Equipment finance for everything from a single trade ute through to a fleet of haul trucks, a CNC line, a commercial kitchen fitout, or a complete medical practice setup. Specialist lenders across Australia — fast approvals, sharp pricing, and the right structure to maximise your tax position.
A new excavator turns up at 7am Monday and starts billing. A second commercial fryer means the kitchen pumps out two more covers a service. A bigger forklift means the warehouse stops bottlenecking on inwards goods. The truck on order means the new contract starts on time. None of this is theoretical — it's how real businesses grow, contract by contract, asset by asset.
The trick is funding the gear without burning your working capital, and structuring the finance to land you the best possible tax outcome. That's where we come in. We work with around 30 specialist equipment lenders across Australia — banks, non-banks, and asset finance specialists — and we know which one prices each type of asset most sharply. From $10,000 of new tools through to $5 million of mining gear, the structure is the same: the asset is the security, the approval is fast, and your cash stays in the business.
Needed close to $600K of new gear on a 14-month council contract. Four lenders, four chattel mortgages, on site in nine days — without touching the commercial property.
Three things equipment finance does properly that nothing else does.
A standard business loan typically wants property security or strong financials. Equipment finance is different — the asset itself secures the loan. That means no second mortgage on the family home, no business property put on the line, and no unsecured rates. Settlement is fast because the security is straightforward, and the rate stays sharp because the lender is well-protected. For most SMEs and larger businesses, this is the most efficient finance structure available.
Structured properly as a chattel mortgage, you own the asset from day one — claim the GST credit upfront on your next Business Activity Statement (BAS), depreciate the asset on your return, and deduct the interest as a business expense. For assets under $20,000 acquired before 1 July 2026, the instant asset write-off lets you claim the entire purchase against this year's profit.
Most clean equipment finance deals settle in 4–9 days from formal application. Some prime-borrower deals settle the same week the dealer quote lands. Speed comes from preparation — bank statements, BAS, ID, ABN/GST confirmation, and a properly itemised supplier quote. We package it properly and get it to the right lender.
Equipment lenders price the same asset differently — and that pricing changes month to month. We know which specialists are sharp on yellow goods, prime movers, hospitality fitouts, or medical gear right now, and we shop your deal to the best two or three.
Three steps. Most deals settle in under a fortnight.
Tell us what the asset is, what it costs, who's selling it, and how it fits the business. We'll come back same day with an indicative finance amount, the structure we'd recommend, and a realistic rate range.
One specialist might be aggressive on yellow goods but conservative on hospitality. Another leads on prime movers but shies on niche manufacturing. We shop your deal to the best two or three options pricing your asset class right now.
We package the application properly. Lenders typically come back with conditional approval inside 24–48 hours. We satisfy any conditions, coordinate the dealer payout, and most clean deals are fully settled within a week.
Tell us a few quick details. We'll show your monthly repayment, the GST credit you can claim, balloon at end, and how different structures stack up.
Asset category mostly affects depreciation profile and lender appetite — not the GST credit, which applies in full for equipment.
Most chattel mortgages on equipment can be done with $0 down — a deposit just lowers your repayments and total interest.
A balloon (residual) shrinks your monthly repayment but leaves a lump sum at term-end. Equipment balloons are usually conservative.
No car limit on equipment. The GST credit applies to the full asset price (capped only by your business use percentage). Most equipment runs at 100% business use.
Indicative — actual rate depends on lender, asset age, asset class, and your business profile.
Most clients land 6.99–7.99% on a chattel mortgage with new or near-new equipment and a clean business profile. Older or specialised gear pushes higher.
Estimate at the chosen rate. Many clients access lower rates depending on asset, age and trading profile.
Same equipment, same loan amount, same rate, same term — only the balloon changes. For depreciating plant, smaller balloons usually make more sense than for vehicles, since equipment second-hand values can drop sharply.
Have a quick chat with a Pilbara Finance broker. We'll structure the chattel mortgage, lock in your rate, sort the GST treatment with your accountant, and have you on the production floor fast.
Estimates only. This calculator does not assess credit and is not a credit offer. GST credit estimates assume the asset is held by a GST-registered business and prorates by business use percentage. Equipment is not subject to the ATO car limit (which only applies to passenger vehicles). Confirm tax treatment with your accountant. Pilbara Equities Pty Ltd, CRN 478535, of Mortgage Specialists Pty Ltd, ACL 387025.
A snapshot of the kind of gear we get funded every week. If yours isn't on the list, ask us — the answer's almost always yes.
Excavators, dozers, graders, water carts, drill rigs, generators, light towers, prime movers, side tippers, low loaders, scaffolding, site sheds, ancillary attachments. Mining contracts often need gear on the ground inside two weeks — we're built for that timeline.
Trade utes, work trailers, mini excavators, skid steers, telehandlers, scissor lifts, cherry pickers, scaffolding, concrete pumps, compaction gear, hand tools and power tools, racking and storage. Single-asset finance through to full fleet refreshes.
Prime movers, rigid trucks, refrigerated units, B-doubles, trailers (curtain-sided, flatbed, refrigerated, tipper), pallet jacks, forklifts (LPG, electric, diesel), warehouse racking, conveyor systems. Fleet finance specialists on the panel.
CNC machines, lathes, mills, presses, welding equipment, paint booths, conveyors, robotics, palletisers, shrink-wrap lines, compressors, dust extraction, workshop fitouts. Pricing is sharp on well-spec'd capital equipment.
Commercial ovens and ranges, combi steamers, fryers, refrigeration, cool rooms, dishwashers, coffee machines, POS systems, full kitchen fitouts, retail shopfittings, signage. Fitout finance available alongside individual equipment.
Imaging equipment, dental chairs, vet diagnostic gear, sterilisation systems, treatment tables, exam equipment, IT systems, practice fitouts. Specialist medical lenders on panel with appetite for new and established practices.
If it's a tangible asset that helps your business make money, we'll find a lender for it.
Six things every business owner should understand before signing an equipment finance contract.
Three structures cover most equipment finance in Australia.
Chattel mortgage — you own the asset from day one, the lender holds a mortgage over it as security. You claim the GST upfront, depreciate the asset, deduct the interest. The most common structure for GST-registered businesses, and usually the cheapest in pricing terms.
Hire purchase — the lender owns the asset and "rents" it to you. You take ownership at the end for a small final payment. Common for vehicles and heavy machinery, with similar tax treatment to a chattel mortgage from the borrower's view.
Finance lease or operating lease — the lender owns the asset and you lease it for a fixed term. The lender claims depreciation, GST is claimed progressively on the lease payments, and you usually return or buy out the asset at the end. Most useful for tech that becomes outdated quickly or assets you don't want on the balance sheet.
We'll always recommend the structure that gives your business the strongest after-tax outcome — confirmed with your accountant before settlement.
The Australian Government's instant asset write-off lets eligible small businesses claim the full cost of an asset (under a threshold) against this year's profit, rather than depreciating it over years. The current threshold is $20,000 per asset, applying to assets first used or installed ready for use before 30 June 2026.
From 1 July 2026, that threshold drops back to $1,000 — a meaningful change. If you're planning to acquire any business asset under $20,000 between now and end of June, structuring the finance properly to capture the write-off is worth real money in the year of purchase.
We work back from the 30 June deadline carefully — practical lodgement deadline for guaranteed pre-30-June settlement is typically the second week of June. Cutting it later than that is risk you don't want to take. Talk to your accountant on the specifics for your business.
Five things drive the rate, in roughly this order.
Asset class — primary assets like new vehicles, common machinery, and well-known equipment brands attract the lowest rates because they have strong resale markets. Specialised or niche equipment carries a premium.
Business trading history — established businesses (2+ years ABN, consistent BAS, healthy bank statements) get the sharpest pricing. Newer businesses are still fundable, just at slightly higher rates.
Asset age — new equipment generally prices lower than used; very old equipment (10+ years) can be harder to fund.
Loan size and term — larger amounts typically attract sharper rates; longer terms slightly higher than shorter.
The lender chosen — the difference between the right specialist lender for your asset class and a generic one can be 1–2% in rate alone. We optimise on all five.
A balloon payment is a large lump sum due at the end of the loan term, typically 20–40% of the original asset value. Including a balloon reduces your regular repayments throughout the term — useful for managing cash flow or matching repayments to project income.
The trade-off: at the end of the term, you either pay the balloon out of pocket, refinance it for another period, or sell the asset to clear it.
Balloons make sense when you plan to upgrade or sell the asset before the term ends (common for vehicles), or when monthly cash flow management is critical. They make less sense when you intend to keep the asset long-term and would prefer to clear the debt cleanly. We model both scenarios so you can see the total cost difference.
Equipment finance covers more than just dealer-fresh new gear. Used equipment from a dealer is typically straightforward — most lenders fund up to 8–10 years of asset age, with specialist heavy-vehicle and yellow-goods lenders comfortable funding 20+ year-old prime movers, trailers and earthmoving plant where the gear's still earning.
Private sales (buying gear directly from another business or operator) are also fundable, though the application takes a bit more work — we coordinate the inspection, valuation, and clear title verification before settlement.
Auction purchases are increasingly common for yellow goods and we have specific lenders comfortable with auction settlements where the timeline is tight. If you've found the right asset, we'll structure the finance for it regardless of where it's coming from.
Equipment finance is genuinely accessible to newer businesses — partly because the asset itself secures the loan, which lowers the lender's risk compared to unsecured lending.
Most specialist lenders will look at businesses with 12+ months of ABN history, consistent BAS lodgement, and healthy bank statements. Some go shorter. A first-time business buying its first major asset usually needs an accountant's letter and a clear explanation of how the asset generates revenue — that's a serviceability check, not a red flag.
If you've had bumpy trading or a credit blip, we work with specialist lenders who price for risk rather than declining outright. The rate is a touch higher, but the deal gets done. We'll tell you upfront where you sit.
How we got Mark's earthmoving business $578,000 of new gear funded and on site in 9 days.
Twenty-five staff, mostly local government and resource sector subcontracting. Mark had just been awarded a 14-month council infrastructure contract that needed gear his existing fleet didn't have: a 30-tonne excavator, a skid steer, a dozer attachment, and a specific set of laser-grade tools. Total spend across four different suppliers: $578,000. He had 18 days from contract signing to having the gear on site.
His main bank wanted to package the lot as a single secured business loan — $580,000 against his commercial workshop in Wangara as security, full financials, 4–6 weeks turnaround, and a single asset register over everything they were funding. That meant tying his property up, accepting a generic rate, and missing his mobilisation date.
By Friday we'd structured the gear across four separate chattel mortgages with four different specialist lenders — each one priced sharply for that specific asset class. The 30-tonne excavator went to a yellow-goods specialist that prices aggressively on near-new gear. The skid steer to a different lender that leads on compact equipment. The dozer attachment and laser tools were bundled with a third lender comfortable on smaller tooling deals. No property security on any of them. Conditional approvals came back from all four lenders within 36 hours. By the following Friday — nine business days from our first conversation — every asset was paid for and on site. The contract started on schedule.
Because each asset was financed independently as a chattel mortgage, Mark claimed the full $52,500 GST credit on his next BAS — money straight back into the business inside 60 days. The four assets were each priced to their own market, his commercial property stayed unencumbered, and the structure means he can refinance, upgrade, or trade individual pieces of gear without disturbing the others.
Composite scenario built from multiple real Pilbara Finance civil and earthmoving contractor transactions. Names, locations and identifying details are illustrative; the timeline, structure and pricing reflect the kind of outcomes our specialist equipment lender panel produces in 2026.
The questions every business owner asks when they're about to sign for new gear.
Real reviews from real Google. No curated screenshots, no cherry-picked quotes.
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Send through the supplier quote and a few details about your business — we'll come back same day with the loan amount, the structure we'd recommend, and the sharpest rate available across our specialist lender panel. Most clean deals are conditionally approved in 24–48 hours and settled inside a week.
"Four assets across four lenders and the gear was on site in nine days. Couldn't have asked for a sharper outcome."
Trade utes, prime movers, fleets, and specialised vehicles — funded with the asset as security.
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