Here is the uncomfortable truth first: most unsecured business lending in Australia is assessed on trading history, and a new business does not have any. Lenders price risk off evidence that the business earns money, so the product most new operators search for first, the unsecured working capital loan, is usually the last one to become available. That does not mean a startup has no options. It means the options are different, they open up in a rough sequence, and knowing which door to knock on first saves months of declined applications.
Can a new business get a loan in Australia?
Yes, but usually not the unsecured loan most people search for first. The routes that work from day one run through assets or security: equipment and vehicle finance, where the asset itself secures the loan, or property-backed lending. Unsecured products generally open up only once a business can show a real run of trading.
The rest of this article sequences those routes by when they realistically become available: what you can pursue at day one, what opens up with trading behind you, and what to prepare in the meantime so you are ready when it does. Our business loans page carries the short version of this answer; this is the long one.
Why do lenders care about trading history?
Because business lending is priced on evidence of repayment capacity, and a new ABN has not produced any yet. That is arithmetic, not unfairness. An established business hands a lender bank statements showing money arriving month after month. A startup hands over a forecast, and lenders have read a great many optimistic forecasts. So with no trading evidence to assess, attention shifts to what does exist: the value of an asset being financed, security you can offer, your experience in the industry, and your personal financial position as director. Every day-one route below works because it leans on one of those four things instead of the missing trading history.
What can a startup finance from day one?
The strongest honest route for most new businesses is asset finance: equipment finance and vehicle finance. The reason it works from day one is structural. The asset itself secures the loan, so the financier is not relying purely on your trading history; if things go wrong, there is a machine, a vehicle or a fit-out with resale value standing behind the debt. The loan carries its own security, so a lighter file can carry the loan.
Financiers still assess every application, and for a new ABN they typically weigh three things. Your capacity to put in a deposit. Your experience in the industry you are entering: a chef opening a kitchen reads very differently from a first-timer. And often your personal asset position. A director guarantee is standard in this territory, which means you personally stand behind the debt: understand that before signing, not after. Strong answers on those three improve how a file reads. The financier still makes the final call on every application.
Can security substitute for trading history?
Yes, and this is the second day-one route: secured business lending, most commonly backed by property. Security changes the lender's question from "will this new business earn enough?" to "is the security sound?", and that is a question a startup can actually answer.
Say the risk plainly, though: the security is genuinely at stake. If the business does not work out, the lender can enforce against the property, and for many people offering it, that property is their home. Borrowing against the family home to fund an unproven business is one of the larger financial decisions a person can make, and it deserves independent advice, not just a product comparison. We arrange these facilities, and we also regularly talk people through the reasons they might wait.
What opens up once you have trading history?
The products startups usually want first, unsecured loans, a business line of credit and invoice finance, are assessed on trading evidence, so they open up once there is trading to show. Lenders set their own minimum trading periods, the minimums vary widely by lender and product, and some will move earlier for a strong file. The thresholds are theirs, not ours: ask, or ask a broker who tracks current criteria, before assuming you are out. Our line of credit page covers the startup question for that product specifically.
What you do while you wait decides whether the first eligible month is usable or wasted. When lenders do look at a young file, they look at the quality of the evidence, so build it deliberately:
- Separate business banking from day one. A dedicated account with clean, readable statements is the file. Personal and business transactions mixed together read as risk.
- Lodge BAS on time. Lodgement history is independent evidence that the business is real and organised, and tax debt without a payment plan is a common reason files stall.
- Invoice promptly and keep records tidy. Consistent revenue, however modest, tells a better story than a strong month surrounded by silence.
- Protect your personal credit. While the business has no history, yours is standing in for it.
When those products do open up, choosing between them is its own decision: our guide to working capital finance walks through matching the tool to the shape of the gap.
Is there government support for new businesses?
State and federal programs supporting new businesses exist, from grants to subsidised advisory services, and they change often enough that naming one here would date this page quickly. Check your state government's business portal and business.gov.au for what is currently open, and read eligibility criteria closely: many programs fund specific activities rather than general working capital. To be clear about our lane, we are a finance brokerage, not a grants adviser, so treat this as a signpost rather than guidance.
Which startup loan offers should you be careful with?
Startups attract a particular flavour of marketing: products pitched with phrases like "ABN only", "no documents" and approval language that sounds close to a promise. Read these offers the way you would read anything selling certainty about credit. No legitimate lender can promise approval before assessing an application. An offer that skips assessment is pricing that risk somewhere, usually in the cost. And "everyone welcome" marketing tells you about the target market, not about your odds. It is the same discipline we apply on our bad credit business loans page: the less a product asks about you, the more closely you should ask about it. Fast and easy is not automatically bad, but it is never free.
How does a broker actually help a startup?
Mostly by not wasting your file. Every lender has criteria, and a startup fits fewer of them than an established business does. Applying to lenders whose criteria you cannot meet costs time, and a cluster of credit enquiries in a short window can itself make a file read worse. A broker's value at this stage is matching before applying: knowing which financiers currently have appetite for new ABNs in your industry, what they will want to see, and whether your file is ready now or would present better with a few more months of evidence behind it. Sometimes the most useful output is a sequencing plan: start with the asset finance that is feasible now, run the business banking cleanly, and come back for the working capital facility once there is trading to show. What a broker cannot do is promise an outcome. We prepare and present your application; the lender assesses it, and the lender decides.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a business loan with just an ABN?
An ABN alone is registration, not evidence, so unsecured lending on nothing but an ABN is rare, and offers marketed that way deserve careful reading. What a new ABN holder can realistically pursue is asset finance, where the equipment or vehicle secures the loan, or property-secured lending. Either way, the lender assesses the application and the lender decides.
How long does my business need to be trading to get a loan?
Each lender sets its own minimum trading period, and the minimums vary widely by lender and product. Asset finance can be feasible from day one because the asset carries the security, while unsecured loans, lines of credit and invoice finance generally want a real run of trading first. Check the specific lender's current criteria before applying rather than assuming.
Can I get a startup loan with no security?
Honestly, it is hard. With no trading history and no security, a lender has little to assess beyond a forecast and your personal position. The realistic day-one routes are asset finance, where the purchase itself secures the loan, or lending secured against property. Unsecured startup lending exists at the margins, but treat it as the exception, not the plan.
Does my personal credit history matter for a startup loan?
Yes, more than at any later stage. With no business track record to assess, the director's position is most of the file: your credit history, your assets, your industry experience and your deposit. Check your own credit report before applying and resolve anything fixable, because for a startup, you are effectively the borrower being assessed.
Can I use equipment finance to start a business?
Often, yes. It is the most common first facility for new businesses that need gear to trade, from a tradie's ute to a kitchen or gym fit-out, because the equipment secures the loan. Financiers will weigh your deposit, industry experience and personal position, and usually require a director guarantee. Approval is the financier's decision on each file.
Talk it through before you apply anywhere
A startup file is a conversation, not a form. The right first move depends on what you are buying, what you can put in and how soon you genuinely need to trade. Book a call and we will map which routes are realistic for your situation now, and what to prepare so the next ones open sooner. Prefer to start online? Our eligibility check gives you a guide to where you might stand. It is a guide only, not an approval or an offer, and every lender makes its own assessment.
121 Brokers is a finance brokerage, not a lender. General information only, not financial advice and not a recommendation of any product. Lending criteria vary by lender and change over time; every lender assesses each application on its own facts and makes its own decision. Consider your circumstances, including any security you would be offering, and seek independent professional advice where appropriate.
