Low Doc Commercial Property Refinancing in Australia | DeMarque Finance

Low-doc commercial property refinancing lets an owner move, extend or restructure a commercial property loan without producing the full set of current financial statements a standard application requires. It exists because a large share of commercial property is held by people whose income is real but whose paperwork is not tidy — recently self-employed owners, businesses between financial years, trusts and holding entities with lumpy income, and investors whose accountant will not have last year’s returns done for months.

This guide covers what “low doc” actually means in commercial lending, who it suits, what lenders accept instead of full financials, how leverage and pricing change, what it costs, and the situations where it is the wrong tool. It sits alongside our main guide to refinancing a commercial property loan, which covers the triggers, the process and the break-even maths in full.

Last checked: 7 September 2026. Lender policy in this area changes frequently; treat everything below as a description of how the market generally works, not as any lender’s current terms.

What “Low Doc” Means in Commercial Lending

In a full-doc commercial refinance, the lender verifies your capacity to service the loan from complete financial statements — usually two years of business and personal tax returns, financials prepared by an accountant, and current interim figures. Low-doc replaces some or all of that with alternative verification: documents that evidence income and trading without being a full set of accounts.

Two things are worth being clear about at the outset. First, low-doc is not no-doc. Every lender still verifies income in some form, and every lender still assesses the property, the loan-to-value ratio and your credit history exactly as it would on a full-doc deal. Second, low-doc is a pricing and leverage decision as much as a documentation one. Lenders accept more uncertainty about income, and they price and limit the loan accordingly.

Who Low-Doc Refinancing Suits

Owners whose financials are not current. The most common case. The business is trading well, but the last completed financial year’s accounts are not finalised, and the refinance cannot wait for them — a facility is expiring, a rollover offer is poor, or an opportunity depends on releasing equity now.

Recently self-employed borrowers. A business or professional practice with less than two years of trading history, where full-doc policy simply cannot be met yet.

Trusts, holding entities and lumpy income. Structures where income arrives irregularly or is distributed in ways that do not present neatly in a servicing calculation, even though the underlying cash flow is sound.

Investors with strong property, weaker paperwork. A tenanted commercial asset with a solid lease can carry more of the assessment on the property itself, which is where low-doc lenders are most comfortable.

Low-doc is generally not the right tool for a borrower with clean, current financials who simply wants a faster process. Full-doc will almost always produce a better rate and higher leverage, and the time saved is usually small.

What Lenders Accept Instead of Full Financials

Requirements vary by lender and by how “low” the documentation is, but the alternatives fall into a few recognisable categories:

• Business Activity Statements. Recent BAS lodgements, used to evidence turnover over the last two to four quarters. The most widely accepted alternative.
• Business bank statements. Typically several months of trading account statements, used to confirm the deposits and outgoings that the BAS figures imply.
• An accountant’s letter or declaration. A letter from your accountant confirming the business is trading and, in some cases, confirming an income figure or that the refinance is affordable.
• A borrower’s income declaration. A signed statement of income, always supported by at least one of the above; no mainstream lender relies on a declaration alone.
• Lease documentation. For tenanted property, the lease and rental statements — often the most important document in the file, because a strong lease lets the property carry more of the servicing.

Which combination a lender wants depends on its policy on the day. We do not publish thresholds here because they move; what we can say is that the more of these categories a borrower can produce, the closer the deal sits to full-doc pricing.

How LVR and Pricing Change

Because the lender is accepting more uncertainty about income, it protects itself in two ways: lower maximum leverage and a higher rate.

Full-doc commercial property lending commonly sits in the 60–80% LVR band described elsewhere on this site, depending on the asset and the borrower. Low-doc paths generally sit toward the lower end of that band or below it, and the ceiling is lender- and asset-specific — a standard suburban industrial unit with a long lease is treated very differently from a specialised or regional asset. Practically, this means a low-doc refinance releases less equity than a full-doc one on the same property, and a borrower at high leverage on the existing loan may not be able to refinance low-doc at all without contributing cash.

On pricing, low-doc facilities carry a margin over the equivalent full-doc rate. The size of the margin depends on the lender, the documentation provided and the LVR. It is also common for low-doc facilities to be offered on shorter terms or with earlier review dates, which matters for anyone planning to hold the asset long term.

What It Costs

The cost categories are the same as any commercial refinance — see the full guide for the break-even method:

• Exit costs on the existing loan — discharge fees, and break costs if any portion is fixed.
• Establishment and application fees on the new facility, sometimes higher on low-doc products.
• Valuation — always required on a commercial refinance, and paid by the borrower whether or not the loan proceeds.
• Legal and settlement costs for both the discharge and the new mortgage.
• The rate margin — the ongoing cost of the low-doc path, which over a multi-year hold usually outweighs every one-off fee above.

The last point is the one to weigh. A low-doc refinance that solves an immediate problem can be the right decision even at a higher rate; a low-doc refinance taken for convenience, when a full-doc path was available with a few weeks’ patience, rarely is.

Low-Doc as a Bridge

A common and sensible structure is to use low-doc as a bridge rather than a destination: refinance low-doc now to deal with the expiry, the rollover or the equity need, then refinance again to a full-doc facility once financials are current — typically after the next set of accounts is completed. The second refinance has its own costs, so this only stacks up when the rate difference is large enough or the hold period long enough to justify them. It is a calculation we run before recommending it, not after.

When Low-Doc Is the Wrong Tool

• Your financials are current, or will be within a few weeks. Wait, and go full-doc.
• The existing loan is already at the top of the full-doc LVR band. A low-doc lender’s lower ceiling may leave a shortfall you would have to fund in cash.
• The property is specialised or regional. Low-doc appetite is concentrated on standard asset types in metropolitan markets.
• Credit history has recent defaults or arrears. Low-doc does not fix credit issues; it compounds them in a lender’s eyes.
• The problem is serviceability, not paperwork. If the income genuinely does not support the loan, a different structure — a longer term, a partial sale, an equity partner — is the honest conversation.

How We Approach a Low-Doc Refinance

We start by testing whether the deal needs to be low-doc at all — often it does not, once the available documents are laid out. If it does, we identify the lenders whose current policy fits the asset type, the LVR and the documentation you can produce, and we prepare the file so the alternative verification is presented as a coherent picture of the business rather than a collection of substitutes for what is missing. Lenders decide low-doc applications on confidence, and confidence is built in the presentation.

If you are facing a facility expiry or a poor rollover offer and your financials are not current, check your eligibility or call 1300 108 751. We will tell you straight whether low-doc is the right path or whether a few weeks’ patience gets you a better result.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is low-doc commercial property refinancing more expensive?

Generally, yes. Low-doc facilities carry a rate margin over full-doc equivalents and often lower maximum leverage, because the lender is accepting more uncertainty about income. Whether that cost is worth paying depends on what the refinance is solving and how long you intend to hold the loan.

Can I refinance a commercial property loan without tax returns?

Often, yes. Lenders offering low-doc paths accept alternatives such as recent BAS lodgements, business bank statements, an accountant’s letter and lease documentation for tenanted property. Every lender still verifies income in some form; no mainstream lender relies on a declaration alone.

How much equity can I release with a low-doc refinance?

Less than with a full-doc refinance on the same property. Low-doc paths generally sit toward the lower end of the LVR range lenders apply to commercial property, or below it, and the ceiling depends on the lender and the asset type. The answer for a specific property comes from testing it against current lender policy.

Can I move to a full-doc loan later?

Yes, and it is a common plan: refinance low-doc to deal with the immediate need, then refinance to a full-doc facility once financials are current. The second refinance has its own costs, so the rate difference and the hold period need to justify it.

General information only — not personal credit advice. Results are indicative only and do not constitute a formal finance offer or approval. DeMarque Finance is authorised Credit Representative 522568 under Australian Credit Licence 384704.