Property-secured finance for construction trades and subcontractors

On a building site the money flows downhill slowly. The developer pays the head contractor, the head contractor pays the trades, and the trades pay their crews, suppliers and the tax office. When anyone up the chain is late, the electrician, plumber or concreter at the bottom feels it first, usually in the week wages are due.

Most established tradies own something: the family home, an investment unit, sometimes the shed the business runs from. That property can carry the business through a slow-paying stretch without selling anything or waiting weeks for a bank. This page is for trade businesses and subcontractors. If you run a building company that contracts directly with owners, our page on builder funding against property covers the head-contractor side.

Why do trades and subcontractors run short of cash?

Profit on paper and cash in the account rarely line up for a trade business. The common causes:

• Payment terms set by someone else. Head contractors often pay 30 to 45 days after a claim is approved, and some approve slowly. Your crew still gets paid weekly.
• Materials up front. Switchboards, pipe, steel and concrete pours are paid for before you can claim them.
• Retention held back. A slice of every claim can sit with the head contractor until practical completion and the defects period end.
• Tax timing. BAS, PAYG withholding and now super land on fixed dates whether or not your claims have been paid.
• Growth. A bigger contract means more apprentices, another ute and more stock months before the first payment.

Our guide to builder cash flow and property equity walks through how to measure the gap before you borrow.

What changed for trade businesses in 2026?

Two changes matter to anyone running a crew.

Payday Super. From 1 July 2026, employers must make sure super reaches each worker’s fund within 7 business days of paying wages, according to the ATO. A quarterly super bill has become a weekly or fortnightly one, so payroll weeks now need more cash on hand. See how a secured loan can cover payroll and Payday Super while invoicing catches up.

Instant asset write-off. The ATO has confirmed the $20,000 instant asset write-off is permanent from 1 July 2026 for businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million, applied per asset. A new laser level, pipe camera or compactor under that figure can be written off in the year it is bought. The cash still leaves the account on the day, though.

The ATO also lists building and construction services in its taxable payments reporting system, and businesses paying contractors for those services must lodge a taxable payments annual report by 28 August. It is a reminder that the tax office sees the payments flowing through the industry.

How it works for a trade business

1. Enquire in about a minute. Tell us the property, what’s owing on it, the amount and what it’s for. There is no credit check at this stage.
2. Talk to a specialist. A credit specialist works through the security, the structure and how the loan will be repaid.
3. Pick the structure. A caveat loan suits a short gap; a registered second mortgage suits a larger or longer need behind your home loan; a first mortgage suits a debt-free property or a purchase.
4. Receive the Letter of Offer. Pricing, fees, term and conditions in writing. Have your solicitor read it.
5. Provide documents and settle. The mortgage or caveat is lodged and funds go where they’re needed.

For the short-gap structure in detail, our caveat loans page explains how a caveat sits on title and how it can later be converted to a registered second mortgage.

Who it suits

• Trades and subbies with property equity and a known payment coming, such as approved progress claims or retention due for release.
• Businesses taking on a contract bigger than anything they’ve done, with the margin to cover the cost of funds. Our page on funding a big contract with property security goes deeper.
• Owners clearing an ATO debt in one payment rather than juggling a plan alongside slow payers. See paying ATO debt with property equity.
• Operators buying the shed or yard they rent. Industrial premises are covered on our industrial property loans page.

When this isn’t the right move

Be honest with yourself on these:

• The work isn’t profitable. If jobs are underquoted, borrowing only delays the problem and puts your house at risk. Fix the pricing first.
• No repayment source. If you can’t name where the money comes from at the end of the term, don’t borrow.
• You need plant, not cash. For an excavator or truck, equipment finance secured on the machine usually makes more sense. Our page on funding equipment and machinery compares the two.
• The head contractor is already in trouble. If payments have stopped altogether, talk to an insolvency adviser before borrowing against your home to keep working for them.

How does property-secured funding compare with the alternatives?

Option	Security	Speed	Repayments	Best for
Property-secured caveat or second mortgage	Your home, unit, shed or yard	Possible within 24–48 hours once documents are in	Interest can be prepaid or capitalised	A gap of weeks or months with a clear payment coming
Bank overdraft	Usually property plus guarantees	Weeks to set up	Interest on the drawn balance	Ongoing day-to-day swings, if the bank will offer one
Unsecured online loan	None (personal guarantee)	Fast	Daily or weekly debits	Small, very short needs
Invoice finance	Your receivables	Days once set up	Repaid as debtors pay	Steady invoicing to creditworthy builders
Equipment finance	The machine or vehicle	Days	Monthly	Plant, trucks and utes

Our secured vs unsecured business loans comparison covers the trade-off between speed, cost and what’s at risk.

Does borrowing affect my licence’s financial tests?

In Queensland it can. The QBCC’s March 2026 regulatory guide says licensees must keep a current ratio of at least 1 and net tangible assets of at least $0, and most licensees in categories 1 to 7 must lodge annual financial reporting by 31 December. A loan repayable within twelve months usually sits in current liabilities, which can weaken the current ratio even though the cash it brings in is a current asset. A longer first mortgage may be treated differently. Have your accountant model both before you choose the term.

In NSW, a builder or tradie contracting with a homeowner for work worth more than $20,000 including GST needs home building compensation cover, and SIRA notes icare HBCF is the only insurer for it. If a new loan will change your balance sheet before a cover application or renewal, ask your accountant how it will read.

What it costs (without the guesswork)

Every loan is priced on its own security, LVR, term and exit, and we aim for the sharpest price your situation allows. The components you’ll see on the Letter of Offer:

• Interest, which can be prepaid or capitalised so there are no monthly repayments during the term;
• a small assessment fee, which varies per loan;
• legal and registration costs for the mortgage or caveat.

A caveat or second mortgage generally costs more than a first mortgage, because the lender ranks behind your bank. A shorter term keeps total interest down, so match the term to when the money actually arrives.

Documents you’ll need

• ID for every borrower, director and guarantor;
• ABN or ACN details, and the trust deed if a trust is involved;
• title details for the property and a current statement for any loan secured on it;
• recent BAS and an ATO account statement if tax debt is being cleared;
• the approved progress claims, payment schedules or contract that show where repayment comes from;
• your licence number and, in Queensland, your latest financial reporting if the timing matters.

How fast can a trade business be funded?

Funding is possible within 24–48 hours for up to $5m once documents are in, and property-secured amounts from $20k to $250k are possible the same day. Because there is no formal valuation required, there’s no inspection to book and no third-party report to wait on. What slows things down is missing paperwork: an old loan statement, a co-owner who hasn’t signed or a company search that shows a different director.

What could the numbers look like?

Illustrative example: a Western Sydney civil subcontractor has approved claims of about $260k due in five to seven weeks, wages and plant hire of about $140k due this fortnight, and an ATO balance of $60k. The director owns a home worth about $1.3m with $520k owing to a bank. Net funds work out like this:

• Home value $1.3m × an illustrative 75% LVR band for a second-ranking loan = $975k total borrowing headroom.
• Less the bank’s $520k = $455k available behind the bank.
• The business borrows only what it needs: $220k by caveat.
• Less an interest allowance capitalised for 3 months (set out on the Letter of Offer), the assessment fee and legal costs.
• Leaves roughly $200k+ in hand to pay wages, plant hire and the ATO in one go. When the claims arrive, the caveat loan is repaid in full and the caveat is withdrawn.

Trades working across Penrith, Blacktown and Wetherill Park can read more on our Western Sydney and Parramatta page. If you also run trucks, the transport and logistics page covers depots and yards.

See if you qualify

Ready to check? Start a 60-second enquiry with the property address, what’s owing on it, the amount and what it’s for.

Asking doesn’t touch your credit file, and your details go to one direct lender rather than a panel of them. A specialist who understands progress claims and retention reads every enquiry. The more precise you are about the property and existing loans, the faster you get a straight answer. Find out what your property can do for the business.