Mortgage Brokers Continuing Education

“Anyone who stops learning is old whether this happens at twenty or eighty,” remarked Henry Ford at one time, “Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young but becomes constantly more valuable, regardless of physical capacity.” Unfortunately, this was the bitter lesson learned by the 1,500 members of the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia when it expelled them because they fell short of the set minimum education standards. Of the 13,000 members the organization let go of 1,500 people because the two-year deadline to complete a mortgage broker’s certificate course came and went and they had nothing to show for it.



 According to news reports, Mortgage Choice, Australia’s biggest privately owned mortgage broking business supported the expulsion move. Kristy Sheppard, spokesperson of Mortgage Choice, was quoted as saying that it is important to “…self-police…in preparation for national uniform regulation….” In addition, she also added, “Mortgage brokers source around 41 per cent of all new housing loans in Australia and the industry needs to continually demonstrate it takes this responsibility seriously.



”This was one of the steps to be enforced to level up the bar of professionalism in the industry and ameliorate the image of brokers. It is also a big step ahead of the planned tightening of government regulation by the end of this year. In the coming months, the National Consumer Credit Protection Act will be introduced at a national level. The Australian Securities and Invesment Commission will keep a watchful eye on all providers of credit. Recently, rules and procedures on fast cash loans were also beefed up and more government security measures and other safety nets were put in.



 This is in the light of clamors against one of the negative image of brokers that was prevalent in recent years, that is, the predatory lending practices in some areas of the industry.The news reports likewise stated that the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia signifies to set in place a higher standard for its members than required by law. The organization would put in a diploma-level minimum education standard in the years ahead. Nowadays, there are many learning institutions, either through traditional methods or online and distance learning, that offer mortgage brokers additional training and education for certification.



 The first level for would-be brokers is to get a license in order to practice the profession. For employees who want to make a career shift, they could apply for payday advances to pay for the necessary trainings, workshops, and other seminars for licensing and accreditation.