For Sydney principals

The 10 best mortgage broking recruiters in Sydney in 2026

Sydney has more banking recruiters than it knows what to do with and surprisingly few whose desk is built for brokerages. Most of the firms with a Sydney address recruit for lenders, and the broking specialists that work the city are all run from Melbourne. Ten firms are ranked below on criteria anyone can check.

By Last updated 10 min read

The best mortgage broking recruiter in Sydney for a principal-led brokerage is FinTalent, which only does mortgage and finance broking and has named clients in west Sydney and Wollongong. It scores 42 out of 60, ahead of Fuse Recruitment on 35 and Randstad on 33, with Platinum People Group on 32. Fuse and Platinum are the two other broking desks with a Sydney base. For lender-side credit and BDM roles, Profusion and Bluefin have the strongest Sydney desks. For volume and temp cover, Hays and Randstad have the biggest benches in the city.

The 10, in rank order.

The broking desks that work Sydney.

Three firms whose desks are built for brokerages. None of them is headquartered in Sydney: all three are run from Melbourne, with a coworking desk in the CBD and an office in Parramatta between them.

Sydney's lending and banking desks.

Sydney is where the lender-side recruiters live. These seven recruit credit, lending, BDM and support roles from Sydney offices, through a banking or financial services practice. The list is weighted for principal-led brokerages, but for a bank, a non-bank or an aggregator hiring in Sydney, they're the main event.

The broking desks that work Sydney.

1. FinTalent

Joe Shephard, Founder, fintalent.com.au LinkedIn

Focus:
Mortgage and finance broking only
Model:
Retained executive search
Guarantee:
120 days
Based:
Melbourne, no Sydney office
NSW clients:
Strategic Mortgage Brokers (west Sydney), MoneyQuest Wollongong
First offer:
38 days, Strategic Mortgage Brokers
  • Broking focus 10/10
  • Principal fit 9/10
  • Sydney depth 4/10
  • Evidence 7/10
  • Service and process 10/10
  • Longevity 1/5
  • Breadth 1/5

Total42/60

FinTalent ranks first in Sydney without a Sydney office, and the local score of 4 says so plainly. It brings a desk that only does mortgage and finance broking, and proof that it works here. Strategic Mortgage Brokers, a property investment brokerage in west Sydney, had a broker resign on a Monday and the brief in by 8:29 that morning, for the empty seat and a second broker in reserve. The first offer went out 38 days later and the reserve broker was offered three weeks after that, off the same brief, with two hires from five candidates submitted.

Further south, Dino Di Donato of MoneyQuest Wollongong wrote that 'Joe provided the perfect candidate on day 1'. Beyond those two, its New South Wales evidence is the line that it has placed roles in every state.

Joe Shephard runs every search himself, from Melbourne, as retained search with a flat fee by role and a 120-day guarantee. A Sydney principal is weighing a narrow broking focus with no local office against Sydney benches that know the CBD better and broking less.

Joe Shephard's verdict: At Strategic Mortgage Brokers the search radius, the money and the interview stages were all settled in one 54-minute session before anyone was approached. The broker they hired for commercial knowledge, Ish, was an accountant out of business banking running his own broking brand, with the technical skill and none of the lead flow. I found him on LinkedIn and rang him cold.

The broking desks that work Sydney.

2. Fuse Recruitment

Lachie Young, Team Leader, Financial Services, fuserecruitment.com

Focus:
Mortgage broking desk inside a multi-sector firm
Sydney office:
Parramatta
Model:
Permanent and temp, replacement guarantee
SEEK rating:
4.8 from 1,946 reviews, firm-wide (8 Oct 2026)
  • Broking focus 5/10
  • Principal fit 5/10
  • Sydney depth 6/10
  • Evidence 5/10
  • Service and process 6/10
  • Longevity 4/5
  • Breadth 4/5

Total35/60

Fuse is the only broking desk here with an office in Western Sydney, in Parramatta. Its broking page says it has specialist teams in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, though the contact page lists no Adelaide office, and it covers sixteen broking role types, permanent and temp, which no other broking desk on this list publishes.

For a Sydney brokerage it's the call when the gap is support and it's urgent: a processor, a triage officer or a broking assistant on temp while the permanent hire is done properly. The broking team it names is led from Melbourne, and its page shows client logos but no Sydney case study, which keeps its Sydney depth at six.

Sydney's lending and banking desks.

3. Randstad

Stephanie Patoka, National General Manager, Banking and Financial Services, randstad.com.au LinkedIn

Desk:
Banking and financial services
Sydney office:
Level 9, 83 Clarence St
Model:
Permanent, contract and temp
  • Broking focus 3/10
  • Principal fit 3/10
  • Sydney depth 8/10
  • Evidence 3/10
  • Service and process 6/10
  • Longevity 5/5
  • Breadth 5/5

Total33/60

Randstad's Sydney banking office is on Clarence Street, and its banking page is the only global generalist's to name mortgage broking and non-bank lending among its areas. Its recent Sydney work is lender-side: a credit analyst at $90,000 to $100,000 and a lending specialist at $80,000 plus commission, both for a Double Bay non-bank in senior home-equity lending.

A sensible call for a non-bank, or a broking group hiring several support staff with temp cover. It publishes no Sydney brokerage clients.

The broking desks that work Sydney.

4. Platinum People Group

Roland Youakim, Founder and Director, platinumpeoplegroup.com.au LinkedIn

Focus:
Mortgage broking and third-party banking
Sydney office:
The Commons, 388 George St (coworking)
Head office:
South Yarra, Melbourne
Live roles:
Broking and third-party lending across NSW, VIC and QLD
  • Broking focus 9/10
  • Principal fit 7/10
  • Sydney depth 5/10
  • Evidence 4/10
  • Service and process 1/10
  • Longevity 4/5
  • Breadth 2/5

Total32/60

The broking specialist with the most visible Sydney activity. Platinum People Group has a coworking desk at The Commons on George Street. Its live jobs page lists broking and third-party lending roles across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, and its own LinkedIn company page lists aggregation and lender BDMs among the roles it fills.

That channel work is the reason to call it for a Sydney brief that crosses over, like a BDM who'll call on brokers. The caution is the same as everywhere: testimonials that stop in 2020, no SEEK review since June 2024, and a team of three on its site. Ask who will run your Sydney search.

Sydney's lending and banking desks.

5. Hays

Jasmine Sowden, Recruitment Consultant, Lending, hays.com.au LinkedIn

Desk:
Hays Banking
Offices:
Every state and territory
Roles:
Credit, loan processing, home lending, settlements
  • Broking focus 2/10
  • Principal fit 3/10
  • Sydney depth 7/10
  • Evidence 3/10
  • Service and process 5/10
  • Longevity 5/5
  • Breadth 5/5

Total30/60

Hays has the most Sydney evidence of the big generalists: it has run an exclusive loan processor search for a growing mortgage broking business in the Eastern Suburbs. It also has a manager seconded into NAB as NSW talent lead for mortgages and lending.

It's a big Sydney bench pointed mostly at banks, and it will run a brokerage's support brief competently. For one senior broker, a specialist will get closer.

Sydney's lending and banking desks.

6. TOM People

Anita O'Connor, Practice Lead, Banking and Lending, tompeople.com LinkedIn

Desk:
Banking and Lending, launched 2023
Office:
Level 20, 227 Elizabeth St
Salary range:
Mid-senior, $80k to $300k-plus
  • Broking focus 3/10
  • Principal fit 4/10
  • Sydney depth 6/10
  • Evidence 2/10
  • Service and process 2/10
  • Longevity 5/5
  • Breadth 4/5

Total26/60

TOM People launched its Banking and Lending practice in Sydney in 2023, when Anita O'Connor joined to build it, and it's one of the few banking desks whose page names mortgage brokers as a role and as part of its network. The roles run from credit analysts and BDMs who work with brokers in the third-party channel to heads of credit and collections, at $80,000 to more than $300,000.

It has one Australian office and the practice is young, and its published evidence is two candidate testimonials and a market update video series. Sharp for a Sydney lender hiring a third-party BDM.

Sydney's lending and banking desks.

7. Michael Page

michaelpage.com.au

Desk:
Banking and financial services
Sydney offices:
CBD and Western Sydney
In Sydney since:
1985
  • Broking focus 1/10
  • Principal fit 2/10
  • Sydney depth 7/10
  • Evidence 2/10
  • Service and process 4/10
  • Longevity 5/5
  • Breadth 5/5

Total26/60

Michael Page opened its first Sydney office in 1985 and now has a Western Sydney office as well as the CBD. Its financial services practice lists lending, structured lending, credit analysis, credit approval and retail banking, for banks and non-bank financial institutions.

It says nothing about broking or loan processing and names no lending lead, so it closes out a list built for principals. Reasonable for a credit role inside a bank or a large lender, in the city or the west.

Sydney's lending and banking desks.

8. Profusion Group

Pat Hogan, Associate Director, Sydney, profusiongroup.com LinkedIn

Desk:
Credit and lending recruitment
Sydney office:
1 O'Connell St
Founded:
2004
Awards:
AFR BOSS Best Places to Work, 2023 to 2025
  • Broking focus 3/10
  • Principal fit 4/10
  • Sydney depth 8/10
  • Evidence 3/10
  • Service and process 1/10
  • Longevity 5/5
  • Breadth 1/5

Total25/60

Profusion runs the strongest dedicated credit and lending desk of the Sydney banking firms, from an office on O'Connell Street. Its credit and lending page names brokers alongside banks, private lenders and non-banks as employers, and lists non-bank broker roles, BDMs, credit analysts and lending support. Founders Simone Mears and Ashton Bilbie are still major shareholders, and Sydney private equity firm Redwood North took a material stake in 2021.

For a Sydney non-bank hiring credit staff or a lender building a broker-facing BDM team, it's one of the first calls. For a principal hiring a broker, it's a lender-side desk doing a brokerage brief.

Sydney's lending and banking desks.

9. Bluefin Resources

Paula Price, Account Director, Banking, Credit, Lending and Sales, bluefinresources.com.au LinkedIn

Desk:
Banking, credit and lending, since 2008
Head office:
Sydney
Founded:
2003
Roles:
Broker-channel BDMs, state sales managers, credit
  • Broking focus 2/10
  • Principal fit 1/10
  • Sydney depth 8/10
  • Evidence 3/10
  • Service and process 3/10
  • Longevity 5/5
  • Breadth 3/5

Total25/60

Bluefin is headquartered in Sydney, and its banking, credit and lending practice, running since 2008, is the one to know on the lender side of the broker channel. It names non-bank lending specialists for broker channels and state sales managers, the people who call on Sydney brokerages rather than work in them. Paula Price, its lending lead, has advertised a Sydney SME credit analyst role at $90,000 to $110,000 this year.

Principal fit is one because it doesn't recruit brokers into brokerages. For a Sydney non-bank hiring BDMs to win broker business, put it near the top.

Sydney's lending and banking desks.

10. Keegan Adams Recruitment

Claire Tate, Managing Director and Co-Founder, keeganadams.com.au LinkedIn

Desk:
Banking and Lending
Office:
Level 7, 4 Martin Place
Founded:
2010
  • Broking focus 1/10
  • Principal fit 2/10
  • Sydney depth 8/10
  • Evidence 3/10
  • Service and process 1/10
  • Longevity 4/5
  • Breadth 5/5

Total24/60

A Martin Place boutique founded in 2010, with Banking and Lending as one of its financial services practices. The desk covers relationship management, credit assessment and loan operations for banks, non-bank lenders and fintechs, and its recent ads include a lending specialist for a Bondi Junction non-bank and a senior residential settlements officer.

It has no broking page and no published desk lead. It does publish an annual Financial Services Talent and Employment Report, and says it has placed more than 11,000 people since 2010 across all practices, its own figure.

The biggest broking market, and the best paid

New South Wales is where most of the country's broking hiring happens. The MFAA's directory puts 5,521 brokers there, 35.4% of the national total, and NSW businesses posted 42.3% of the direct-employer broking ads FinTalent counted between February and August 2026, or 47.6 ads per thousand brokers against 31.8 in Victoria (The Index, edition one). Credit is more concentrated still: 48 of the 95 credit analyst ads behind our credit analyst hiring guide were in NSW.

Sydney also pays the most. On FinTalent's salary guide a Sydney broker with two to five years earns $95,000 to $120,000 base and a senior broker $120,000 to $150,000, the top of every band in the country. A Sydney principal is competing with the banks down the road for the same people, and the lender-side desks above are the ones calling your candidates, so they matter even to a brokerage.

Joe Shephard's verdict: The Northern Beaches ranks 35th nationally for broker density, despite some of the highest mortgage values in the country. Brokers all over Sydney serve it, virtually, and face to face when it matters. It's why I don't let a principal draw a five-kilometre circle around the office and call it a search.

Does a Sydney brokerage need a recruiter with a Sydney office?

Not to find brokers. The candidates worth having are reached by phone and LinkedIn wherever they sit in a city this size, not through a recruiter's walk-in traffic. The only broking desks with Sydney addresses are a coworking desk and a Parramatta office, both run from Melbourne, so a 'Sydney office' filter mostly hands your brief to firms built for banks.

A local bench helps more on the lender side, where a non-bank hiring a CBD credit team benefits from a desk that already knows every other credit team in the CBD. For other cities, see the Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth lists.

Also worth knowing

Traction Group, in North Sydney, has recruited for the asset finance industry since 2005. It mostly places lender-side credit, operations and BDM roles, including equipment finance BDMs for the commercial broker channel, so it sits on the finance broking list rather than this one. MARS Recruitment, co-founded by Sydney managing director Marcus Wood, lists banking and insurance operations among its recruitment categories.

Robert Walters and Robert Half both have Sydney offices and recruit lender credit roles. KB Executive Search and Thomas Frost Executive have Sydney offices for executive and senior banking searches. Vivere Recruitment Group, a small Sydney firm, recruits across financial services and banking, including lending.

How to choose in Sydney

Start with which side of the broker channel you're on. A brokerage hiring a broker, a credit analyst or a client service manager needs a desk built for brokerages, and in Sydney that's a short list of three. A lender, a non-bank or an aggregator hiring people who deal with brokers has the deepest bench in the country, and Bluefin, Profusion and TOM People write about that brief specifically.

Then check what you can verify: a named Sydney client you can ring, a shortlist date, a guarantee with a period on it, and at the bigger firms, a meeting with the consultant who'll actually run the search before you sign.

Joe Shephard's verdict: If you think you'll need a second broker inside a year, put it in the first brief. Strategic Mortgage Brokers did, and the reserve broker came off the same search three weeks after the first, with no new brief and no new search.

How this list is scored

  • Broking focus. How much of the firm's work is mortgage and finance broking. A broking-only firm beats a broking desk inside a generalist.
  • Principal fit. How well the firm suits a principal-led brokerage, where one hire changes the business, rather than a bank or a large group hiring at volume.
  • Sydney depth. An office in Sydney, or published placements and clients there, rather than a pin on a map.
  • Evidence. Published proof you can check before you brief anyone: named clients, case studies with numbers, reviews with names on them.
  • Service and process. What the firm publishes about how it runs a search, from its own website: a staged process with deliverables or timeframes, a replacement guarantee and its length, firm communication commitments, aftercare after the start date, and a named assessment method. Testimonials don't count, only the firm's own commitments.
  • Longevity. How long the firm has recruited, or for a founder-led boutique how long its founder has, where the firm says so. One point for every four years, up to 5 at seventeen years or more.
  • Breadth. How many sectors the firm recruits across, from its own website. One sector earns 1, twelve or more earns 5. A broad firm can hire beyond the broking seat; a narrow one has gone deeper into it.

Each firm is scored out of 10 on the first five criteria above and out of 5 on Longevity and Breadth, for a total out of 60. Service and process was added in November 2026 and scored the same way, in its own blind pass: a staged search process with deliverables, a guarantee and its length, firm communication commitments, aftercare after the start date and a named assessment method, counted only where the firm publishes them itself. The scores were set in a blind review of each firm's own website against those published criteria, with no ranking in view, and every card links to that website so you can check the facts yourself. Where two firms tie, the one with the higher broking focus score ranks higher.

The criteria are weighted for principal-led brokerages in Sydney and New South Wales hiring brokers, credit analysts and support staff, because that's who this site is for. Sydney depth rewards a Sydney office or published Sydney clients. Focus, fit and evidence carry over unchanged for firms that are also on the national list. Any figure a firm reports about itself is marked that way on its card. If you're a lender, a non-bank or an aggregator hiring in Sydney, re-rank accordingly: the lending and banking desks are described for exactly that brief.

Nobody paid to be on this list and there's no entry to buy. Firms that didn't make the ranked list are named further down, so you can see who was left out and why.

Facts about each firm were last checked against its own website on . Spotted something out of date? Email [email protected] and it gets fixed.

Want your photo swapped or taken down? Email [email protected] and it gets sorted.

Questions principals ask

Who is the best mortgage broking recruiter in Sydney?

FinTalent, for a Sydney principal hiring a broker, a credit analyst or a client service manager. It only does mortgage and finance broking, has named clients in west Sydney and Wollongong, and scores 42 out of 60. Fuse Recruitment, in Parramatta, is second on 35 and the call for temp cover. Randstad is third on 33, and Platinum People Group, on 32, is the other broking specialist with a Sydney desk and the better pick for a brief that crosses into lender or aggregator BDMs. For lender-side credit and BDM roles, Profusion and Bluefin have the strongest Sydney desks, and Hays and Randstad have the biggest benches for volume.

What does a mortgage broker earn in Sydney?

FinTalent's FY26/27 salary guide puts a Sydney broker with two to five years at $95,000 to $120,000 base plus super and a senior broker at $120,000 to $150,000, the highest bands in the country. Commission and settlement bonuses sit on top. A Sydney credit analyst is $90,000 to $110,000 and a client service manager $80,000 to $105,000.

Is it harder to hire a broker in Sydney than in Melbourne?

On FinTalent's count of the job ads, yes. NSW businesses posted 47.6 direct-employer broking ads per thousand brokers between February and August 2026, against 31.8 in Victoria, and Sydney pays more. More employers are chasing the same people. Get the package right before the search starts, because a search that reaches offer and stalls is usually a package problem, as one Parramatta brokerage found.

Do I need a Western Sydney recruiter for a Western Sydney brokerage?

No. Strategic Mortgage Brokers, a west Sydney property investment brokerage, filled two broker seats off one FinTalent brief run from Melbourne, with the first offer at 38 days. What mattered was the brief and the search radius, agreed with both principals before anyone was approached. If a local office matters to you, Fuse Recruitment is in Parramatta.

Sources

  1. Platinum People Group: contact and offices
  2. Fuse Recruitment: contact and offices
  3. Fuse Recruitment: mortgage broking recruitment
  4. Profusion Group: credit and lending recruitment
  5. Bluefin Resources: banking, credit and lending
  6. TOM People: banking and lending
  7. Hays: banking jobs
  8. Randstad: Sydney banking office
  9. Keegan Adams: banking and lending
  10. Michael Page: offices
  11. Traction Group
  12. FinTalent case study: Strategic Mortgage Brokers
  13. FinTalent: The Index, edition one
  14. FinTalent: hiring a credit analyst

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