000 
www.deloitte.com.au 

The Board of Directors 
Mortgage Choice Limited 
Level 10,100 Pacific Highway 
North Sydney NSW 2060 

21 August 2019 

Dear Board Members 

Mortgage Choice Limited 

In accordance with section 307C of the Corporations Act 2001, I am pleased to 
provide the following declaration of independence to the directors of Mortgage 
Choice Limited. 

As lead audit partner for the audit of the financial statements of Mortgage Choice 
Limited for the financial year ended 30 June 2019, I declare that to the best of 
my knowledge and belief, there have been no contraventions of: 

(i)  the auditor independence requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 

in relation to the audit; and 

(ii) any applicable code of professional conduct in relation to the audit.   

Yours sincerely 

DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU 

Heather Baister 
Partner  
Chartered Accountants 

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. 

Member of Deloitte Asia Pacific Limited and the Deloitte Network. 

37  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Annual Financial Report — 30 June 2019 

Contents

Financial Statements

Consolidated Income Statement 
Consolidated	Statement	of	Comprehensive Income	
Consolidated Balance Sheet 
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity 

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows 

Notes	to	the	Consolidated	Financial Statements	

Directors’ Declaration 

Independent	Audit	Report	to	members	of Mortgage	Choice	Limited	

39
40
41
42

43

44

84

85

These financial statements are the consolidated financial statements of the consolidated entity consisting of Mortgage Choice Limited 
and its subsidiaries. The financial statements are presented in the Australian currency.

Mortgage Choice Limited is a company limited by shares, incorporated and domiciled in Australia. Its registered office and principal place 
of business is:

Mortgage Choice Limited 
Level 10, 100 Pacific Highway 
North Sydney NSW 2060

A description of the nature of the consolidated entity’s operations and its principal activities is included in the Directors’ report which is 
not part of these financial statements.

The financial statements were authorised for issue by the Directors on 21 August 2019. 

Through the use of the internet, we have ensured that our corporate reporting is timely, complete, and available globally at minimum 
cost to the Company. All financial statements and other information are available in the Shareholders section of Company’s website: 
www.mortgagechoice.com.au.

38

Consolidated Income Statement 

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Revenue

Origination commission

Trailing commission excluding discount unwind

Trailing commission discount unwind

Diversified products commission

Insurance trailing commission exc. discount unwind

Insurance trailing commission discount unwind

Financial Planning income

Franchise income

Interest

Sponsorship and other income

Direct costs

Origination commission

Trailing commission excluding discount unwind

Trailing commission discount unwind – finance costs

Diversified products commission

Insurance trailing commission exc. discount unwind

Insurance trailing commission discount unwind

Financial Planning commission

Gross	profit

Operating Expenses

Sales

Technology

Marketing

Corporate

Profit	before	income	tax

Income tax expense

Profit for the period from continuing operations

Net	profit	attributable	to	the	owners	of	Mortgage	Choice	Limited

Earnings per share 

From continuing operations

Basic earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

Notes

5

57,858

82,642

17,663

4,677

2,480

913

7,087

1,054

600

2,381

70,015

106,840

17,905

7,265

—

—

11,290

921

577

2,995

177,355

217,808

(44,380)

(58,682)

(12,639)

(3,400)

(2,048)

(770)

(5,944)

49,492

(9,591)

(5,234)

(6,403)

(8,331)

19,933

(6,209)

13,724

13,724

Cents

11.0

10.9

(48,839)

(102,668)

(11,048)

(5,513)

—

—

(9,063)

40,677

(12,458)

(4,992)

(8,675)

(8,705)

5,847

(1,609)

4,238

4,238

Cents

3.4

3.4

6

26

26

The above consolidated income statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

39  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Profit	for	the	year

Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income attributable to the owners of Mortgage Choice Limited

2019 
$’000

13,724

—

13,724

2018 
$’000

4,238

—

4,238

The above consolidated statement of comprehensive income should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

40

Consolidated Balance Sheet

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Assets

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other receivables

Contract assets

Current tax assets

Total current assets

Non-current assets

Receivables

Contract assets

Property, plant and equipment

Intangible assets

Total non-current assets

Total assets

Liabilities

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables

External borrowings

Current tax liabilities

Provisions

Total current liabilities

Non-current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Deferred tax liabilities

Provisions

Total non-current liabilities

Total liabilities

Net assets

Equity

Contributed equity

Reserves

Retained profits

Total equity

Notes

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

7

7

7

7

8

10

11

2

12

13

14

12

15

16(a)

16(b)

1,927

13,750

98,519

—

3,353

104,038

—

112

114,196

107,503

4,220

277,949

717

10,132

293,018

275,685

—

686

8,562

284,933

407,214

392,436

82,043

2,500

510

1,339

86,392

201,396

32,168

774

234,338

320,730

86,484

8,097

1,379

77,008

86,484

77,211

—

—

1,258

78,469

196,711

30,913

691

228,315

306,784

85,652

7,764

1,309

76,579

85,652

The above consolidated balance sheet should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

41  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Balance at 30 June 2017

7,277

2,075

94,836

104,188

Contributed 
equity 
$’000

Notes

Reserves 
$’000

Retained  
earnings 
$’000

Total 
$’000

Total comprehensive income for the year as reported 
in the 2018 financial	statements

Transactions with equity holders in their capacity as owners:

Contributions of equity net of transaction costs

Dividends paid 

Employee share plans – value of employee services

Balance at 30 June 2018

Adjustment for adoption of AASB15 

Balance as at 1 July 2018

Total comprehensive income for the year as reported  
in	the	2019	financial	statements

Contributions of equity net of transaction costs

Dividends paid 

Employee share plans – value of employee services

—

—

4,238

4,238

487

—

—

487

7,764

—

7,764

—

333    

—

—

333

(487)

—

(279)

(766)

1,309

—

1,309  

—

—

(22,495)

(22,495)

—

(279)

(22,495)

(22,774)

76,579

1,705

78,284

85,652

1,705

87,357  

—

13,724

13,724

(333)

—

403

70

—

—

(15,000)

(15,000)

—

403

(15,000)

(14,597)

15

17

27

1

15

17

27

Balance at 30 June 2019

8,097

1,379

77,008

86,484

The above consolidated statement of changes in equity should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

42

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Notes

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

Cash	flows	from	operating	activities

Receipts from customers (inclusive of goods and services tax)

Payments to suppliers and employees (inclusive of goods and services tax)

Income taxes paid

Net	cash	inflow	from	operating	activities

25

Cash	flows	from	investing	activities

Payments for property, plant, equipment and intangibles

Loans to franchisees net of repayments

Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment

Interest received

Net	cash	(outflow)	from	investing	activities

Cash	flows	from	financing	activities

External borrowings

Interest paid

Dividends paid to Company’s shareholders

Net	cash	(outflow)	from	financing	activities

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the financial year

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of year

195,400

(176,201)

19,199

(5,064)

14,135

(3,755)

150

—

600

211,084

(178,702)

 32,382

(10,155)

22,227

(4,137)

(1,502)

37

577

(3,005)

(5,025)

2,500

(56)

(15,000)

(12,556)

(1,426)

3,353

1,927

—

—

(22,495)

(22,495)

(5,293)

8,646

3,353

The above consolidated statement of cash flows should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

43  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 1  Summary of significant accounting policies

The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of 
these consolidated financial statements are set out below. These 
policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, 
unless otherwise stated. The financial statements are for the 
consolidated entity consisting of Mortgage Choice Limited and 
its subsidiaries.

A)  Basis of preparation
These general purpose financial statements have been prepared in 
accordance with the Corporations Act 2001, Accounting Standards 
and other authoritative pronouncements issued by the Australian 
Accounting Standards Board (AASB), and comply with other 
requirements of the law.  The financial statements comprise the 
consolidated financial statements for the Group.  For the purposes 
of preparing the consolidated financial statements, the Company 
is a for-profit entity.

Compliance with IFRS
Compliance with Australian Accounting Standards ensures that 
the financial statements and notes of the Group comply with 
International Financial Reporting Standards (‘IFRS’) as issued by the 
International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Consequently, 
this financial report has been prepared in accordance with and 
complies with IFRS as issued by the IASB. Consequently, this 
financial report has been prepared in accordance with and 
complies with IFRS as issued by the IASB.

Amendments to Accounting Standards and new Interpretations 
that are mandatorily effective for the current reporting period.

The Group has adopted all of the new and revised Standards and 
Interpretations issued by the Australian Accounting Standards 
Board (the AASB) that are relevant to their operations and effective 
for the accounting period that begins on or after 1 July 2018.

New and revised Standards and amendments thereof and 
Interpretations effective for the current year that are relevant to 
the Group include:

 – AASB 9 Financial Instruments and related amending Standards

 – AASB 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers and related 

amending Standards

 – AASB 2016-5 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards 
– Classification and Measurement of  Share-based Payment 
Transactions.

Impact of the application of AASB 9 Financial Instruments 
and related amending Standards
AASB 9 introduced new requirements for:

 – the classification and measurement of financial assets 

and financial liabilities;

 – impairment of financial assets; and

 – general hedge accounting.

Details of these new requirements as well as their impact on the 
Group’s consolidated financial statements are described below.

Classification and measurement of financial assets 
and financial liabilities
Under AASB 9, on initial recognition, a financial asset is classified 
and measured at:

 – amortised cost;

 – fair value through other comprehensive income (FVTOCI) 

– debt instrument

 – fair value through other comprehensive income (FVTOCI) 

– equity instrument

 – fair value through profit or loss (FVTPL).

The new standard eliminates the previous AASB 139 financial asset 
categories. 

All recognised financial assets that are within the scope of AASB 
9 are required to be subsequently measured at amortised cost or 
fair value on the basis of the entity’s business model for managing 
the financial assets and the contractual cash flow characteristics of 
the financial assets. 

On 1 July 2018 (the date of initial application of AASB 9), the 
Group’s management assessed which business models apply to the 
financial assets held by the Group and the contractual cash flow 
characteristics of the financial assets and has classified its financial 
instruments into the appropriate AASB 9 categories as identified 
in the table below.

Financial assets at amortised cost
The amortised cost of a financial asset is: 

 – the amount at which the financial asset is measured at 

initial recognition;

 – minus the principal repayments;

 – plus the cumulative amortisation using the effective interest 
method of any difference between that initial amount and 
the maturity amount; and

 – adjusted for any loss allowance.

44

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 1  Summary of significant accounting policies continued
The following accounting policies apply to recognition and subsequent measurement of financial assets and liabilities on adoption of 
AASB 9 prior to the application off the new credit loss model:

Financial assets

Original classification 
under AASB 139

New classification  
under AASB 9

Cash and cash equivalents

Amortised cost

Amortised cost

Trade receivables

Net present value of future mortgage trailing 
commissions receivable

Franchisee receivables

Other receivables

Financial liabilities

Loans and 
receivables

Loans and 
receivables

Loans and 
receivables

Loans and 
receivables

Amortised cost a

Contract asset under 
AASB 15 carried at 
expected value b

Carrying amount  
under AASB 139  
as at 30 June 2018 
$’000

Carrying amount 
 under AASB 9  
as at 1 July 2018 
$’000

$3,353

$11,751

$3,353

$11,751

$360,913

b

Amortised cost a

$6,384

$6,384

Amortised cost a

$97

$97

Net present value of future mortgage trailing 
commissions payable

Amortised cost

Amortised cost

$260,521

$260,521

Net present value of future insurance trailing 
commissions payable

Nil amount as at 
30 June 2018

Amortised cost

Nil

$13,370(c)

a)  When these cash flows consist solely of payments of principal and interest on the principal amount outstanding, the Group has classified and measured them at amortised cost.
b)  The future mortgage trailing commission receivable is now classified as a contract asset under AASB 15. The value of net present value of future mortgage trailing commission 

receivable is unchanged on transition at $360,913,000.

c)  Future insurance trailing commissions payable have been recognised as a result of adoption of AASB 15. Refer to impact of AASB 15 section of this note.

Impairment
AASB 9 replaces the ‘incurred loss’ model in AASB 139 with an 
‘expected credit loss’ (ECL) model. This applies to financial assets 
measured at amortised cost and debt investments at fair value 
through other comprehensive income (FVTOCI). The Group does 
not hold any debt or equity investments at FVTOCI.

AASB 9 also provides a simplified approach for measuring the loss 
allowance at an amount equal to lifetime ECL for trade receivables, 
contract assets and lease receivables in certain circumstances. 
Specifically, AASB 9 requires the Group to recognise a loss 
allowance for expected credit losses on:

 – debt investments measured subsequently at amortised cost 

ECLs are a probability-weighted estimate of credit losses. Credit 
losses are measured as the present value of all cash shortfalls and 
consists of three components:

1)  Probability of default (PD): represents the possibility of a 

default over the next 12 months and remaining lifetime of the 
financial asset;

2)  A loss given default (LGD): expected loss if a default occurs, 
taking into consideration the mitigating effect of collateral 
assets and time value of money;

3)  Exposure at default (EAD): the expected loss when a default 

takes place.

AASB 9 requires the Group to measure the loss allowance for 
a financial instrument at an amount equal to the lifetime ECL 
if the credit risk on that financial instrument has increased 
significantly since initial recognition, or if the financial instrument 
has not increased significantly since initial recognition (except 
for a purchase or originated credit-impaired financial asset), 
the Group is required to measure the loss allowance for that 
financial instrument at an amount equal to a 12 month ECL. 

or at FVTOCI,

 – lease receivables,

 – trade receivables and contract assets, and

 – financial guarantee contracts to which the impairment 

requirements of AASB 9 apply.

The Group has applied a three stage model to determine the loss 
allowances for any change in risk since initial recognition:

Stage 1: 12 month ECL – At initial recognition a collective 
assessment is done for classes of financial assets with the same 
credit risk based on the PD within the next 12 months and the 
LGD’s with consideration to forward looking economic indicators.

Stage 2: Lifetime ECL – When there has been a significant change 
in credit risk since initial recognition, a lifetime ECL is recognised 
taking into account the cash flows for the remaining life of 
the asset.

Stage 3: Lifetime ECL – When a financial asset is credit impaired 
a lifetime ECL is recognised as a collective or specific provision 
with interest calculated on the amortised cost instead of the 
carrying amount.

45  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 1  Summary of significant accounting policies continued
Mortgage Choice has the following major financial asset classes that need to be considered.

Asset

Cash

Commissions 
receivable

Future Trail 
commission 
receivable

Franchisee loans

Assessment

As all cash is held with major financial institutions (ADI)’s and there has been no history of loss, it has been 
determined that ECL would not be material and consequently has not been recognised. 

Upfront and current trail commission receivables are due from a combination of highly rated major lenders and 
smaller banks and non-bank lenders. There has been no historical instances where a loss has been incurred, 
including through the GFC. ECL would not be material and consequently has not been recognised.

Future trail commission receivables are due from a combination of highly rated major lenders and smaller banks, 
non-bank lenders and insurance companies. There has been no historical instances where a loss has been incurred, 
including through the GFC. ECL would not be material and consequently has not been recognised.

As at 30 June 2019, the group has outstanding loan receivables from various franchisees totalling $6.1m ($6.3m 
at 30 June 2018). All the loans are secured against the franchisees trail book. There have not been any material 
historical defaults on these loans. The Group has assessed that there is sufficient collateral for each of the loans 
such that any loss given default would be insignificant. Therefore, ECL would not be material and consequently has 
not been recognised.

The Group often enters into transactions that will give rise to 
different streams of fees, for example, financial advice and 
placement of life insurance. In all cases, the total transaction 
price for a contract is allocated amongst the various performance 
obligations based on their relative stand-alone selling prices. The 
transaction price for a contract excludes any amounts collected on 
behalf of third parties.

The Group recognises contract liabilities for consideration received 
in respect of unsatisfied performance obligations and reports 
these amounts as other liabilities in the statement of financial 
position. Similarly, if the Group satisfies a performance obligation 
before it receives the consideration, the Group recognises either a 
contract asset or a receivable in its statement of financial position, 
depending on whether something other than the passage of time 
is required before the consideration is due.

Under AASB 15, revenue is recognised when the Group satisfies 
performance obligations by transferring the promised services to 
its customers. Determining the timing of the transfer of control 
– at a point in time or over time – requires judgement. Below 
is a summary of the major services provided and the Group’s 
accounting policy on recognition as a result of adopting AASB 15.

Transition 
The Group has taken the exemption to not restate comparative 
information for prior periods with respect to classification and 
measurement (including impairment) requirements. Differences 
in the carrying amounts of financial assets and financial liabilities 
resulting from the adoption of AASB 9 are recognised in retained 
earnings and reserves as at 1 July 2018. Accordingly, the 
information presented for FY 2018 does not generally reflect the 
requirements of AASB 9 but rather those of AASB 139.

Impact of the application of AASB 15 Revenue from 
Contracts with Customers
The Group has adopted AASB 15 Revenue from Contracts 
with Customers from 1 July 2018 which resulted in changes in 
accounting policies and adjustments to the amounts recognised 
in the financial statements. The Group has adopted AASB 15 using 
the cumulative effect method (without practical expedients), with 
the effect of initially applying this standard recognised at the date 
of initial application (i.e. 1 July 2018). Therefore, comparative 
periods have not been restated.

AASB 15 uses the terms ‘contract asset’ and ‘contract liability’ 
to describe what might more commonly be known as ‘accrued 
revenue’ and ‘deferred revenue’, however the Standard does 
not prohibit an entity from using alternative descriptions in the 
statement of financial position.

Revenue to the Group arises mainly from mortgage broking, 
financial planning advice and placement of life insurance. 
To determine whether to recognise revenue, the Group follows 
a 5 step process:

1)  Identifying the contract with a customer

2)  Identifying the performance obligations

3)  Determining the transaction price

4)  Allocating the transaction price to the performance obligations

5)  Recognising revenue when or as performance obligations 

are satisfied

46

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 1  Summary of significant accounting policies continued

Revenue recognition 
policy under AASB 118

Revenue recognition 
policy under AASB 15

Summary of changes 
in accounting policy

Origination commissions 
received by the Group are 
recognised as revenue 
on settlement of the 
loan, net of estimated 
clawbacks.

Revenue  
item

Origination 
commission

Nature and timing 
of satisfaction of 
performance obligations

The performance 
obligation for the Group 
is to introduce successful 
applicants to the lender.

The performance 
obligations are satisfied at 
the point in time the loan 
is advanced by the lender. 

Cash is received in 
the month following 
settlement of the loan. 

Commissions on loans 
that are discharged within 
two years will be subject 
to clawback in full or part.

Trailing 
commission

The performance 
obligation for the Group 
is to introduce successful 
applicants to the lender.

Trailing commission 
revenue has historically 
been recognised under 
AASB 139.

The performance 
obligations are satisfied at 
the point in time the loan 
is advanced by the lender.

The Group has no further 
performance obligations 
after this.

Cash is received each 
month based on the loan 
balance of the previous 
month. Trail ceases once 
the loan is discharged.

On initial recognition 
at settlement, trailing 
commission revenue and 
the related receivable 
are recognised at 
fair value being the 
net present value of 
the expected future 
trailing commissions to 
be received.

The carrying amounts 
of the receivable and 
payable are adjusted 
to reflect actual and 
revised estimated cash 
flows by recalculating 
the net present value of 
estimated future cash 
flows at the original 
effective interest rate.

47  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

AASB 15 did not 
have a significant 
impact on the Group’s 
accounting policies.

With the introduction 
of AASB 15, trailing 
commission is now 
accounted for under 
the revenue standard, 
instead of the financial 
instruments standard.

However, no material 
change occurs from AASB 
139 to AASB 15 as the 
approach to estimating 
the expected value of the 
trailing commission is in 
line with the approach 
under AASB 139.

Once the Group has 
referred a successful loan 
application to the lender, 
its performance obligations 
have been met. As such, 
the Group recognises this 
revenue at a point in time, 
being when the loan is 
settled with the lender. 
The transaction price is 
adjusted for any expected 
clawbacks using the 
expected value method.

The transaction price is a 
percentage of the settlement 
value of the loan.

Once the Group has referred 
a successful loan application 
to the lender, its performance 
obligations have been met. 
As such, the Group recognises 
this revenue at a point in 
time, being when the loan is 
settled with the lender.

On initial recognition a 
contract asset is recognised, 
representing management’s 
estimate of the variable 
consideration to be received 
from the completion of this 
performance obligation. The 
Group uses the ‘expected 
value’ method of estimating 
the variable consideration.

A significant financing 
component is also involved 
when determining this 
variable consideration. As 
such, the contract asset is 
adjusted by recalculating 
the net present value of 
estimated future cash flows 
at the original effective 
interest rate. The transaction 
price is a percentage of 
the expected outstanding 
balance of the loan.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 1  Summary of significant accounting policies continued

Revenue  
item

Diversified 
commission

Financial 
planning 
income – advice

Financial 
planning 
income – 
ongoing service

Nature and timing 
of satisfaction of 
performance obligations

Diversified commissions 
represent origination and 
trailing commission on 
non-mortgage products 
including general 
insurance and product 
referral commissions.

The Group’s performance 
obligations are to refer 
successful applications to 
the lender or provider.

The performance 
obligations are satisfied 
at the point in time the 
application is accepted by 
the lender or provider.

Cash for upfront revenue 
is received in the month 
following settlement of 
the loan or writing of the 
insurance product.

Cash for trail revenue 
is received each month 
based on the loan balance 
of the previous month. 
Trail ceases once the loan 
is discharged.

The performance 
obligations for the Group 
are to provide initial advice 
through the preparation 
and provision of a 
Statement of Advice (SOA). 
As such, performance 
obligations have been 
satisfied at a point in 
time, being when the SOA 
has been provided.

Each ongoing service 
package that the Group 
offers contains a list of 
distinct services to be 
provided over an annual 
period. However, these 
services have the same 
pattern of transfer 
and each performance 
obligation will be 
recognised over time. 
As such, these services will 
be recognised as a bundle 
of services over time.

Cash is received either 
annually in advance 
or monthly.

Revenue recognition 
policy under AASB 118

Revenue recognition  
policy under AASB 15

Summary of changes 
in accounting policy

Revenue is recognised 
when the commissions are 
received or receivable.

Trailing commission 
revenue has historically 
been recognised under 
AASB 139.

On initial recognition 
at settlement, trailing 
commission revenue and 
the related receivable 
are recognised at fair 
value being the net 
present value of the 
expected future trailing 
commissions to be 
received.

The carrying amounts 
of the receivable and 
payable are adjusted 
to reflect actual and 
revised estimated cash 
flows by recalculating 
the net present value of 
estimated future cash 
flows at the original 
effective interest rate.

Revenue from the 
provision of financial 
services is recognised 
at the time the service 
is provided.

Revenue from the 
provision of financial 
services is recognised 
over time.

AASB 15 did not 
have a significant 
impact on the Group’s 
accounting policies.

Once the Group has referred 
a successful application to 
the lender or provider, its 
performance obligations 
have been met. As such, 
the Group recognises this 
revenue at a point in time.

The transaction price is a 
percentage of the settlement 
value of the loan or policy 
value of the insurance 
product or expected 
outstanding balance of the 
loan or policy value of the 
insurance product.

Revenue is recognised at a 
point in time the advice is 
delivered to the customer.

AASB 15 did not 
have a significant 
impact on the Group’s 
accounting policies.

AASB 15 did not have 
a significant impact on 
the Group’s accounting 
policies.

Annual ongoing service 
revenue is recognised over a 
period of time. 

A time elapsed method is 
used to measure progress 
towards completion.

On average the entity 
provides services to customers 
evenly throughout the year 
and therefore recognises 
revenue accordingly.

The transaction price is 
based on the service package 
provided and is paid annually 
or monthly.

48

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 1  Summary of significant accounting policies continued

Revenue  
item

Financial 
Planning 
income – life 
insurance 
upfront 
commission

Insurance 
trailing 
commission

Nature and timing 
of satisfaction of 
performance obligations

The Group’s performance 
obligations are to 
introduce or refer 
successful insurance 
policy applications.  

The performance 
obligations are therefore 
satisfied at the point in 
time the policy is placed 
by the provider.

Cash is received in 
the month the policy 
is written or the 
following month.

The Group’s performance 
obligations are to 
introduce or refer 
successful insurance 
policy applications. 

The performance 
obligations are therefore 
satisfied at the point in 
time the policy is placed 
by the provider.

Cash is received each 
month based on the 
premium paid by the 
client in the previous 
month. Trail ceases once 
the policy is terminated.

Revenue recognition 
policy under AASB 118

Revenue recognition  
policy under AASB 15

Summary of changes 
in accounting policy

Revenue is recognised 
at the point in time the 
policy is placed by the 
provider.

Revenue is recognised 
when the life insurance 
trailing commissions are 
received or receivable

AASB 15 did not have 
a significant impact on 
the Group’s accounting 
policies.

Under AASB 118 revenue 
was recognised on receipt 
whereas under AASB 
15, due to performance 
obligations being satisfied 
at a point in time, the net 
present value of all future 
revenue is estimated and 
recognised when the 
policy is placed by the 
provider.

Once the Group has referred 
a successful insurance 
application to the provider, 
its performance obligations 
have been met. As such, 
the Group recognises this 
revenue at a point in time, 
being when the policy is 
placed by the provider.

The transaction price is a 
percentage of the policy 
value of the insurance 
product.

Once the Group has referred 
a successful insurance 
application to the insurance 
provider, its performance 
obligations have been 
met. As such, the Group 
recognises this revenue at 
a point in time, being when 
the policy is placed by the 
provider.

On initial recognition a 
contract asset is recognised, 
representing management’s 
estimate of the variable 
consideration to be received 
from the completion of this 
performance obligation. The 
Group uses the ‘expected 
value’ method of estimating 
the variable consideration.

A significant financing 
component is also involved 
when determining this 
variable consideration.

As such, the contract asset 
is adjusted by recalculating 
the net present value of 
estimated future cash flows 
at the original effective 
interest rate.

The transaction price 
is a percentage of the 
expected policy value of the 
insurance product.

49  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 1  Summary of significant accounting policies continued

Revenue recognition 
policy under AASB 118

Revenue recognition  
policy under AASB 15

Summary of changes 
in accounting policy

Revenue is recognised at a 
point in time the conference 
or workshop is delivered.

AASB 15 did not have 
a significant impact on 
the Group’s accounting 
policies.

Other income includes 
contributions from 
lenders towards 
conferences and 
workshops which are 
recognised as income 
at a point in time in the 
period the conference or 
workshop is held.

Revenue  
item

Sponsorship 
and other 
income

Nature and timing 
of satisfaction of 
performance obligations

Each sponsorship package 
offered by the Group 
contains a list of distinct 
services to be provided 
over an annual period.

The key services to 
be provided relate 
to conference and 
workshops held by 
the Company.

Once the relevant 
conference or workshop 
has been held, the 
performance obligation 
is satisfied.

Cash is received in 
the form of an annual 
package, paid upfront.

The impact of these changes on the Group’s retained earnings is as follows:

Opening balance under AASB 139 and AASB 118

Increase for initial recognition of insurance trail receivable

Decrease for initial recognition of insurance trail payable

Impact of first time adoption of AASB 9

Impact	before	tax	effect

Tax effect

Total impact

Opening balance under AASB 9 and AASB 15

Effect on Retained Earnings 
$’000

76,579

15,806

(13,370)

—

2,436

(731)

1,705

78,284

Historical cost convention
These financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, as modified by the revaluation of financial assets 
and liabilities (including derivative instruments) at fair value through profit and loss.

Critical accounting estimates
The preparation of financial statements requires the use of certain critical accounting estimates. It also requires management to exercise 
its judgement in the process of applying the Group’s accounting policies. The areas involving a higher degree of judgement or complexity, 
or areas where assumptions and estimates are significant to the financial statements are disclosed in Note 3.

B)  Principles of consolidation
i)  Subsidiaries
The consolidated financial statements incorporate the financial statements of the Company and entities (including structured entities) 
controlled by the Company and its subsidiaries. Control is achieved when the Company:

 – has power over the investee;

 – is exposed, or has rights, to variable returns from its involvement with the investee; and

 – has the ability to use its power to affect its returns.

The Company reassesses whether or not it controls an investee if facts and circumstances indicate that there are changes to one or more 
of the three elements of control listed above and at each reporting date.

50

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 1  Summary of significant accounting policies continued
Intercompany transactions, balances and unrealised gains on 
transactions between Group companies are eliminated. Unrealised 
losses are also eliminated unless the transaction provides evidence 
of the impairment of the asset transferred.

A significant financing component is also involved when 
determining this variable consideration. As such, the contract asset 
is adjusted by recalculating the net present value of estimated 
future cash flows at the original effective interest rate.

ii)  Employee Share Trust
The Group has formed two trusts to administer the Group’s 
employee share scheme. These trusts are consolidated as the 
substance of the relationship is that the trusts are controlled by 
the Group.

Shares held by the employee share scheme are disclosed as 
treasury shares and deducted from contributed equity in both the 
consolidated and company accounts.

C)  Segment reporting
Operating segments are reported in a manner consistent with 
the internal reporting provided to the chief operating decision 
maker. The chief operating decision maker, who is responsible for 
allocating resources and assessing performance of the operating 
segments, has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer.

D)  Revenue recognition
Revenue is measured based on the consideration to which the 
Group expects to be entitled in a contract with a customer and 
excludes amounts collected on behalf of third parties.

The Company provides loan origination services through its 
franchise network and receives origination commission on the 
settlement of loans. Additionally, the lender will normally pay a 
trailing commission over the life of the loan. Revenue over the 
estimated life of loans written is recognised on the settlement 
of the loans as no additional services are required to receive the 
entitled funds. Additionally, the Company earns income from the 
sale of franchises and franchisee services. 

Revenue from sale of services is recognised as follows:

i)  Origination commissions arising from mortgage 

broking activities

Once the Group has referred a successful loan application to the 
lender, its performance obligations have been met. As such, the 
Group recognises this revenue at a point in time, being when the 
loan is settled with the lender. The transaction price is adjusted for 
any expected clawbacks using the expected value method. 

The transaction price is a percentage of the settlement value 
of the loan.

ii)  Trailing commissions arising from mortgage broking activities
Once the Group has referred a successful loan application to the 
lender, its performance obligations have been met. As such, the 
Group recognises this revenue at a point in time, being when the 
loan is settled with the lender.

On initial recognition a contract asset is recognised, representing 
management’s estimate of the variable consideration to be 
received from the completion of this performance obligation. 
The Group uses the ‘expected value’ method of estimating the 
variable consideration.

The transaction price is a percentage of the expected outstanding 
balance of the loan. 

iii)	Diversified	commissions	
Once the Group has referred a successful application to the lender 
or provider, its performance obligations have been met. As such, 
the Group recognises this revenue at a point in time.

The transaction price is a percentage of the settlement 
value of the loan or policy value of the insurance product or 
expected outstanding balance of the loan or policy value of the 
insurance product.

iv) Financial planning revenue

a)  Advice fees
Revenue is recognised at a point in time the advice is delivered 
to the customer. 

Annual ongoing service revenue is recognised over a period 
of time. A time elapsed method is used to measure progress 
towards completion. On average the entity provides services 
to customers evenly throughout the year and therefore 
recognises revenue accordingly.

The transaction price is based on the service package provided 
and is paid annually or monthly.

b)  Life insurance commission
Once the Group has referred a successful insurance application 
to the provider, its performance obligations have been met. As 
such, the Group recognises this upfront commission revenue at 
a point in time, being when the policy is placed by the provider.

Group recognises trailing commission revenue at a point in 
time, being when the policy is placed by the provider.  On 
initial recognition a contract asset is recognised, representing 
management’s estimate of the variable consideration to be 
received from the completion of this performance obligation.  
The Group uses the ‘expected value’ method of estimating the 
variable consideration.  A significant financing component is 
also involved when determining this variable consideration.  
As such, the contract asset is adjusted by recalculating the net 
present value of estimated future cash flows at the original 
effective interest rate.

The transaction price is a percentage of the policy value of the 
insurance product for upfront commissions or expected policy 
value for trailing commissions.

v)  Franchise income
Franchise income is predominantly the recovery of costs of 
meeting regulatory requirements and is charged to franchisees on 
a monthly basis.  This revenue is recognised as the performance 
obligation relating to these requirements are performed.

51  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 1  Summary of significant accounting policies continued
vi) Interest income
Interest income is recognised using the effective interest method. 
When a receivable is impaired, the Group reduces the carrying 
amount to its recoverable amount, being the estimated future 
cash flow discounted at the original effective interest rate 
of the instrument, and continues unwinding the discount as 
interest income.

Mortgage Choice Limited and its wholly-owned controlled entities 
have elected to consolidate under the tax consolidation legislation. 
As a consequence, these entities are taxed as a single entity and 
the deferred tax assets and liabilities of these entities are set off in 
the consolidated financial statements.

vii) Sponsorship and other income
Other income includes contributions from lenders towards 
conferences and workshops which are recognised as income at 
a point in time in the period the conference or workshop is held. 
Also included in this category are other non-operating revenues 
recognised in the period to which the income relates. 

E)  Income tax
The income tax expense for the period is the tax payable on the 
current period’s taxable income, based on the applicable income 
tax rate adjusted by changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities 
attributable to temporary differences.

The current income tax charge is calculated on the basis of the 
tax laws substantively enacted at the end of the reporting period. 
Management periodically evaluates positions taken in tax returns 
with respect to situations in which applicable tax regulation 
is subject to interpretation. It establishes provisions where 
appropriate on the basis of amounts expected to be paid to the 
tax authorities.

Deferred income tax is provided in full, using the liability method, 
on temporary differences arising between the tax bases of assets 
and liabilities and their carrying amounts in the consolidated 
financial statements. However, the deferred income tax is not 
accounted for if it arises from initial recognition of an asset or 
liability in a transaction, other than a business combination, that at 
the time of the transaction affects neither accounting nor taxable 
profit or loss. Deferred income tax is determined using tax rates 
(and laws) that have been enacted or substantially enacted by the 
balance sheet date and are expected to apply when the related 
deferred income tax asset is realised or the deferred income tax 
liability is settled.

Deferred tax assets are recognised for deductible temporary 
differences only if it is probable that future taxable amounts will 
be available to utilise those temporary differences and losses.

Deferred tax liabilities and assets are not recognised for 
temporary differences between the carrying amount and tax 
bases of investments in controlled entities where the parent entity 
is able to control the timing of the reversal of the temporary 
differences and it is probable that the differences will not reverse 
in the foreseeable future.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a 
legally enforceable right to offset current tax assets and liabilities 
and when the deferred tax balances relate to the same taxation 
authority. Current tax assets and tax liabilities are offset where 
the entity has a legally enforceable right to offset and intends 
either to settle on a net basis, or to realise the asset and settle the 
liability simultaneously.

Current and deferred tax is recognised in profit or loss, except 
to the extent that it relates to items recognised in other 
comprehensive income or directly in equity. In this case the tax 
is also recognised in other comprehensive income or directly in 
equity, respectively.

Investment allowances
Companies within the Group may be entitled to claim special tax 
deductions for investments in qualifying assets or in relation to 
qualifying expenditure (eg the Research and Development Tax 
Incentive regime in Australia or other investment allowances). The 
Group accounts for such allowances as tax credits, which means 
that the allowance reduces income tax payable and current tax 
expense. A deferred tax asset is recognised for unclaimed tax 
credits that are carried forward as deferred tax assets.

Tax consolidation legislation
Mortgage Choice Limited and its wholly owned Australian 
controlled entities are members of a consolidated group for 
income tax purposes.

The head entity, Mortgage Choice Limited, and the controlled 
entities in the tax consolidated group account for their own 
current and deferred tax amounts. These tax amounts are 
measured as if each entity in the tax consolidated group continues 
to be a standalone taxpayer in its own right.

In addition to its own current and deferred tax amounts, Mortgage 
Choice Limited also recognises current tax liabilities or assets, and 
deferred tax assets arising from unused tax losses and unused tax 
credits assumed from controlled entities in the tax consolidated 
group.

The entities have entered into a tax funding agreement under 
which the wholly-owned entities fully compensate Mortgage 
Choice Limited for any current tax payable assumed and are 
compensated by Mortgage Choice Limited for any current tax 
receivable and deferred tax assets relating to unused tax losses 
or unused tax credits that are transferred to Mortgage Choice 
Limited under the tax consolidation legislation. 

The funding amounts are determined by reference to the amounts 
recognised in the wholly-owned entities’ financial statements.

The amounts receivable/payable under the tax funding agreement 
is due upon receipt of the funding advice from the head entity, 
which is issued as soon as practicable after the end of each 
financial year. The head entity may also require payment of 
interim funding amounts to assist with its obligations to pay tax 
instalments.

Assets or liabilities arising under tax funding agreements with 
the tax consolidated entities are recognised as current amounts 
receivable from or payable to other entities in the Group.

52

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 1  Summary of significant accounting policies continued
Any difference between the amounts assumed and amounts 
receivable or payable under the tax funding agreement are 
recognised as a contribution to (or distribution from) wholly-
owned tax consolidated entities.

I)  Trade receivables
Trade receivables are recognised at amortised cost using the 
effective interest method, less expected credit losses (ECL).  
Trade receivables are generally due in 30 days.

F)  Leases
Leases of property, plant and equipment, where the Group as 
lessee has substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership, are 
classified as finance leases. 

Leases in which a significant portion of the risks and rewards of 
ownership are not transferred to the Group as lessee are classified 
as operating leases. Payments made under operating leases (net of 
any incentives received from the lessor) are charged to the income 
statement on a straight-line basis over the period of the lease.

G)  Impairment of tangible and intangible assets
At the end of each reporting period, the Group reviews the 
carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible assets to determine 
whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered 
an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable 
amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the 
extent of the impairment loss (if any). When it is not possible to 
estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset, the Group 
estimates the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit 
to which the asset belongs. When a reasonable and consistent 
basis of allocation can be identified, corporate assets are also 
allocated to individual cash-generating units, or otherwise they are 
allocated to the smallest group of cash-generating units for which 
a reasonable and consistent allocation basis can be identified.

Intangible assets with indefinite useful lives and intangible 
assets not yet available for use are tested for impairment at 
least annually, and whenever there is an indication that the asset 
may be impaired. Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value 
less costs of disposal and value in use. In assessing value in use, 
the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present 
value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market 
assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to 
the asset for which the estimates of future cash flows have not 
been adjusted.

If the recoverable amount of an asset (or cash-generating unit) 
is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying 
amount of the asset (or cash-generating unit) is reduced to 
its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised 
immediately in profit or loss, unless the relevant asset is carried at 
a revalued amount, in which case the impairment loss is treated as 
a revaluation decrease.

H)  Cash and cash equivalents
For cash flow statement presentation purposes, cash and cash 
equivalents includes cash on hand, deposits held at call with 
financial institutions, other short-term, highly liquid investments 
with original maturities of three months or less that are readily 
convertible to known amounts of cash and which are subject to an 
insignificant risk of changes in value. 

The Group recognises lifetime ECL for trade receivables. The 
expected credit losses are estimated using a provision matrix 
based on the Group’s historical credit loss experience, adjusted 
for factors that are specific to the debtors, general economic 
conditions and an assessment of both the current as well as the 
forecast direction of conditions at the reporting date, including 
time value of money where appropriate. 

J)  Contract assets
Contract assets recognised are primarily related to trailing 
commission arising from mortgage broking activities.

Any amount previously recognised as a contract asset is 
reclassified to trade receivables at the point in which the right 
becomes unconditional. 

K)  Financial assets
On initial recognition, a financial asset is classified and 
measured at:

 – Amortised cost;

 • Fair value through other comprehensive income (FVTOCI) 

– debt instrument

 • Fair value through other comprehensive income (FVTOCI) 

– equity instrument

 • Fair value through profit or loss (FVTPL)

Debt instruments that meet the following conditions are 
measured subsequently at amortised cost:

 – the financial asset is held within a business model whose 
objective is to hold financial assets in order to collect 
contractual cash flows; and

 – the contractual terms of the financial asset give rise on 

specified dates to cash flows that are solely payments of 
principal and interest on the principal amount outstanding.

The amortised cost of a financial asset is the amount at which 
the financial asset is measured at initial recognition minus the 
principal repayments, plus the cumulative amortisation using the 
effective interest method of any difference between that initial 
amount and the maturity amount, adjusted for any loss allowance. 
The gross carrying amount of a financial asset is the amortised cost 
of a financial asset before adjusting for any loss allowance.

Impairment	of	financial	assets
The Group recognises a loss allowance for expected credit 
losses on investments in debt instruments that are measured at 
amortised cost or at FVTOCI, lease receivables, trade receivables 
and contract assets, as well as on financial guarantee contracts. 
The amount of expected credit losses is updated at each reporting 
date to reflect changes in credit risk since initial recognition of the 
respective financial instrument.

53  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 1  Summary of significant accounting policies continued
The Group recognises lifetime ECL for trade receivables, contract 
assets and lease receivables. The expected credit losses on these 
financial assets are estimated using a provision matrix based on 
the Group’s historical credit loss experience, adjusted for factors 
that are specific to the debtors, general economic conditions and 
an assessment of both the current as well as the forecast direction 
of conditions at the reporting date, including time value of money 
where appropriate.

M) Intangible assets
Software
Acquired computer software licences are capitalised on the basis 
of the costs incurred to acquire and bring to use the specific 
software. These costs are amortised over their estimated useful 
lives (three to seven years).

For all other financial instruments, the Group recognises lifetime 
ECL when there has been a significant increase in credit risk since 
initial recognition. However, if the credit risk on the financial 
instrument has not increased significantly since initial recognition, 
the Group measures the loss allowance for that financial 
instrument at an amount equal to 12 month ECL.

Lifetime ECL represents the expected credit losses that will 
result from all possible default events over the expected life 
of a financial instrument. In contrast, 12 month ECL represents 
the portion of lifetime ECL that is expected to result from 
default events on a financial instrument that are possible within 
12 months after the reporting date.

Costs associated with developing or maintaining computer 
software programs are recognised as an expense as incurred. Costs 
that are directly associated with the production of identifiable 
and unique software products controlled by the Group, and that 
will probably generate future economic benefits exceeding costs 
beyond one year, are recognised as intangible assets.

Computer software development costs recognised as assets are 
amortised over their estimated useful lives. 

N)  Trade and other payables
These amounts represent liabilities for goods and services 
provided to the Group prior to the end of the financial year and 
which are unpaid. The amounts are unsecured and are usually paid 
within 30 days of recognition.

L)  Property, plant and equipment
All property, plant and equipment is stated at historical cost less 
depreciation. Historical cost includes expenditure that is directly 
attributable to the acquisition of the items. 

O)  Trailing commissions payable
Payables related to trailing commissions are recognised in 
accordance with the revenue recognition policy outlined in 
Note 1D.

Subsequent costs are included in the asset’s carrying amount or 
recognised as a separate asset, as appropriate, only when it is 
probable that future economic benefits associated with the item 
will flow to the Group and the cost of the item can be measured 
reliably. The carrying amount of the replaced part is derecognised. 
All other repairs and maintenance are charged to the income 
statement during the financial period in which they are incurred.

P)  Borrowing costs
Borrowing costs are recognised as expenses using the effective 
interest method. 

Q)  External borrowings
All borrowings are initially recognised at fair value of the 
consideration received less directly attributable transaction costs.  

Depreciation on other assets is calculated using the straight line 
method to allocate their cost or revalued amounts, net of their 
residual values, over their estimated useful lives or, in the case of 
leasehold improvements, the shorter lease term as follows:

After initial recognition, interest-bearing loans and borrowings 
are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective 
interest method other than those which are measured at fair value 
through profit or loss (FVTPL).  

Office equipment

Computer equipment

Furniture and fittings

5-10 years

3-4 years

5-15 years

Amortised cost is calculated by taking into account any fees paid 
or received between parties to the contract that are an integral 
part of the effective interest rate, transaction costs, and all other 
premiums or discounts on acquisition, over the period to maturity.

The assets’ residual values and useful lives are reviewed, and 
adjusted if appropriate, at each balance sheet date.

An asset’s carrying amount is written down immediately to its 
recoverable amount if the asset’s carrying amount is greater than 
its estimated recoverable amount (Note 1G).

Gains and losses on disposals are determined by comparing 
proceeds with carrying amount. These are included in the 
income statement. 

R)  Provisions
Provisions for legal claims and make good obligations are 
recognised when the Group has a present legal or constructive 
obligation as a result of past events, it is probable that an outflow 
of resources will be required to settle the obligation and the 
amount has been reliably estimated. Provisions are not recognised 
for future operating losses.

Provisions are measured at the present value of management’s 
best estimate of the expenditure required to settle the present 
obligation at the balance sheet date. The discount rate used to 
determine the present value reflects current market assessments 
of the time value of money and the risks specific to the liability. 
The increase in the provision due to the passage of time is 
recognised as interest expense.

54

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 1  Summary of significant accounting policies continued

S)  Employee benefits
Short-term obligations
Liabilities for wages and salaries, including non monetary benefits 
and annual leave expected to be settled within twelve months 
after the end of the period in which the employees render the 
related service, are recognised in respect of employees’ services 
up to the end of the reporting period and are measured at the 
amounts expected to be paid. The liability for annual leave 
is included in provisions. The liability for all other short-term 
employee benefits is included in trade and other payables.

Other	long-term	employee	benefit	obligations
The liability for long service leave and any annual leave, which 
is not expected to be settled within 12 months after the end of 
the period in which the employees render the related service, is 
recognised in the provisions and measured as the present value 
of expected future payments to be made in respect of services 
provided by employees up to the end of the reporting period 
using the projected unit credit method. Consideration is given to 
expected future wage and salary levels, experience of employee 
departures and periods of service. Expected future payments are 
discounted using market yields at the reporting period on high 
quality corporate bonds with terms and currency that match, as 
closely as possible, the estimated future cash outflows.

The obligations are presented as current liabilities in the balance 
sheet if the entity does not have an unconditional right to defer 
settlement for at least twelve months after the reporting date, 
regardless of when the actual settlement is expected to occur.

Retirement	benefit	obligations
Contributions to the defined contribution fund are recognised 
as an expense as they become payable. Prepaid contributions 
are recognised as an asset to the extent that a cash refund or a 
reduction in the future payments is available.

Share-based payments
Share based compensation benefits are provided to employees 
via the Mortgage Choice Executive Performance Option Plan, 
the Mortgage Choice Performance Share Plan and the Mortgage 
Choice Share Rights Plan. Information relating to these schemes is 
set out in Note 27.

The fair value of performance shares granted under the Mortgage 
Choice Performance Share Plan and share rights granted under the 
Mortgage Choice Share Rights Plan is recognised as an employee 
benefit expense with a corresponding increase in equity. The 
total amount to be expensed is determined by reference to the 
fair value of the performance shares granted, which includes any 
market performance conditions but excludes the impact of any 
service and non-market performance vesting conditions and the 
impact of any non-vesting conditions.

Non-market vesting conditions are included in assumptions about 
the number of shares that are expected to vest. The total expense 
is recognised over the vesting period, which is the period over 
which all of the specified vesting conditions are to be satisfied. 
At the end of each period, the entity revises its estimates of 
the number of shares that are expected to vest based on the 
non-marketing vesting conditions. It recognises the impact of 
the revision to original estimates, if any, in profit or loss, with a 
corresponding adjustment to equity.

55  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

The Mortgage Choice Performance Share Plan and the Mortgage 
Choice Share Rights Plan are administered by the Mortgage Choice 
Performance Share Plan Trust and the Mortgage Choice Employee 
Incentive Trust; see Note 1(B)(ii).

Short-term incentive plans
The Group recognises a liability and an expense where 
contractually obliged or where there is a past practice that it has 
created a constructive obligation.

Termination	benefits
Termination benefits are payable when employment is terminated 
before the normal retirement date, or when an employee accepts 
voluntary redundancy in exchange for these benefits. The Group 
recognises termination benefits when it is demonstrably 
committed to either terminating the employment of current 
employees according to a detailed formal plan without possibility 
of withdrawal or providing termination benefits as a result of an 
offer made to encourage voluntary redundancy. Benefits falling 
due more than twelve months after balance sheet date are 
discounted to present value.

T)  Contributed equity
Ordinary shares are classified as equity. Incremental costs directly 
attributable to the issue of new shares or options are shown in 
equity as a deduction, net of tax, from the proceeds. Incremental 
costs directly attributable to the issue of new shares or options 
for the acquisition of a business are not included in the cost of the 
acquisition as part of the purchase consideration.

Where any group company purchases the Company’s equity 
instruments, for example as the result of a share buy-back or a  
share-based payment plan, the consideration paid, including any 
directly attributable incremental costs (net of income taxes) is 
deducted from equity attributable to the owners of Mortgage 
Choice Limited as treasury shares until the shares are cancelled or 
reissued. Where such ordinary shares are subsequently reissued, any 
consideration received, net of any directly attributable incremental 
transaction costs and the related income tax effects, is included in 
equity attributable to the owners of Mortgage Choice Limited. 

U)  Dividends
Provision is made for the amount of any dividend declared, that 
is approved by the Directors on or before the end of the financial 
year but not yet paid at the reporting date.

V)  Earnings per share
i)  Basic earnings per share
Basic earnings per share is determined by dividing net profit after 
income tax attributable to members of the Company, excluding 
any costs of servicing equity other than ordinary shares, by the 
weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during 
the financial year, adjusted for bonus elements in ordinary shares 
issued during the year.

ii)   Diluted earnings per share
Diluted earnings per share adjusts the figures used in the 
determination of basic earnings per share to take into account 
the after income tax effect of interest and other financing costs 
associated with dilutive potential ordinary shares and the weighted 
average number of shares assumed to have been issued for no 
consideration in relation to dilutive potential ordinary shares.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 1  Summary of significant accounting policies continued

W) Rounding of amounts
The Company is a company of the kind referred to in ASIC 
Corporations (Rounding in Financials/Directors’ Reports) 
Instrument 2016/191, dated 24 March 2016, and in accordance 
with that Corporations Instrument amounts in the directors’ 
report and the financial statements are rounded off to the nearest 
thousand dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

X)  New accounting standards and interpretations
At the date of authorisation of the financial statements, the 
Standards and Interpretations listed below were in issue but not 
yet effective.

Standard/Interpretation

Effective for 
annual reporting 
periods beginning 
on or after

Expected to be 
initially applied in 
the financial year 
ending 

AASB 16 ‘Leases’

1 January 2019

30 June 2020

AASB 2018-1  
Amendments to Australian 
Accounting Standards – Annual 
Improvements 2015–2017 Cycle

1 January 2019

30 June 2020

From the above table, the potential effect of the revised 
Standards/Interpretations on the Group’s financial statements 
is discussed for the most impactful Standards below:

AASB 16 Leases
AASB 16 will replace AASB 117 Leases, Interpretation 4 Determining 
whether an Arrangement contains a Lease, Interpretation 
115 Operating Leases – Incentives and Interpretation 127 Evaluating 
the Substance of Transactions Involving the Legal Form of a Lease. 
The Standard will provide a comprehensive model for the 
identification of lease arrangements and their treatment in the 
financial statements of both lessees and lessors. 

Key requirements of AASB 16: 

AASB 16 distinguishes leases and service contacts on the basis of 
whether an identified asset is controlled by a customer. Distinctions 
of operating leases (off balance sheet) and finance leases (on 
balance sheet) are removed for lessee accounting, and is replaced 
by a model where a right-of-use asset and a corresponding liability 
have to be recognised for all leases by lessees (i.e. all on balance 
sheet) except for short-term leases or leases of low value assets. 

The right-of-use asset is initially measured at cost and 
subsequently measured at cost (subject to certain exceptions) less 
accumulated depreciation and impairment losses, adjusted for any 
remeasurement of the lease liability. The lease liability is initially 
measured at the present value of the lease payments that are 
not paid at that date. Subsequently, the lease liability is adjusted 
for interest and lease payments, as well as the impact of lease 
modifications, amongst others. Furthermore, the classification of 
cash flows will also be affected as operating lease payments under 
AASB 117 are presented as operating cash flows; whereas under 
the AASB 16 model, the lease payments will be split into a principal 
and an interest portion which will be presented as financing and 
operating cash flows respectively. 

In contrast to lessee accounting, AASB 16 substantially carries 
forward the lessor accounting requirements in AASB 117, and 
continues to require a lessor to classify a lease either as an 
operating lease or a finance lease. 

Furthermore, extensive disclosures are required by AASB 16. 

AASB 16 applies to annual period beginning on or after 1 January 
2019. The Group anticipates that the application of AASB 16 in the 
future may have a material impact on amounts reported in respect 
of the Group’s financial assets and financial liabilities. 

Based on the Group’s assessment of the leases the Group has 
as at 30 June 2018 on the basis of the facts and circumstances 
that exist as at that date, the changes to AASB 16 Leases will 
result in the inclusion of a lease liability and a right of use asset 
on the balance sheet. There will also be changes to the profile 
of the expense. Rather than being a straight line rental expense, 
there will be more expensed in early years and less in later years. 
In addition, the nature of expenses related to those leases will 
now change because the new standard replaces the straightline 
operating lease expense with a depreciation charge for right-of-
use assets and interest expense on lease liabilities. As a result, 
there will be an increase in cash inflow from operations arising 
from the depreciation charge, and an increase in cash outflow 
from financing activities from the interest expense. 

This will also increase metrics such as EBITDA as rather than an 
operating rental expense there will be a movement of expenses 
below the EBITDA line. 

The Group has lease commitments of $4.753m (refer note 21). 
The amount disclosed does not include any lease extension 
options and is not discounted as the Group is still in the process of 
determining its incremental borrowing rate, and as such is not able 
to determine the impact on the statement of financial position and 
statement of comprehensive income at this stage. 

As a lessee, the Group can either apply the standard using the 
retrospective approach or modified retrospective approach with 
optional practical expedients. The lessee applies the election 
consistently to all of its leases. The standard is mandatory for first 
interim periods within annual reporting periods beginning on or 
after 1 January 2019. The Group plans to apply the accounting 
standard initially on 1 July 2019, using a modified retrospective 
approach. Therefore, the cumulative effect of adopting AASB 
16 will be recognised as an adjustment to the opening balance 
of retained earnings at 1 July 2019, with no restatement of 
comparative information. The Group has not yet decided whether 
it will use the optional exemptions. AASB 16 introduces a 
comprehensive model for the identification of lease arrangements 
and accounting treatments for both lessors and lessees.

AASB 16 distinguishes between leases and service contracts on the 
basis of whether an identified asset is controlled by a customer. 
AASB 16 eliminates the distinction between operating leases (off 
balance sheet) and finance leases (on balance sheet) for lessee 
accounting and replaces it with a lease model where a right-of-use 
asset and a corresponding lease liability will be recognised for all 
leases (i.e. all on balance sheet) except for short-term leases and 
leases of low value assets.

56

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 1  Summary of significant accounting policies continued
As at 30 June 2018, the Group currently has various non-cancellable operating lease commitments in place. A preliminary assessment 
indicates that these arrangements will meet the definition of a lease under AASB 16, and hence the Group will recognise a right-of-use 
asset and a corresponding liability in respect of all these leases unless they qualify for low value or short-term leases upon the application 
of AASB 16. 

The new requirement to recognise a right-of-use asset and a related lease liability is expected to have an impact on the amounts 
recognised in the Group’s consolidated financial statements and the directors are currently assessing the extent of the potential impact. 
As such, it is not currently practicable to provide an estimate of the financial effect until the directors complete the review.

Y)  Parent entity financial information
The financial information for the parent entity, Mortgage Choice Limited, disclosed in Note 28 has been prepared on the same basis as 
the consolidated financial statements, except as set out below.

Investments in subsidiaries
Investments in subsidiaries are accounted for at cost in the financial statements of Mortgage Choice Limited. Dividends received from 
subsidiaries are recognised in the parent entity’s profit or loss when its right to receive the dividend is established.

Financial guarantees
Where the parent entity has provided financial guarantees in relation to loans and payables of subsidiaries for no compensation, the fair 
values of these guarantees are accounted for as contributions and recognised as part of the cost of the investment.

57  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 2  Financial risk management
The Group has limited exposure to financial risks with the exception of credit risk, liquidity risk and prepayment risk. The Group does not 
use derivative financial instruments such as foreign exchange contracts, interest rate swaps or other derivative instruments to hedge risk 
exposures. It does not operate internationally, does not have any significant interest rate exposure and is not exposed to either securities 
price risk or commodity price risk.

Risk management is carried out by the Group’s finance department under policies approved by the Board of Directors. 

The Group holds the following financial instruments:

Financial Assets

Current

Cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other receivables a,b

Contract assets

Non—current

Receivables b

Contract assets

a)  Excludes prepayments.
b)  FY2018 includes receivables treated as Contract assets under AASB 15 in FY2019.

Financial Liabilities

Current

Trade and other payables

External borrowings

Non—current

Trade and other payables

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

1,927

13,146

98,519

4,220

277,949

395,761

3,353

103,460

—

275,685

—

382,498

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

82,043

2,500

201,396

285,939

77,211

—

196,711

273,922

The Group’s policies in relation to financial risks to which it has exposure are detailed below.

I)  Market risk

Interest rate risk
The Group’s main interest rate risk arises from cash, cash equivalents and external borrowings. At 30 June 2019 the weighted average 
interest rate on its cash balances was 1.25% (2018 1.5%). If interest rates were to increase by 100 basis points, the Group’s after tax 
result would increase by $57,000 (2018 $83,000). A decrease of 100 basis points would reduce the Group’s after tax result by $57,000 
(2018 $83,000). At 30 June 2019 the interest rate on the Group’s external borrowings was 1.27%. If interest rates were to increase by 
100 basis points, the Group’s after tax result would reduce by $17,000. A decrease of 100 basis points would increase the Group’s after 
tax result by $17,000.

II)  Credit risk

Credit risk is assessed on a Group basis. It arises from cash and cash equivalents placed with banks as well as credit exposure to 
financial institutions on the Group’s lender panel from which future trailing commissions are due. The majority of these financial 
institutions are Authorised Deposit—taking Institutions (ADIs) and therefore regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation 
Authority (APRA) and are independently rated. This forms the basis of the Group’s assessment of credit risk. If the lender has not been 
independently rated, credit risk is assessed taking into account its financial position, past experience and other factors. The table 
below indicates the Group’s exposure to each ratings category.

The Group bears the risk of non—payment of future trailing commissions by lenders should they become insolvent but 
correspondingly, there is no legal requirement to pay franchisees trailing commissions that have not been received. The Group 
judges there to be an increase in credit risk if the receivable becomes 30 days past due. The Group’s expected credit losses has been 
determined to be not material due to the Group’s history of no historical losses and the risk profile of the Group’s lender panel. Refer 
to the table below.

58

 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 2  Financial risk management continued

2019

ADI's

Non ADI's

Provision for Lender clawbacks

Total Receivable

2018

ADI's

Non ADI's

Provision for Lender clawbacks

Total Receivable

59  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Standard & Poor's 
Credit Rating

AA–

A+
A
A–
BBB+
BBB
BBB–
Not rated

AA–
A+
A
A–
BBB+
BBB
BBB–
Not rated

Standard & Poor's 
Credit Rating

AA–

A+
A
A–
BBB+
BBB
BBB–
Not rated

AA–
A+
A
A–
BBB+
BBB
BBB–
Not rated

Cash 
$’000

1,927 

Trade and 
Franchisee 
Receivables 
$’000

7,789 

1,504 
1,330 
158 
120 
1,162 
 — 
205 

Contract  
Assets 
$’000

237,058 

25,561 
41,185 
4,734 
3,082 
33,875 
 — 
5,609 

1,927 

12,269 

351,104 

54 
213 
 — 
 — 
7 
 — 
125 
7,917

8,317

(3,220)

17,366

Trade and 
Franchisee 
Receivables 
$’000

8,654 

1,172 
1,678 
0 
236 
1,723 
 — 
156 

 — 
13,431 
 — 
 — 
 — 
 — 
2,910 
9,023

25,364

376,468

Contract  
Assets 
$’000

243,407 

21,458 
46,171 
 — 
2,839 
31,432 
 — 
5,347 

 — 

1,927 

Cash 
$’000

3,353 

3,353 

13,619 

350,654 

60 
307 
 — 
 — 
1 
 — 
128 
8,218 

8,714 

(4,198)

18,135

 — 
 — 
 — 
 — 
 — 
 — 
2,666 
7,593 

10,259 

360,913 

 — 

3,353 

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 2  Financial risk management continued

III) Liquidity risk and fair value estimation

Prudent liquidity risk management implies maintaining sufficient cash and marketable securities. The Group manages liquidity risk by 
continuously monitoring forecast and actual cash flows and matching maturity profiles of financial assets and liabilities. Surplus funds 
are generally only invested in instruments that are tradable in highly liquid markets.

The tables below analyse the Group’s financial assets into relevant maturity groupings based on the expected future cashflows. 
No financial assets are past due or impaired.

Less than 
 6 months 
$’000

6 – 12  
months 
$’000

Between  
1 and 2 years 
$’000

Between 
 2 and 5 years 
$’000

Over  
5 years 
$’000

Total  
cash	flows 
$’000

Carrying  
Amount 
$’000

At 30 June 2019

Non—derivatives

Interest bearing

Cash and cash equivalents

Franchisee receivables

Non—interest bearing

Cash and cash equivalents

Trade receivable

Franchisee and other 
receivables

Contract assets

—

1,113

—

1,909

—

2,356

—

—

0

—

—

0

1,925

1,263

2

11,015

263

50,291

64,759

—

—

0

45,816

46,929

—

131

—

—

0

1,925

6,771

2

11,015

263

1,925

6,088

2

11,015

263

78,886

151,613

116,137

442,742

376,468

80,795

153,969

116,268

462,719

395,761

The fair value of the contract assets is $385,436,000. The fair value of all other assets is the same as their carrying amount. The fair value 
of the contract assets would be classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy. It has been determined in accordance with generally 
accepted pricing models using a discounted cash flow valuation technique, which requires the use of management assumptions as 
disclosed in Note 3 with the exception of the discount rate for which management has applied a discount rate of 2.91% for residential 
trailing commissions and 4.8% for insurance products. There has been no change to the valuation technique during the year.

At 30 June 2018

Non—derivatives

Interest bearing

Cash and cash equivalents

Franchisee receivables

Non—interest bearing

Cash and cash equivalents

Trade receivable

Franchisee and other 
receivables

Future trailing commissions 
receivable 

Less than 
 6 months 
$’000

6 – 12  
months 
$’000

Between  
1 and 2 years 
$’000

Between 
 2 and 5 years 
$’000

Over  
5 years 
$’000

Total  
cash flows 
$’000

Carrying  
Amount 
$’000

3,351

1,190

2

11,751

308

—

1,119

—

1,970

—

3,238

—

—

25

—

—

10

—

—

11

—

419

—

—

0

3,351

7,936

2

11,751

354

3,351

6,238

2

11,751

354

48,078

43,938

76,009

148,241

114,368

430,634

360,913

64,680

45,082

77,989

151,490

114,787

454,028

382,609

The fair value of the future trailing commissions receivable is $370,131,000. The fair value of all other assets is the same as their 
carrying amount.

The tables below analyse the Group’s financial liabilities into relevant maturity groupings based on the expected future cashflows.

60

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 2  Financial risk management continued
Contractual maturities  
Between  
of	financial	liabilities	 
1 and 2 years 
at 30 June 2019
$’000

Less than 
 6 months 
$’000

6 – 12  
months 
$’000

Between 
 2 and 5 years 
$’000

Over  
5 years 
$’000

Total  
cash	flows 
$’000

Carrying  
Amount 
$’000

Non—derivatives

Interest bearing

External borrowing

Trade payables

Non—interest bearing

Trade payables

Licence fees and other payables

1,500

279

10,796

—

Future trailing commissions payable 

36,168

48,743

1,000

—

—

—

33,002

34,002

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

2,500

279

2,500

279

10,796

10,796

—

—

56,923

109,470

83,928

319,491

272,363

56,923

109,470

83,928

333,066

285,938

The Group’s most significant financial liability is related to the net present value of future trailing commissions payable. Due to the 
structure of the Group’s commission arrangements, the total future trailing commissions payable is limited only to the total trailing 
commissions that are actually received and as a result naturally limits the liquidity risk of the Group. The fair value of the future trailing 
commissions payable is $279,350,000. The fair value of all other liabilities is the same as their carrying amount.

External borrowings
During the year, the Group obtained a new loan facility to the amount of $4,500,000. As at 30 June 2019, the outstanding amount is 
$2,500,000. The loan bears interest at variable market rates and is repayable in April 2020. In accordance with the terms of the Group’s 
corporate debt facilities, the Group is required to comply with certain covenants. During the period and as at 30 June 2019, the Group 
was compliant with these covenants. 

The loan facility is secured against the assets of the Group.

Less than 
 6 months 
$’000

6 – 12  
months 
$’000

Between  
1 and 2 years 
$’000

Between 
 2 and 5 years 
$’000

Over  
5 years 
$’000

Total  
cash	flows 
$’000

Carrying  
Amount 
$’000

Future trailing commissions payable 

33,625

47,026

13,401

—

—

—

31,609

31,609

—

—

—

—

—

—

13,401

13,401

—

—

54,747

107,011

83,202

310,194

260,521

54,747

107,011

83,202

323,595

273,922

The fair value of the future trailing commissions payable is $266,301,000. The fair value of all other liabilities is the same as their 
carrying amount.

IV) Prepayment risk
Prepayment risk has been assessed through the sensitivity analysis of run-off rates, refer to Note 3.

61  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Contractual maturities  
of	financial	liabilities	 
at 30 June 2018

Non—derivatives

Non—interest bearing

Trade payables

Licence fees and other payables

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 3  Critical accounting estimates and judgements
Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of 
future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

The Group makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates will, by definition, seldom equal 
the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying 
amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are discussed below.

Trailing commissions
The Group receives trailing commissions from lenders on settled loans over the life of the loan based on the loan book balance 
outstanding subject to the loan continuing to perform. The Group also makes trailing commission payments to franchisees based on their 
individual loan book balance outstanding.

The contract assets and the corresponding payable to franchisees are determined by using the discounted cash flow valuation technique, 
which requires the use of assumptions. The key assumptions to determine the amortised cost at balance sheet date are the future run-off 
rate of the underlying loan portfolio, the discount rate and the percentage paid to franchisees. The future run-off rate used is actually 
a series of rates applied to the underlying loans based primarily on their age at the date of valuation. The weighted average life shown 
below is the result of the series of future run-off rates applied to the specific loan data at the balance sheet date.

The determination of the assumptions to be used in the valuation is made by Management based primarily on a variety of contributing 
factors including: an annual assessment of the underlying loan portfolio including historical run-off rate analysis and consideration 
of current and future economic factors. These factors are complex and the determination of assumptions requires a high degree 
of judgement. 

The significant assumptions used in the valuation are listed below:

Weighted average loan life

Average discount rate

Percentage paid to franchisees 

2019

2018

4.0 years

4.0 years

4.9%

72%

5.4%

72%

If the series of run-off rates used in the valuation of trailing commissions receivable and payable were to differ by +/- 10% from 
Management’s estimates, the impact on the balance sheet would be:

 – a decrease in net assets of $5.0 million (made up of decreases in current assets of $6.6 million, non-current assets of $19.0 million, 
current liabilities of $4.7 million, non-current liabilities of $13.8 million and deferred tax liabilities of $2.1 million) if run-off rates 
increase by 10%; or

 – an increase in net assets of $5.6 million (made up of a decreases in current assets of $4.3 million and current liabilities of $3.1 million, 
increases in non-current assets of $33.2 million, non-current liabilities of $23.9 million and deferred tax liabilities of $2.5 million) if run-
off rates decrease by 10%.

Changes to the discount rate are likely to occur as a result of changes to the interest rate. However, management does not consider this 
to have a material impact on the value of trailing commissions receivable and payable as they are calculated using amortised cost rather 
than fair value. During FY 2018 the Group revised the broker remuneration framework resulting in an increase to the percentage paid to 
franchisees. Management does not consider further material changes to the percentage paid to franchisees to be likely. 

The assumptions used in the valuation of future trailing commissions were changed to reflect an extension of the current economic 
environment for the short to medium term. These changes to the trailing commission model resulted in a $2.67 million positive 
adjustment after tax to the Group’s profit and loss for FY 2019 (2018 – $8.67 million positive adjustment). Changes to the model 
assumptions to reflect the new broker remuneration framework resulted in a $28.47 million negative adjustment after tax to the Group’s 
profit and loss for FY 2018, refer Note 4 (c) (ii). The impact is detailed in the table below:

Increase/(decrease) in receivables

Increase/(decrease) in payables

Net adjustment before tax

Tax effect

Adjustment after tax

Change in model assumptions to reflect the new broker remuneration framework

Total after tax adjustment

2019 
$’000

13,644

9,835

3,809

1,143

2,666

—  

2,666

2018 
$’000

28,045

15,659

12,386

3,716

8,670

(28,468)

(19,798)

62

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 4  Segment information

a)  Description of segments
Management has determined the operating segments based on the reports reviewed by the Chief Executive Officer that are used to 
make strategic and operating decisions including the allocation of resources.

The Chief Executive Officer considers the business from both a product and cash versus IFRS presentation of the results. Therefore 
management has identified two reportable product segments, Mortgage Choice franchised mortgage broking (MOC) and Mortgage 
Choice Financial Planning (MCFP). MCFP includes revenue from wealth products, including investment advice as well as all risk insurance 
products written across the Group. Operating expenses presented in MCFP represent the expenses solely attributable to that business 
segment. Help Me Choose health fund and mortgage comparison website (HMC) ceased operations in 2015 and continued to receive 
trailing commissions until August 2018. The Group operates only in Australia. 

b)  Information provided to the Chief Executive Officer
Information provided to the Chief Executive Officer for the year ended 30 June 2019 is as follows:

Total 
$’000

MOC 
$’000

MCFP 
$’000

HMC 
$’000

177,355

166,818

 10,537

49,492

 49,352

 2,143

 29,157

 6,209

 13,724

 14,028

47,798

 47,464

 2,143

 27,287

6,247

13,812

 14,007

1,774

 1,888

—

 1,870

(38)

(88)

 21

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Total 
$’000

MOC 
$’000

MCFP 
$’000

HMC 
$’000

217,808

206,357

 11,322

 40,677

 68,422

 1,587

 35,110

 1,609

 4,238

 23,382

 38,289

 65,807

 1,587

 33,389

 1,415

 3,786

 22,750

 2,259

 2,259

—

 1,721

155

362

383

129

129

356

—

—

 39

 90

249

Product Segments

2019

Revenue

Gross Profit (IFRS)

Gross profit (cash)

Depreciation and amortisation

OPEX (excl SBP 1)

Income tax expense

NPAT (IFRS)

NPAT (cash)

1  Share based remuneration

2018

Revenue

Gross Profit (IFRS)

Gross profit (cash)

Depreciation and amortisation

OPEX (excl SBP 1)

Income tax expense

NPAT (IFRS)

NPAT (cash)

1  Share based remuneration

63  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 4  Segment information continued
Cash versus IFRS

Origination commission

Trailing commission

Origination commission paid

Trailing commission paid 2

IFRS

Cash 1

2019 
$’000

57,858 

 100,305 

 158,163 

44,380 

71,321 

2018 
$’000

70,015 

 124,745 

 194,760 

48,839 

73,048 

 115,701 

 121,887 

% change

(17%) 

(20%)

(19%)

(9%)

(2%)

(5%)

2019 
$’000

57,858 

99,827 

2018 
$’000

70,015 

98,459 

 157,685 

 168,474 

44,380 

71,129 

48,839 

59,911 

 115,509 

 108,750 

% change

(17%)

1% 

(6%)

(9%)

19% 

6% 

Net core commission

42,462 

72,873 

(42%)

42,176 

59,724 

(29%)

Diversified products net revenue

Financial Planning net revenue

Other income

Gross	profit

Operating expenses

Share based remuneration

Net profit before tax

Balance sheet adjustment – 
NPV Future trail payable 3

1,239 

1,756 

4,035 

49,492 

29,157 

 402 

19,933 

1,752 

2,227 

4,493 

(29%)

(21%)

(10%)

81,345 

(39%)

35,110 

(279)

(17%)

(244%)

46,514 

(57%)

 (40,668)

1,266 

1,875 

4,035 

49,352 

29,157 

—

20,195 

1,752 

2,227 

4,720 

68,423 

35,110 

—

(28%)

(16%)

(15%)

(28%)

(17%)

33,313 

(39%)

Net	profit	after	tax

13,724 

4,238 

224%  

14,028 

 23,382 

(40%)

1  Cash is based on accruals accounting and excludes share based remuneration and the net present value of future trailing commissions receivable and payable.
2  Trailing commission income and trailing commission paid include discount unwind as itemised in the consolidated income statement
3  The NPV of future trail payable was adjusted at 30 June 2018 to reflect the change in the broker remuneration structure.  

The following provides additional detail to assist in reconciliation of the above table to the consolidated income statement:

Diversified products 
commissions

Diversified products 
commissions paid

Diversified	products	
net revenue

IFRS

Cash

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

% change

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

% change

 4,511 

 7,265 

(38%) 

 4,642 

 7,265 

(36%)

 3,272 

 5,513 

(41%)

 3,376 

 5,513 

(39%)

 1,239 

 1,752 

(29%)

 1,266 

 1,752 

(28%)

Financial Planning revenue

 10,646

 11,290

(6%)

 11,245

 11,290

(0%)

Financial Planning 
commissions paid

Financial Planning net revenue

Franchise Income

Interest

Help Me Choose commissions

Other income

Other income

 8,890 

 1,756 

 1,054 

 600 

 2,381 

4,035 

 9,063 

 2,227 

 921 

 577 

 129 

 2,866 

4,493 

(2%)

(21%)

14% 

4% 

(100%)

(17%)

(10%)

 9,370 

 1,875 

 1,054 

 600 

 2,381 

4,035 

 9,063 

 2,227 

 921 

 577 

 356 

 2,866 

4,720 

3% 

(16%)

14% 

4% 

(100%)

(17%)

(15%)

64

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 4  Segment information continued
Diversified life insurance products are reallocated to Financial Planning for segment reporting. The following table shows the 
reconciliation from the Consolidated Income Statement to this statement.

Consolidated Income statement

Revenue

Diversified products commission

Insurance trailing commission excluding discount unwind

Insurance trailing commission discount unwind

Financial Planning income

Direct costs

Diversified products commission

Insurance trailing commission excluding discount unwind

Insurance trailing commission discount unwind

Financial Planning commission

c) 

Other information

Total

Diversified 
Products

Financial  
Planning

 4,677 

 2,480 

 913 

 7,087 

 3,400 

 2,049 

 770 

 5,944 

 4,511 

 166 

 2,480 

 913 

 7,087 

 4,511 

 10,646 

 3,272 

 3,272 

 128 

 2,049 

 770 

 5,944 

 8,891 

i)  Operating income
Operating income from the origination of a residential mortgage is comprised of commission paid at the time the loan is originated and 
a trailing commission which is paid over the life of the loan. Under IFRS, the expected value method is used to the estimate the future 
trailing cash flows to be received over the life of a loan and is recognised at the time a loan settles. The Chief Executive Officer considers 
both this and the cash NPAT when measuring the Group’s performance.

ii)	 Net	profit	after	tax
The cash net profit after tax (as shown above) reconciles to the IFRS profit after tax as follows:

Cash	Net	profit	after	tax

NPV future trails on new loans originated, net of payout

Less net cash from trail previously recognised under IFRS

NPV future trails on new insurance policies, net of payout

Less net cash trail from insurance policies previously recognised under IFRS

Plus adjustments to loan book assumptions

Gain/(loss) on prepayment/(establishment) of trail liability

Plus reversal of amortisation of trail liability 1

NPV future trails adjustment Help Me Choose policies

Less net cash from trail previously recognised under IFRS

Less share based payments expense

IFRS before adjustment to NPV Trail Payable

Less Balance Sheet adjustment to NPV Trail payable

IFRS

1  Under cash profit, the prepayment of trail liability is spread over the estimated life of the trail book portfolio.

65  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

2019 
$’000

 14,028 

 11,012 

2018 
$’000

 23,382 

 20,996 

 (16,211)

 (20,445)

 238 

 (338)

 2,666 

 2,040 

 691 

 — 

 — 

 (402)

 13,724 

 — 

 — 

 8,680 

 (183)

 156 

 20 

 (179)

 279 

 32,706 

 (28,468)

 4,238 

 
 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 4  Segment information continued
iii)	Gross	profit	and	net	core	commissions
The cash gross profit and net core commissions reconcile to their IFRS equivalents as follows:

Gross	Profit

Net Core Commissons

Cash

NPV future trails on new loans originated, net of payout

Less net cash from trail previously recognised under IFRS

NPV future trails on new insurance policies, net of payout

Less net cash trail from insurance policies previously 
recognised under IFRS

Plus adjustments to loan book assumptions

Gain/(loss) on prepayment/(establishment) of trail liability

Plus reversal of amortisation of trail liability 1

NPV future trails on Help Me Choose policies written

Less net cash from trail previously recognised under IFRS

IFRS before adjustment to NPV Trail Payable

Less Balance Sheet adjustment to NPV Trail payable

IFRS

2019 
$’000

 49,352 

 15,731 

 (23,158)

 338 

 (483)

 3,809 

 2,915 

 988 

 — 

 — 

 49,492 

 — 

 49,492 

2018 
$’000

 68,423  

 29,995 

 (29,206)

 — 

 — 

 12,400 

 (261)

 221 

 29 

 (256)

 81,345 

 (40,668)

 40,677 

1  Under cash profit, the prepayment of trail liability is spread over the estimated life of the trail book portfolio.

iv)  Timing of revenue recognition

Performance obligations met at a point in time

MOC

Origination commission

Trailing commission

Diversified products commissions

Franchise Income

Other income

MCFP

Financial planning revenue

Other income

Total Point in time revenue

Performance obligations met over time

MCFP

Financial planning revenue

Other income

 Total Point over time revenue

2019 
$’000

 42,176 

 15,731 

 (23,158)

 — 

 — 

 3,809 

 2,915 

 988 

 — 

 — 

 42,461 

 — 

 42,461 

2018 
$’000

 59,724 

 29,995 

 (29,206)

 — 

 — 

 12,400 

 (261)

 221 

 — 

 — 

 72,873 

 (40,668)

 32,205

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

57,858 

 100,305 

4,511

1,054 

2,368 

70,015 

 124,745 

6,976 

 921 

2,834 

166,096

 205,491 

7,571 

16 

7,587 

8,367 

14 

8,381 

173,684

 213,872 

3,075 

 (4)

3,071 

2,923 

18 

2,941 

66

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 5  Revenue 

Revenue from continuing operations

Sales revenue

Services

Other revenue

Interest earned on deposits and loans

Interest in relation to discount unwind

Sponsorship and other income – point in time

Sponsorship and other income – over time

Note 6  Income tax
a)  Income tax expense

Current tax

Deferred tax

Under (over) provided in prior years

Income tax expense is attributable to:

Profit from continuing operations

Deferred income tax (revenue) expense including income tax expense comprises:

(Increase)/decrease in deferred tax assets (Note 9)

Increase/(decrease) in deferred tax liabilities (Note 14)

b)  Numerical reconciliation of income tax expense to prima facie tax payable

Profit from continuing operations before income tax expense

Income tax calculated @ 30% (2018 – 30%)

Tax effect of amounts which are not deductible/(assessable) in calculating taxable income

Research and Development Tax Incentive

Under/(over) provision from prior years

Income tax expense

No part of the deferred tax asset shown above and in Note 9 is attributable to tax losses.

67  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

155,796

196,450

600

18,578

2,385

(4)

577

17,915

2,848

18

177,355

217,808

2019 
$’000

4,958

1,255

(4)

6,209

6,209

6,209

(2,880)

4,135

1,255

2019 
$’000

19,933

5,980

233

-

6,213

(4)

6,209

2018 
$’000

8,601

(6,986)

(6)

1,609

1,609

1,609

(15,678)

8,692

(6,986)

2018 
$’000

5,847

1,754

166

(305)

1,615

(6)

1,609

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 7  Trade and other receivables 
2019

Trade receivables 1

Contract assets

Net present value of future 
trailing commissions receivable

Franchisee receivables

Other receivables

Prepayments

Current 
$’000

Non-current  
$’000

11,016

98,519

—

1,897

233

604

—

277,949

—

4,220

—

—

Total  
$’000

11,016

376,468

—

6,117

233

604

2018

Current 
$’000

Non-current  
$’000

11,751

—

—

—

Total  
$’000

11,751

—

89,640

271,273

360,913

1,972

97

578

4,412

—

—

6,384

97

578

112,269

282,169

394,438

104,038

275,685

379,723

1  Subject to a limited charge in favour of The Loan Book Security Trust (refer to Note 11)

a)  Other receivables
These amounts generally arise from transactions outside the usual operating activities of the consolidated entity.

b)  Impaired trade receivables
As at 30 June 2019 current trade receivables were not impaired (2018 – nil). 

c)  Risk exposure
Information about the Group’s exposure to credit risk and interest rate risk is provided in Note 2.

d)  Fair values
The carrying amounts of trade and other receivables at year end is a reasonable approximation of their fair values with the exception of 
the net present value of contract assets (future trailing commissions receivable) which are accounted for at amortised cost. The fair values 
of the net present value of contract assets are presented in Note 2.

68

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 8  Non-Current Assets – Property, plant and equipment
Plant and 
Equipment 
$’000

Leasehold 
Improvements 
$’000

Year ended 30 June 2018

Opening net book amount

Additions

Disposals

Depreciation charge

Closing net book amount

At 30 June 2018

Cost

Accumulated depreciation

Net book amount

Year ended 30 June 2019

Opening net book amount

Additions

Disposals

Depreciation charge

Closing net book amount

At 30 June 2019

Cost

Accumulated depreciation

Net book amount

419

164

(41)

(196)

346

1,977

(1,631)

346

346

151

—

(186)

311

2,033

(1,722)

311

239

204

—

(103)

340

1,444

(1,104)

340

340

199

(41)

(92)

406

1,517

(1,111)

406

Total 
$’000

658

368

(41)

(299)

686

3,421

(2,735)

686

686

350

(41)

(278)

717

3,550

(2,833)

717

Note 9  Non-current assets – Deferred tax assets

The	balance	comprises	temporary	differences	attributable	to:

Net present value of future trailing commissions payable

Employee benefits

Depreciation and amortisation

Accrued expenses

Total deferred tax assets

Set off of deferred tax assets pursuant to set off provisions (Note 14)

Net deferred tax assets

Deferred tax assets to be recovered within 12 months

Deferred tax assets to be recovered after more than 12 months

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

81,709

78,156

485

(11)

320

82,503

 (82,503)

—

24,881

57,622

82,503

750

74

643

79,623

 (79,623)

—

20,454

59,169

79,623

69  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 9  Non-current assets – Deferred tax assets continued
Movements

At 30 June 2017

Charged/(credited) to the income statement

At 30 June 2018

Charged/(credited) to the income statement

At 30 June 2019

NPV of  
future trailing 
commissions 
payable 
$’000

62,276

 15,880

78,156

3,553

81,709

Employee 
benefits 
$’000

Depreciation  
and  
amortisation 
$’000

Accrued 
expenses 
$’000

843

(93)

750

(265)

485

142

(68)

74

(85)

(11)

684

(41)

643

(323)

320

Other 
$’000

—

—

—

—

—

Note 10 Non-current assets – intangible assets

Year ended 30 June 2018

Opening net book amount

Additions

Amortisation charge

Disposals

Closing net book amount

At 30 June 2018

Cost 

Accumulated amortisation

Net book amount

Year ended 30 June 2019

Opening net book amount

Additions

Amortisation charge

Disposals

Closing net book amount

At 30 June 2019

Cost 

Accumulated amortisation

Net book amount

Total 
$’000

63,945

15,678

79,623

2,880

82,503

Computer 
Software 
$’000

 6,081

3,769

 (1,288)

—

 8,562

 19,859

 (11,297)

8,562

 8,562

3,406

 (1,836)

—

 10,132

 23,265

 (13,133)

10,132

70

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 11  Current liabilities – Trade and other payables

Trade payables a

Net present value of future trailing commissions payable

Deferred revenue b

Other payables

2019 
$’000

9,469

70,967

347

1,260

82,043

2018 
$’000

10,052

63,810

156

3,193

77,211

a)  Loan Book Security Trust
The Loan Book Security Scheme provides security for the trailing commissions payable to certain eligible franchisees based on 
performance criteria. Mortgage Choice Limited has granted two charges in favour of a trustee on behalf of the eligible franchisees. 
The independent trustee is Sargon CT Pty Limited. 

The first charge is over a specified percentage of the Company’s trailing commission income. The purpose of this charge is to be the first 
source of funds available to eligible franchisees for the payment of trailing commissions in the event that administration or liquidation 
occurs. The charge will crystallise and can be enforced by eligible franchisees only in the event of liquidation or administration of 
Mortgage Choice Limited. 

As at 30 June 2019, the amount that would be subject to charge resulting from applying the specified percentage to the trailing 
commission immediately due to be received by Mortgage Choice Limited is $5,597,900 (2018 – $4,691,001). This is included as part of the 
balance of trade payables at 30 June 2019 and would be subject to charge until disbursed to the eligible franchisees. The amount subject 
to the charge would vary dependent on trailing commission due to be received by Mortgage Choice Limited from month to month. 

The second charge is a floating charge over all of the assets of Mortgage Choice Limited. It is limited in the powers it allows the security 
trustee to exercise prior to liquidation. Its primary purpose is to ensure that the loan book security structure need not be subject to the 
moratorium arising if an administrator were to be appointed to Mortgage Choice Limited. Only after liquidation does this charge confer 
comprehensive mortgagee powers on the security trustee.

b)  Deferred revenue
Mortgage Choice Financial Planning charges ongoing service fees annually. This reflects the value of performance obligations not yet 
performed as at 30 June 2019.

Fair values
The carrying amounts of trade and other payables at year end is a reasonable approximation of their fair values with the exception of the 
net present value of future trailing commissions payable which are accounted for at amortised cost. The fair values of the net present 
value of future trailing commission payable are presented in Note 2.

Note 12  Provisions

Make good provision a

Employee entitlements – annual 
leave

Employee entitlements – long 
service leave

2019

2018

Current 
$’000

Non-current  
$’000

58

784

497

1,339

439

—

335

774

Total  
$’000

497

784

832

Current 
$’000

Non-current  
$’000

68

731

459

420

—

271

691

Total  
$’000

488

731

730

1,949

2,113

1,258

a)  Make good provision
  Mortgage Choice is required to restore the leased premises of its offices to their original condition at the end of the respective 

lease terms. A provision has been recognised for the present value of the estimated expenditure required to remove any leasehold 
improvements. These costs have been capitalised as part of the cost of leasehold improvements and are amortised over the shorter of 
the term of the lease or the useful life of the assets. Make good costs that are not expected to be settled within twelve months have 
been included in non-current liabilities.

71  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 13  Non-current liabilities – Trade and other payables

Net present value of future trailing commissions payable 

Note 14  Non-current liabilities – Deferred tax liabilities

The	balance	comprises	temporary	differences	attributable	to:

Expected value of contract assets

Intangibles

Prepayments and other receivables

Set off of deferred tax assets pursuant to set off provisions (Note 9)

Net deferred tax liabilities

Deferred tax liabilities to be settled within 12 months

Deferred tax liabilities to be settled after more than 12 months

2019 
$’000

201,396

201,396

2018 
$’000

196,711

196,711

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

112,940

108,274

1,660

71

2,131

131

114,671

110,536

(82,503)

(79,623)

32,168

30,035

84,636

30,913

27,437

83,099

114,671

110,536

Movements – Consolidated 

At 30 June 2017

Charged to the income statement

At 30 June 2018

Charged to the income statement

At 30 June 2019

Expected value  
of contract assets 
$’000

Intangibles 
$’000

Prepayments 
 and other 
receivables 
$’000

100,456

7,818

108,274

4,666

112,940

1,346

785

2,131

(471)

1,660

42

89

131

(60)

71

Total 
$’000

101,844

8,692

110,536

4,135

114,671

72

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 15  Contributed equity 

Share capital

Ordinary shares – fully paid

2019 
shares 
’000

2018 
shares 
’000

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

124,149

123,964

8,097

7,764

Ordinary shares entitle the holder to participate in dividends and the proceeds on winding up of the Company in proportion to the 
number of and amounts paid on the shares held.

On a show of hands every holder of ordinary shares present at a meeting in person or by proxy, is entitled to one vote, and upon a poll 
each share is entitled to one vote.

Ordinary shares have no par value and the Company does not have a limited amount of authorised capital.

Total contributed equity as at 30 June 2019:
Details

Total ordinary shares on issue

Treasury shares a)

Total ordinary shares held as contributed equity

Number of shares

124,997,440

(848,334)

124,149,106

a)  Treasury shares
Treasury shares are shares in Mortgage Choice Limited that are held by the Mortgage Choice Performance Share Plan Trust for the 
purpose of issuing shares under the Mortgage Choice Performance Share Plan (PSP) (see Note 27 for further information).

Date

30 June 2017

Details

Balance

14 September 2017

Shares issued under the Share Rights Plan to employees

14 September 2017

Shares issued under the Performance Share Plan to employees

15 September 2017

Shares issued under the Share Rights Plan to employees

17 September 2017

Treasury shares issued to the Mortgage Choice Employee Incentive Trust

30 June 2018

Balance

14 September 2018

Shares issued under the Share Rights Plan to employees

14 September 2018

Shares issued under the Performance Share Plan to employees

5 April 2019

Shares issued under the Share Rights Plan to employees

30 June 2019

Balance

Movements in ordinary share capital:

Date

30 June 2017

Details

Balance

14 September 2017

Shares issued under the Share Rights Plan to employees

14 September 2017

Shares issued under the Performance Share Plan to employees

15 September 2017

Shares issued under the Share Rights Plan to employees

17 September 2017

Treasury shares issued to the Mortgage Choice Employee Incentive Trust

17 September 2017

Held as treasury shares

30 June 2018

Balance

14 September 2018

Shares issued under the Share Rights Plan to employees

14 September 2018

Treasury shares issued to the Mortgage Choice Employee Incentive Trust

5 April 2019

Shares issued under the Share Rights Plan to employees

30 June 2019

Balance

Number of shares

1,202,873

(64,550)

(76,527)

(66,677)

38,706

1,033,825

(14,901)

(122,522)

(48,068)

848,334

$’000

7,277

132

208

147

—

—

7,764

30

246

57

8,097

Number of shares

123,755,861

64,550

76,527

66,677

38,706

(38,706)

123,963,615

14,901

122,522

48,068

124,149,106

Employee share scheme
Information relating to the employee share scheme, including details of shares issued under the scheme, is set out in Note 27.

73  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 16  Reserves and retained profits

a)  Reserves

Share-based payments reserve

Movements:

Share-based payments reserve

Balance 1 July

Performance shares expensed/(reversed)

Vesting of shares held by the Mortgage Choice Performance Share Plan Trust to employees

Balance 30 June

2019 
$’000

1,379

1,309

402

(332)

1,379

Nature and purpose of reserves
Share-based payments reserve
The share-based payments reserve is used to recognise the fair value of options and performance shares granted but not vested.

b)  Retained profits

Balance 1 July

Adjustment for adoption of AASB15

Net profit for the year

Dividends 

Balance 30 June

Note 17  Dividends
a)  Ordinary shares

2019 
$’000

76,579

1,705

13,724

(15,000)

77,008

2018 
$’000

1,309

2,075

(279)

(487)

1,309

2018 
$’000

94,836

—

4,238

(22,495)

76,579

Final dividend declared out of profits of the Company for the year ended 30 June 2017  
of 9.0 cents per fully paid share paid on 21 September 2017:

 – Fully franked based on tax paid @ 30%

 – 9.0 cents per share

Interim dividend declared out of profits of the Company for the half-year ended 31 December 2017 
of 9.0 cents per fully paid share paid 22 March 2018:

 – Fully franked based on tax paid @ 30%

 – 9.0 cents per share

Final dividend declared out of profits of the Company for the year ended 30 June 2018  
of 9.0 cents per fully paid share paid on 10 October 2018:

 – Fully franked based on tax paid @ 30%

 – 9.0 cents per share

Interim dividend declared out of profits of the Company for the half-year ended 31 December 2018 
of 3.0 cents per fully paid share paid 15 April 2019:

 – Fully franked based on tax paid @ 30% 

 – 3.0 cents per share

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

—

11,246

—

11,249

11,250

—

3,750

15,000

—

22,495

74

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 17  Dividends continued

b)  Dividends not recognised at year end

In addition to the above dividends, since year end the Directors have recommended the payment of 
a final dividend of 3.0 cents per fully paid ordinary share, (2018 – 9.0 cents) fully franked based on tax 
paid at 30%. The aggregate amount of the proposed dividend expected to be paid on 15 October 
2019 out of retained profits at 30 June 2019, but not recognised as a liability at year end, is

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

3,750

11,250

c) Franked dividend
The franked portions of the final dividends recommended after 30 June 2019 will be franked out of existing franking credits or out of 
franking credits arising from the payment of income tax in the year ending 30 June 2019.

Franking credits available for subsequent financial years to the equity holders of the parent entity 
based on a tax rate of 30% (2018 – 30%)

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

1,416

2,078

The above amounts represent the balance of the franking account as at the end of the financial year, adjusted for:

a)  franking credits that will arise from the payment of the amount of the provision for income tax;

b)  franking debits that will arise from the payment of dividends recognised as a liability at the reporting date; and

c)  franking credits that will arise from the receipt of dividends recognised as receivables at the reporting date.

The impact on the franking account of the dividend recommended by the Directors since year end, but not recognised as a liability at year 
end, will be a reduction in the franking account of $1,607,000 (2018: $4,821,000).

Note 18 Key management personnel disclosures
Key management personnel compensation

Short term employee benefits

Post employment benefits

Long-term benefits

Termination benefits

Share based payments

Balance 30 June

2019 
$

2018 
$

2,230,742

2,628,373

157,587

30,174

—

158,666

73,693

568,528

295,539

(353,398)

2,714,042

3,075,862

Detailed remuneration disclosures are provided in the Directors’ report on pages 18 – 35 of the remuneration report. 

75  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 19  Remuneration of auditors
During the year the following fees were paid or payable for services provided by the auditor of the parent entity, its related practices and 
non related audit firms:

2019

a)  Audit services

 – Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Australian firm:

 – Audit and review of financial reports

Total remuneration for audit services

b)  Non-audit services

Non audit-related services

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Australian firm:

 – Actuarial services

 – Taxation services

 – Financial modelling services

Total remuneration for non-audit services

2018

a)  Audit services

 – Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Australian firm:

 – Audit and review of financial reports

Total remuneration for audit services

b)  Non-audit services

Non audit-related services

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Australian firm:

 – Actuarial services

 – Taxation services

 – Financial modelling services

Total remuneration for non-audit services

$

224,000

224,000

30,000

48,850

19,645

98,495

$

213,230

213,230

75,000

18,344

137,400

230,744

Note 20 Contingencies 
Contingent liabilities
The Group had contingent liabilities at 30 June 2019 in respect of:

a)  Guarantees
Guarantees given in respect of premises leases $842,423 (2018: $853,111)

b)  Contingent claims
From time to time disputes occur between the Company and its franchisees in the normal course of operation, a number of which may 
be unresolved at any point in time. At 30 June 2019 and 30 June 2018, there were no disputes or claims in progress that are expected to 
have a material financial impact on the Company.

No material losses are anticipated in respect of any of the above contingent liabilities.

76

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 21  Commitments 

Lease commitments
Non-cancellable operating leases
The Group leases various offices under non cancellable operating leases expiring within one to six years. The leases have varying terms, 
escalation clauses and renewal rights. On renewal, the terms of the leases are renegotiated. The Group also leases various pieces of office 
equipment under non-cancellable operating leases.

Operating leases

Operating lease expenditure contracted for at the reporting date but not recognised as liabilities 
payable:

 – Within one year

 – Later than one year but not later than five years

 – Later than five years

Note 22 Related party transactions
I)  Parent entity

The ultimate parent entity within the Group is Mortgage Choice Limited.

II)  Subsidiaries

Interests in subsidiaries are set out in Note 23.

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

1,078

3,675

—

4,753

1,212

4,841

—

6,053

III) Key management personnel
  Disclosures relating to key management personnel are set out in Note 18. Additional disclosures are set out in the Directors’ report in 

the remuneration report. 

IV) Loans to/from related parties

The Group has formed trusts to administer the Group’s employee share scheme. These are funded by the parent entity. These trusts 
are consolidated, as the substance of the relationship is that the trust is controlled by the Group.

  No provisions for doubtful debts have been raised in relation to any outstanding balances, and no expense has been recognised in 

respect of bad or doubtful debts due from related parties.

Note 23 Subsidiaries
Significant investments in subsidiaries
The consolidated financial statements incorporate the assets, liabilities and results of the following principal subsidiaries in accordance 
with the accounting policy described in Note 1b:

Name of entity

MC Loan Book Security Pty Limited

Help Me Choose Pty Limited

Mortgage Choice Financial Planning Pty Limited

Country of 
Incorporation

Class of  
Shares

Australia

Australia

Australia

Ordinary

Ordinary

Ordinary

Equity holding *

2019 
%

100

100

100

2018 
%

100

100

100

These subsidiaries, except Mortgage Choice Financial Planning Pty Limited, have been granted relief from the necessity to prepare 
financial reports in accordance with Class Order 98/1418 issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

* The proportion of ownership interest is equal to the proportion of voting power held.

77  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

 
 
 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 24 Events occurring after the balance sheet date

Dividend payment
Subsequent to year end, a final ordinary dividend of $3,750,000 (3.0 cents per fully paid share) was declared out of profits of the 
Company for the year ended 30 June 2019 on 21 August 2019 to be paid on 15 October 2019.

Note 25 Reconciliation of profit after income tax to net cash inflow from 

operating activities

Profit for the year

Depreciation and amortisation

Change in net present value of future trailing inflows

Change in net present value of future trailing outflows

Employee expense benefits – share-based payments

Interest received

Interest paid

Reversal of make good provision

Net loss (gain) on sales of non-current assets

Change in operating assets and liabilities:

 – (Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables

 – (Increase)/decrease in other operating assets

 – Increase/(decrease) in trade payables

 – Increase/(decrease) in other operating liabilities

 – Increase/(decrease) in provision for income taxes payable

 – Increase/(decrease) in deferred tax liabilities

 – Increase/(decrease) in other provisions 

Net	cash	inflow	from	operating	activities

2019 
$’000

13,724

2,114

253

(1,528)

402

(600)

56

40

—

663

25

(3,082)

758

621

524

164

14,134

2018 
$’000

4,238

1,587

(26,060)

52,934

(279)

(577)

—

—

4

270

(109)

(1,234)

(195)

(1,559)

(6,986)

193

22,227

78

 
 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 26 Earnings per share 

a)  Basic earnings per share 

From continuing operations

b)  Diluted earnings per share

From continuing operations

Earnings used in calculating earnings per share

Profit from continuing operations

Consolidated

2019 
Cents

11.0

10.9

2019 
$’000

2018 
Cents

3.4

3.4

2018 
$’000

13,724

4,238

2019 
Number

2018 
Number

Weighted average number of shares used as the denominator

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used as the denominator in calculating basic earnings per share 

124,997,440

124,988,956

Adjustments for calculation of diluted earnings per share:

 – Share rights

402,440

213,989

Weighted average number of ordinary shares and potential ordinary shares used as the denominator 
in calculating diluted earnings per share 

125,399,880

125,202,945

Information	concerning	the	classification	of	securities
a)  Performance Share Plan
Shares issued to employees under the Mortgage Choice Performance Share Plan are considered to be ordinary shares and have been 
included in the determination of basic earnings per share. Details relating to the shares are set out in the Remuneration report.

b)  Share Rights Plan
Share rights granted to eligible employees under the Mortgage Choice Share Rights Plan that have vested are considered to be ordinary 
shares and have been included in the determination of basic earnings per share. Details relating to the share rights are set out in the 
Remuneration report.

Note 27 Share-based payments
a)  Performance Share Plan (PSP)
The PSP permits eligible employees as identified by the Board to be granted allocated unvested shares from the outset of the applicable 
performance period, with the shares to be held on trust for the participants by a share plan trustee. The shares granted to those 
employees are subject to the achievement of performance and service requirements as specified by the Board. The PSP is designed to 
provide the medium-term to long-term incentive component of remuneration for executives and other designated employees. 

Participation in the PSP is offered on an annual basis. Eligible employees are granted shares to a value determined by reference to 
the Company’s reward policy and market practice with regard to share based incentive arrangements provided by peer organisations. 
The right to receive vested shares will lapse if the performance and service criteria are not met. 

Shares will be acquired for participants following their acceptance of an offer made under the Plan. The shares will be acquired by the 
plan trustee and held on trust for participants until they are withdrawn from the Plan (after they have vested or are deemed to be 
vested) or are forfeited, in circumstances outlined below. Shares will be acquired only at times permitted under the Company’s share 
trading policy. Shares may be acquired by on-market or off-market purchases, by subscribing for new shares to be issued by the Company, 
or through the reallocation of forfeited shares. The method of acquisition for each share allocation will be determined by the Board. 
The costs of all share acquisitions under the Plan will be funded by the Group. Participants will not be required to make any payment for 
the acquisition of shares under the Plan. 

79  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 27 Share-based payments continued
A Notice of Withdrawal may be lodged by a participant following the earlier of:

 – a date ten years from grant date; 

 – the participant ceasing to be an employee of the Company; 

 – a ‘capital event’ (generally, a successful takeover offer or scheme of arrangement relating to the Company) occurring; or

 – the date upon which the Board gives its written consent to the lodgement of a Notice of Withdrawal by the participant. 

While shares remain subject to the PSP rules, participants will, in general, enjoy the rights attached to those shares (such as voting 
or dividend rights etc). If a participant resigns from his or her employment with the Company, or otherwise ceases employment in 
circumstances not involving “special circumstances”, the participant will be required to forfeit any unvested shares held under the Plan on 
the participant’s behalf, unless the Board otherwise determines. Vested shares will be eligible for withdrawal in accordance with the usual 
procedure.

If a participant ceases to be employed by the Company or retires from office as a result of special circumstances (including death, 
disability, retirement, redundancy, corporate restructure, or any other circumstances determined by the Board), the Board may in its 
discretion determine that all or a portion of the participant’s unvested shares are to be treated as vested shares, notwithstanding the fact 
that the vesting conditions applicable to the shares have not been met because the applicable performance period has not expired.

If the Board determines that a participant has acted fraudulently or dishonestly, has committed an act of unlawful harassment or 
discrimination, is in serious breach of any duty to Mortgage Choice, or, in the Board’s reasonable opinion, has brought Mortgage Choice 
into serious disrepute, any shares to which the participant may have become entitled at the end of the performance period, and any 
shares held by the participant under the PSP are forfeited by the participant.

The assessed fair value at grant date of performance shares granted to individuals is allocated equally over the period from grant date to 
vesting date, and the amount is included in the remuneration tables below. 

The fair value of market based conditions at grant date are independently determined using a Monte Carlo simulation model utilising a 
lattice-based trinomial valuation method that takes into account the term of the performance shares, the vesting criteria, the exercise 
price (zero), the expected price volatility of the underlying share, the expected dividend yield (acknowledging that dividends will be paid 
to participants from the date of grant) and the risk free interest rate for the term of the performance shares. 

Details of performance shares in the Company provided as remuneration to eligible employees are set out below. Further information on 
the performance shares and the detailed vesting criteria are set out in the remuneration report. In the event that no further grants are 
made under this plan, the PSP will not be terminated before the end of the last vesting period of shares granted under this plan.

b)  Share Rights Plan (SRP)
The SRP permits eligible employees as identified by the Board from time to time to be granted share rights (“rights’) from the outset of 
the applicable performance period. The rights granted to those employees are subject to the achievement of performance and service 
requirements as specified by the Board. Eligible employees are granted rights to a value determined by reference to the Company’s 
reward policy and market practice with regard to share based incentive arrangements provided by peer organisations. The rights lapse if 
the performance and service criteria are not met. 

Upon vesting, the Company must acquire or issue the number of shares, or the fraction thereof, into which the rights are convertible 
under the terms of the specific grant. The method of acquisition for each share allocation will be determined by the Board. The costs of 
all share acquisitions under the SRP will be funded by the Group. Participants will not be required to make any payment for the acquisition 
of rights under the SRP. The Board at its discretion may choose to settle the rights as a cash payment at its sole discretion. 

If a participant ceases to be employed by the Company unvested rights lapse immediately. Notwithstanding this rule if a participant 
ceases to be an employee for a qualifying reason (including death, disability, retirement, redundancy, corporate restructure, or any other 
circumstances determined by the Board), the Board may in its discretion determine the treatment of any unvested rights. 

If the Board determines that a participant has acted fraudulently or dishonestly; is in breach of his or her obligations to the Group; or is 
knowingly involved in a material misstatement of financial statements, the Board may determine that the conditions attached to the 
rights may be reset; the rights that have not vested may lapse; allocated or vested shares may be forfeited; or shares that have been sold 
on vesting must be repaid in part or in full.

80

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 27 Share-based payments continued
The Board may in its sole discretion determine whether some or all of the rights vest or lapse or whether unvested rights remain subject 
to applicable conditions of vesting on the event of a change of control.

The assessed fair value at grant date of the rights granted to individuals is allocated equally over the period from grant date to vesting 
date, and the amount is included in the remuneration tables below. 

The fair value of market based conditions at grant date are independently determined using a Monte Carlo simulation model utilising a 
lattice-based trinomial valuation method that takes into account the term of the performance shares, the vesting criteria, the exercise 
price (zero), the expected price volatility of the underlying share, the expected dividend yield and the risk free interest rate for the term 
of the rights. 

Details of rights issued by the Company provided as remuneration are set out below. Further information on the rights and the detailed 
vesting criteria are set out in the remuneration report. 

Set out below are summaries of performance shares conditionally issued under the Performance Share Plan:

Offer	Date

Vesting date

Value 

Number

Number

Number

Number

Number

Number

Balance  
at start of  
the year

Granted 
during  
the year

Vested  
during  
the year

Expired 
during  
the year

Forfeited 
during  
the year

Balance at 
end of  
the year

2019

17-September-2015

14-September-2018

17-September-2015

14-September-2018

25-October-2016

14-September-2019

25-October-2016

14-September-2019

$2.01

$1.19

$2.28

$1.30

Total

137,523

137,523

146,044

146,044

567,134

 — (137,523)

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 — (137,523)

 —

 —

 —

 —

146,044

146,044

 — (137,523)

 — (137,523)

292,088

Weighted average exercise price

$1.70

$0.00

$2.01

$0.00

$1.19

$1.79

2018

22-September-2014

14-September-2017

22-September-2014

14-September-2017

17-September-2015

14-September-2018

17-September-2015

14-September-2018

25-October-2016

14-September-2019

25-October-2016

14-September-2019

Total

$2.72

$1.68

$2.01

$1.19

$2.28

$1.30

76,527

62,610

255,254

255,254

254,431

254,431

1,158,507

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

(76,527)

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

(62,610)

 — (117,731)

 — (117,731)

 — (108,387)

 — (108,387)

 —

 —

137,523

137,523

146,044

146,044

(76,527)

 — (514,846)

567,134

Weighted average exercise price

$1.76

$0.00

$2.72

 —

$1.69

$1.70

The weighted average remaining contractual life of performance shares outstanding at the end of the period was 0.21 years  
(2018 – 0.72 years).

81  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 27 Share-based payments continued
Set out below are summaries of shares conditionally issued under the Share Rights Plan:

Offer	Date

Vesting date

Value 

Number

Number

Number

Number

Number

Number

Balance  
at start of  
the year

Granted 
during  
the year

Vested  
during  
the year

Expired 
during  
the year

Forfeited 
during  
the year

Balance at 
end of  
the year

2019

06-October-2017

14-September-2020

06-October-2017

14-September-2020

03-April-2018 1

03-April-2018 1

03-April-2018

03-April-2018

03-April-2019

03-April-2020

14-September-2019

14-September-2020

28-November-2018

14-September-2021

28-November-2018

14-September-2021

Total

$1.78

$1.40

$1.26

$1.26

$1.50

$1.50

$1.23

$0.81

171,068

114,044

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

45,000

45,000

10,675

10,674

406,978

271,318

 —

 —

(45,000)

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

285,112

789,645

(45,000)

Weighted average exercise price

$1.63

$1.10

$1.26

1) For accounting purposes, the grant date for these share rights was 5 November 2018.

2018

07-April-2015

15-September-2017

25-August-2016

14-September-2017

25-August-2016

14-September-2018

06-October-2017

14-September-2020

06-October-2017

14-September-2020

$2.60

$2.21

$2.21

$1.78

$1.40

56,560

59,772

59,772

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

305,816

203,876

(56,560)

(59,772)

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

 —

171,068

114,044

 —

45,000

10,675

10,674

406,978

271,318

 — 1,029,757

 —

$1.24

 —

 —

(59,772)

 —

 —

 —

 — (134,748)

 —

(89,832)

171,068

114,044

Total

176,104

509,692

(116,332)

 — (284,352)

285,112

Weighted average exercise price

$2.33

$1.63

$2.40

 —

$1.75

$1.63

The weighted average remaining contractual life of performance shares outstanding at the end of the period was 1.84 years  
(2018 – 2.21 years).

CEO	Share	rights	offered	3rd	April	2018
The CEO’s share rights offered on 3rd April 2018 relate to a special one-off grant of 90,000 and the deferred portion of the CEO’s 
STI for FY2018 as per her contract, details of which are set out in the Remuneration Report. The share rights were granted on 
5th November 2018 and 7th September 2018 respectively. The accounting grant date for these share rights is 3 April 2018.

c)  Expenses arising from share-based payment transactions
Total expenses arising from share based payment transactions recognised during the period as part of employee benefit expense were 
as follows:

Shares issued under PSP

2019 
$’000

402

402

2018 
$’000

(279)

(279)

82

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 June 2019

Note 28 Parent entity financial information

a)  Summary financial information
The individual financial statements for the parent entity show the following aggregate amounts:

Balance sheet

Current assets

Total assets

Current liabilities

Total liabilities

Shareholders’ equity

Issued capital

Share-based payments reserve

Retained profits

Profit	or	loss	for	the	year

Total comprehensive income

2019 
$’000

2018 
$’000

110,046

105,831

391,745

390,764

85,168

79,459

309,885

307,774

8,097

1,379

72,384

81,860

13,366

13,366

7,764

1,309

73,917

82,990

3,842

3,842

b)  Guarantees entered into by the parent entity
The parent entity has not provided any guarantees on behalf of subsidiaries.

The parent entity has provided guarantees in respect of obligations under premises leases of its head office and state offices totalling 
$842,423 (2018 – $853,111). No liability was recognised by the parent entity or the consolidated entity in relation to these guarantees.

c)  Contingent liabilities of the parent entity
Other than the guarantees mentioned above, the parent entity did not have any contingent liabilities as at 30 June 2019 or 30 June 2018.

83  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Directors’ declaration

For the year ended 30 June 2019

In the Directors’ opinion:
a)  the financial statements and notes set out on pages 38 – 83 are in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001, including:

i)  complying with Accounting Standards, the Corporations Regulations 2001 and other mandatory professional reporting 

requirements; and

ii)  giving a true and fair view of the consolidated entity’s financial position as at 30 June 2018 and of their performance, for the 

financial year ended on that date; and

b)  Note 1(a) confirms that the financial statements also comply with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the 

International Accounting Standards Board; and

c)  there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Company will be able to pay its debts as and when they become due and payable.

The Directors have been given the declarations by the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer required by Section 295A of 
the Corporations Act 2001.

This declaration is made in accordance with a resolution of the Directors.

Vicki Allen 
Chairman

Sydney 
21 August 2019

84

Independent audit report

to members of Mortgage Choice Limited

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu 
ABN 74 490 121 060 
Grosvenor Place 
225 George Street 
Sydney, NSW, 2000 
Australia 

Phone: +61 2 9322 7000 
www.deloitte.com.au 

Independent Auditor’s Report to the 
Members of Mortgage Choice Limited 

Report on the Audit of the Financial Report 

Opinion 

We have audited the financial report of Mortgage Choice Limited  (the “Company”) and its 
subsidiaries (the “Group”) which comprises the consolidated balance sheet as at 30 June 
2019, the consolidated income statement, the consolidated statement of comprehensive 
income, the consolidated statement of changes in equity and the consolidated statement 
of cash flows for the year then ended, and notes to the financial statements, including a 
summary of significant accounting policies and the directors’ declaration.                     

In our opinion, the accompanying financial report of the Group is in accordance with the 
Corporations Act 2001, including:  

(i)  

(ii)  

giving a true and fair view of the Group’s financial position as at 30 June 2019 and 
of its financial performance for the year then ended; and   

complying with Australian Accounting Standards and the Corporations Regulations 
2001. 

Basis for Opinion 

those  standards  are 

We  conducted  our  audit  in  accordance  with  Australian  Auditing  Standards.  Our 
responsibilities  under 
the  Auditor’s 
Responsibilities  for  the  Audit  of  the  Financial  Report  section  of  our  report.  We  are 
independent of the Group in accordance with the auditor independence requirements of 
the Corporations Act 2001 and the ethical requirements of the Accounting Professional and 
Ethical Standards Board’s APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (the Code) 
that are relevant to our audit of the financial report in Australia. We have also fulfilled our 
other ethical responsibilities in accordance with the Code.  

further  described 

in 

We  confirm  that  the  independence  declaration  required  by  the  Corporations  Act  2001, 
which has been given to the directors of the Company, would be in the same terms if given 
to the directors as at the time of this auditor’s report. 

We  believe  that  the  audit  evidence  we  have  obtained  is  sufficient  and  appropriate  to 
provide a basis for our opinion. 

Key Audit Matters  

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were  of most 
significance in our audit of the financial report for the current period. These matters were 

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. 

Member of Deloitte Asia Pacific Limited and the Deloitte Network. 

85  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Independent audit report

to members of Mortgage Choice Limited

addressed in the context of our audit of the financial report as a whole, and in forming our 
opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.  

Key Audit Matter 

Future Trailing commissions  

How the scope of our audit responded to 
the Key Audit Matter 
Our  audit  procedures  included  but  were  not 
limited to: 

As  at  30  June  2019,  the  Group  has 
recognised  a  contract  asset  trailing 
commissions receivable of $376 million 
as disclosed in Note 7 representing the 
trailing 
expected  value  of 
commissions 
Trailing 
commissions  payable  of  $272  million 
were  also  recognised  and  disclosed  in 
Note  11  and  13    representing  the  net 
trailing 
present  value  of 
commissions payable by the Group. 

receivable. 

future 

future 

The  trailing  commission  receivable, 
which  is  a  contract  asset,  is  initially 
recognised at its transaction price using 
the  expected  value  approach.  A 
significant  financing  component  is  also 
involved  in  determining  this  variable 
consideration.  As  such,  the  contract 
asset 
is  subsequently  adjusted  by 
recalculating  the  net  present  value  of 
estimated  future  cash  flows  at  the 
original 
rate. 
Subsequent  to  initial  recognition,  the 
expected value of this contract asset is 
re-estimated  based  on  circumstances 
present at each reporting date.  

effective 

interest 

The  trailing  commission  payable  is 
recognised  at  fair  value  on  initial 
recognition  and  at  amortised  cost 
subsequent  to  initial  recognition  of  the 
trailing  commissions  receivable  and 
payables.  

Both the expected value  recognition of 
the transaction price and the fair value 
of  the  trail  commission  payable  at 
significant 
require 
recognition 
management judgement with regard to: 
  Estimation  of  the  discount  rate 
to be applied to loans originated 
in that year,  
book 

  Loan 

rate 

run 

off 

assumptions; and 

  Percentage of commissions paid 

to franchisees.  

  Evaluating and testing the key controls 
management  have 
to 
determine the net present value of the 
future  trailing  commission  receivable 
and payable, 

in  place 

  Comparing previously forecast trailing 
commission income and expense by 
management to the actual results to 
assess historical accuracy of 
management’s estimates, 

  Assessing the extraction of loan data 
used in management’s model for 
completeness, 

  Evaluating the accuracy of the loan 
data by matching a sample of loans 
listed on the loan data to external 
Lender Commission Statements,  
  Challenging the reasonableness of 
management’s assumptions in the 
determination of the trailing 
commission receivable and payable 
based on industry comparative run off 
rates and market observable inputs 
for the discount rate, 
  Recalculating the expected 

percentage to be paid to franchisees 
based on the loan book data and 
remuneration structure 
communicated;  

  Engaging internal experts to 

independently develop a model, using 
the loan data inputs and assumptions 
applied by management, which was 
used to recalculate the valuation of 
trailing commission receivable and 
payable. This was compared to 
management’s valuation, in order to 
test the integrity and mathematical 
accuracy of management’s model. 
  Assessing the application of AASB 9 
Financial Assets (AASB 9) and AASB 
15 Revenue from Contracts with 
Customers (AASB 15) by 
management to the trailing 
commission asset, including impact 
on transition to the new standards,  

86

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Independent audit report

to members of Mortgage Choice Limited

classification as a contract asset 
under AASB 15, and the application of 
the impairment provisions of AASB 9 
to the amounts recognised. 

We also considered the appropriateness of the 
Group’s  disclosures  in  Note  3  the  financial 
statements.  

Other Information  

The directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises 
the information included in the Group’s annual report for the year ended 30 June 2019, 
but does not include the financial report and our auditor’s report thereon.  

Our opinion on the financial report does not cover the other information and we do not 
express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.  

In connection with our audit of the financial report, our responsibility is to read the other 
information  and,  in  doing  so,  consider  whether  the  other  information  is  materially 
inconsistent with the financial report or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise 
appears to be materially misstated. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude 
that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report 
that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.  

Responsibilities of the Directors for the Financial Report 

The directors of the Company are responsible for the preparation of the financial report 
that gives a true and fair view in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards and the 
Corporations Act 2001 and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary 
to enable the preparation of the financial report that gives a true and fair view and is free 
from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.  

In preparing the financial report, the directors are responsible for assessing the ability of 
the  Group  to  continue  as  a  going  concern,  disclosing,  as  applicable,  matters  related  to 
going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either 
intend to liquidate the Group or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to 
do so.  

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Report  

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial report as a 
whole is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an 
auditor’s  report  that  includes  our  opinion.  Reasonable  assurance  is  a  high  level  of 
assurance,  but  is  not  a  guarantee  that  an  audit  conducted  in  accordance  with  the 
Australian Auditing Standards will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. 
Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or 
in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions 
of users taken on the basis of this financial report. 

87  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Independent audit report

to members of Mortgage Choice Limited

As  part  of  an  audit  in  accordance  with  the  Australian  Auditing  Standards,  we  exercise 
professional  judgement  and  maintain  professional  scepticism  throughout  the  audit.  We 
also:   

 

Identify  and  assess  the  risks  of  material  misstatement  of  the  financial  report, 
whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to 
those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide 
a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting 
from  fraud  is  higher  than  for  one  resulting  from  error,  as  fraud  may  involve 
collusion,  forgery,  intentional  omissions,  misrepresentations,  or  the  override  of 
internal control.  

  Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design 
audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose 
of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Group’s internal control.  

  Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness 

of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the directors.  

  Conclude on the appropriateness of the directors’ use of the going concern basis of 
accounting  and,  based  on  the  audit  evidence  obtained,  whether  a  material 
uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt 
on the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material 
uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the 
related disclosures in the financial report or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to 
modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up 
to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause 
the Group to cease to continue as a going concern.  

  Evaluate  the  overall  presentation,  structure  and  content  of  the  financial  report, 
including  the  disclosures,  and  whether  the  financial  report  represents  the 
underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.  

  Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial information of 
the  entities  or  business  activities  within  the  Group  to  express  an  opinion  on  the 
financial report. We are responsible for the direction, supervision and performance 
of the Group’s audit. We remain solely responsible for our audit opinion. 

We communicate with the directors regarding, among other matters, the planned scope 
and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies 
in internal control that we identify during our audit.  

We also provide the directors with a statement that we have complied with relevant ethical 
requirements  regarding  independence,  and  to  communicate  with  them  all  relationships 
and  other  matters  that  may  reasonably  be  thought  to  bear  on  our  independence,  and 
where applicable, related safeguards.  

From the matters communicated with the directors, we determine those matters that were 
of  most  significance  in  the  audit  of  the  financial  report  of  the  current  period  and  are 
therefore the key audit matters. We describe these matters in our auditor’s report unless 
law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter or when, in extremely rare 
circumstances,  we  determine  that  a  matter  should  not  be  communicated  in  our  report 
because the adverse consequences of doing so would reasonably be expected to outweigh 
the public interest benefits of such communication. 

88

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Independent audit report

to members of Mortgage Choice Limited

Report on the Remuneration Report 

Opinion on the Remuneration Report 

We  have  audited  the  Remuneration  Report  included in  pages  14  to  34  of  the  Directors’ 
Report for the year ended 30 June 2019.  

In our opinion, the Remuneration Report of Mortgage Choice Limited, for the year ended 
30 June 2019, complies with section 300A of the Corporations Act 2001.  

Responsibilities  

The directors of the Company are responsible for the preparation and presentation of the 
Remuneration Report in accordance with section 300A of the Corporations Act 2001. Our 
responsibility is  to  express  an  opinion  on  the  Remuneration  Report,  based  on  our  audit 
conducted in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards.  

DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU 

Heather Baister 
Partner 
Chartered Accountants 
Sydney, 21 August 2019 

89  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Shareholder Information

For the year ended 30 June 2019

The shareholder information set out below was applicable as at 31 July 2019.

A) Distribution of equity securities
Analysis of numbers of equity security holders by size of holding:

Class of equity security

1 – 1,000

1,001 – 5,000

5,001 – 10,000

10,001 – 100,000

100,001 and over

There were 285 holders of less than a marketable parcel of ordinary shares.

B) Equity security holders
Twenty largest quoted equity security holders 
The names of the twenty largest holders of quoted equity securities are listed below:

Finconnect (Australia) Pty Ltd

HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited

Ochoa Pty Ltd 

J P Morgan Nominees Australia Pty Limited

Citicorp Nominees Pty Limited

Ochoa Pty Ltd 

National Nominees Limited

Mr Rodney Gordon Higgins

SCJ Pty Limited 

BNP Paribas Noms Pty Ltd 

Mr Stephen Craig Jermyn 

Pacific Custodians Pty Limited 

T M Paddy Pty Ltd 

Macren Pty Ltd 

Est David Madden 

Mr Mike Fegelson

Mr Kenneth John Mason & Mrs Alison Mason

Mr Peter David Ritchie & Mrs Leigh Margaret Ritchie < Richie Fam S/FD A/C>

T M Paddy Pty Ltd 

EMU Super Fund Pty Ltd < EMU Superannuation Fund A/c>

Mr Peter Higgins 

Chata Holdings Pty Ltd 

Ordinary Shares

876

1,665

911

1,163

73

4,688

Ordinary Shares

Number held

20,611,785

14,763,886

9,620,000

5,947,604

4,030,206

3,506,989

2,151,531

2,094,226

2,000,000

1,523,272

1,000,000

848,486

495,936

450,000

400,000

400,000

400,000

314,863

307,939

306,973

254,253

250,500

Percentage 
of issued shares

16.49

11.81

7.70

4.76

3.22

2.81

1.72

1.68

1.60

1.22

0.80

0.68

0.40

0.36

0.32

0.32

0.32

0.25

0.25

0.25

0.20

0.20

71,678,449

57.34

90

Shareholder Information

For the year ended 30 June 2019

C) Substantial holders
Substantial holders in the Company are set out below:

Ordinary Shares

Spheria Asset Management Pty Ltd

Commonwealth Bank of Australia*

R G Higgins and Ochoa Pty Ltd

Pinnacle Investment Management Group Limited

Number held

23,651,652

21,806,731

15,221,215

6,939,466

*  The relevant interests in 1,194,946 are/were held by Colonial First State Investment Limited (CFS) as responsible entity of the specified registered managed investment schemes 
and relate(d) to holdings in connection with the Colonial First State First Choice product range. Decisions to buy/sell those securities and exercise voting rights in relation to 
those securities are made by external managers (unrelated to the Commonwealth Bank Group) to whom CFS has outsourced those functions. By instrument dated 29 October 
2001, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has granted certain relief to CFS and its related bodies corporate for these holdings from the provisions of Chapter 6 
of the Corporations Act in relation to the acquisition of such securities. 

D) Voting rights
The voting rights attaching to each class of equity securities are set out below:

a)  Ordinary shares

On a show of hands every member present at a meeting in person or by proxy shall have one vote and upon a poll each share shall 
have one vote.

b)  Options

No voting rights.

91  Mortgage Choice  Annual Report 2019

Corporate Directory

As at 21 August 2019

Directors
V L Allen, Chairman
S J Brennan
S J Clancy
D Chandran
A C Gale
P G Higgins
R G Higgins

Chief	Executive	Officer
S R Mitchell

Secretary
I J Parkes

Executives
Chief Financial Officer
I J Parkes

General Manager, Distribution
N C Rose-Innes

General Manager, Group Marketing
M J McCarney

General Manager,  
Product & Corporate Communications
E A Dupont-Brown

General Manager, Financial Planning
T J Milnes

General Manager, Human Resources
M J Pitton

Head of IT
V C ten Krooden

Notice of Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of Mortgage Choice Limited

will be held at:
Mortgage Choice Limited 
Level 10,  
100 Pacific Highway 
North Sydney NSW

Time: 10am
Date: 16 October 2019

Registered office
Level 10,  
100 Pacific Highway 
North Sydney NSW 2060 

Phone: (02) 8907 0444

Share register
Link Market Services Limited 
Level 12, 680 George St 
Sydney NSW 2000

Phone: (02) 8280 7111

Auditor
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Chartered Accountants 
Grosvenor Place 
225 George Street 
Sydney NSW 2000

Solicitors
Herbert Smith Freehills 
ANZ Tower 
161 Castlereagh Street 
Sydney NSW 2000

Bankers
ANZ Banking Group Limited 
116 Miller Street 
North Sydney NSW 2060

Stock exchange listing
Mortgage Choice Limited shares are listed on the 
Australian Securities Exchange.

Website address
www.mortgagechoice.com.au

92