Understanding home loan offset accounts

An offset account is available only with our Offset Home Loan product and is linked to your variable rate home loan account, with the following features and benefits:

• Every dollar in the offset account can help reduce the amount of interest you pay on your linked variable home loan account.
• Transfer money and make payments from your offset account online.
• Access a debit card for purchases, payments and ATM withdrawals.

Every dollar you have in your offset account ‘offsets’ the balance of the linked variable home loan account, reducing the amount of interest you pay each month.

For example, if you have $100,000 in your offset account and the balance of the linked variable loan account is $400,000, you’ll only be charged interest on $300,000. 
 

• An offset account can only be linked to a variable rate loan account. It cannot be linked to a fixed rate loan account. 
• An offset account can only be linked to one loan account (i.e. you can’t link the same offset account to multiple home loan accounts). 
• If you have an account starting with BSB 182 and you are not a company or trust borrower, you can have multiple offset accounts linking to the same variable rate loan account.
• If you have more than one variable rate home loan account, you can also open and link separate offset accounts to each of them.

Illustrated example of how multiple offset accounts can be linked to loan accounts:

For principal and interest loans, your monthly repayment must still be made in full by the due date, even if the interest on your linked loan account is partially or fully offset. This is because the balance of an offset account doesn’t change your minimum repayment amount – instead, it changes the proportion of your minimum repayment that goes towards interest. This means more of your repayment may go towards paying off the amount borrowed (principal) as the interest portion is offset, reducing the interest charged. These savings may result in your loan being paid off faster. 

While the funds in your offset account may contribute to reducing the interest charged, a repayment is still required to pay off the balance.

It is important to note that if your offset account balance exceeds your home loan account balance, you won’t be paid interest on the excess amount. This excess amount also does not offset any interest payable on your linked variable home loan account or any other home loan account you hold with us.

We recommend you check your account setup and offset linkage regularly, particularly when you have requested changes, variations, a new application, or a discharge on your home loan accounts. For more information, see Viewing your home loan structure.

If you’d like to make changes to your offset linkage, please get in touch with a Macquarie consultant using live chat.

Here are some important things to remember about your offset home loan:

• An offset account can only be linked to one variable interest rate loan – it can’t be linked to multiple loan accounts or a fixed rate account.
• Where an offset account remains unlinked to a variable rate home loan account, we may convert the offset account to a transaction account.
• You must have a minimum of one offset account linked to a variable account in an offset facility.
  
• If the balance of your offset account exceeds the balance of the linked home loan account, interest is not paid or offset on the excess amount and the excess amount does not offset interest on your home loan account(s).
• Offset accounts must also be in the name of one or a combination of the borrowers on the linked loan account.
• If you have a home loan with a BSB starting 182 and you discharge your home loan, including where you set up a new home loan facility with us, your offset account may be converted to a Transaction account.
• If you’d like to change the linked home loan account to a fixed rate, the offset account needs to be delinked first. You can relink your offset account at the end of the fixed rate term by contacting us via live chat.

An offset account debit card is managed in the same way as other Macquarie debit and credit cards. Here are some useful articles to help you manage your Macquarie debit card(s) for your home loan offset account:

• Activate your new or replacement card
• Lost, stolen, damaged or expired card or PIN (including ordering a new or additional debit card for an offset account)
• Dispute a suspicious transaction
• Apple Pay setup
• Google Pay setup
• Buy an eGift card on Macquarie Marketplace.

For home loans with a BSB starting 182, where the borrower/s are not a company or a trust, up to 10 offset accounts can be linked to the one variable home loan account. If you have multiple variable rate home loan accounts, you can also open and link separate offset accounts to each of them.

For home loans with a BSB starting 183, additional offset accounts are not available.

To open additional offset account/s in Macquarie Online Banking: 

1. Log in to Macquarie Online Banking
2. Click Open an account at the top of your accounts list
3. Find the account offset account option. Click Open an account and follow the prompts.

To open additional offset account/s in the Macquarie Mobile Banking app: 

1. Open your Macquarie Mobile Banking app
2. Select the Accounts tab on the bottom-left of your screen
3. Select Open an account at the bottom of your accounts list
4. Find the account option you want to open by scrolling left or right. Click Open an account and follow the prompts.

For new joint offset account/s, the second account holder will need to review and approve before the opening of the offset account can be completed.

They’ll receive a push notification and email to approve or deny the account opening.