Funding that smooths fees arriving every term into one predictable repayment.
Funding available within 2 business days.
Loans from $5K to $100K.
Access to over 90+ bank, non-bank, and private lenders
Your finance broker for fast, same-week settlements.
Private school fees arrive in large instalments at the start of each term, and they land at the same time as uniforms, camps, devices, and everything else. The total across a year is predictable, the cash flow is not. Education finance turns those lumpy invoices into one repayment you can budget for, and for families with several children or several years to go, the structure matters more than the rate. Joseph Farhat and his team will look at the whole picture rather than the next invoice.
Before you borrow: options worth checking first
Most schools have more flexibility than their invoice suggests. Many offer a direct debit plan spreading fees across ten or twelve months at no additional cost, which is cheaper than any loan and often not advertised, so it is worth asking the business office directly. Schools commonly have bursaries, scholarships, and confidential fee assistance for families experiencing hardship, and those are usually assessed quietly on application. For tertiary study, an eligible Commonwealth supported place or a HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP loan is almost always cheaper than commercial finance, and the provider or Study Assist can confirm eligibility. We will still be here if a loan is the right answer.
Who we can help access finance
•Parents covering private or independent school fees across one or several children.
•Families facing a large first-year cost, including enrolment, uniforms, devices, and building levies.
•Parents whose income is irregular, so the term invoice does not always line up with a good month.
•Self-employed borrowers and ABN holders whose income is real but takes longer to evidence.
•Families funding a boarding component, where the annual figure is substantially higher.
•Adults funding a postgraduate course, professional qualification, or trade certification not covered by HELP.
•Parents funding a school exchange, tour, or a year abroad.
•Families who have had a change in circumstances mid-year and need to bridge to the end of the school year.
How Education Finance Works
This is funded with a standard unsecured personal loan rather than a specialist education product, and the funds are paid to you so you can settle invoices as they arrive. The structural question is how far ahead to fund. Borrowing one year at a time keeps the balance low but means a new application each year, with a new enquiry and no guarantee of approval if circumstances change. Funding several years costs more in interest but locks in certainty. For families with substantial home equity, releasing it prices far lower than any personal loan, and for a multi-year commitment that difference compounds significantly. Joseph Farhat and his team will price the realistic options against your actual schedule.
What Lenders Assess
•Income and capacity: the repayment has to fit alongside your existing commitments, including any mortgage.
•Credit profile: personal lending is risk-priced, so your file drives the rate you are offered.
•Existing commitments: other loans, card limits, and buy-now-pay-later accounts all count.
•Number of dependants: children are counted in the living expense assessment, which matters when you are borrowing because of them.
•Amount and term: matching the term to the remaining years of schooling rather than the longest available.
•Purpose: stated as education is sufficient. Lenders do not require the school's details or your child's enrolment record.
•Equity available: for families with property, an equity release is a materially different pricing tier and worth assessing.
The Process: What to Expect
1.Talk to Joseph Farhat and his team about the annual fees, how many years remain, and your income. We will ask whether you have spoken to the school about a payment plan or fee assistance first.
2.Provide the basics: identification, recent bank statements or payslips, and the fee schedule if you have it.
3.We work out whether to fund one year or several, and price a personal loan against an equity release if you own property, with the total cost of each set out.
4.We match your profile to the lenders most likely to approve it and lodge one application rather than several.
5.Funds are released to you, usually within two business days, so you can settle each term invoice as it arrives.
Indicative Finance Options
Route
Pricing
Typical Amount
Loan Term
Suits
Speed to Funding
School direct debit plan
Usually no additional cost
One year of fees
10 to 12 months
Smoothing a single year
Immediate
Personal loan
Priced for flexibility
$5K to $75K
1 to 7 years
One to two years of fees
Within 2 business days
Equity release
Sharpest available pricing
$20K to $250K
Remaining mortgage term
A multi-year commitment
2 to 6 weeks
Indicative figures only. Actual terms depend on your circumstances and lender assessment at the time of application. We quote your rate and comparison rate for your specific loan amount and term before you apply. Terms are subject to change.
Why borrowers choose Settled With Joe for education finance
•We represent you, not the lender: Joseph Farhat and his team act in your interest, and on consumer lending that is a legal duty, not a slogan.
•Ask the school first: a direct debit plan across the year usually costs nothing, and bursaries and fee assistance exist at most schools and are rarely advertised.
•We look at the whole commitment, not the next invoice: with several years or several children ahead, the structure decides the total far more than the rate does.
•Equity changes the arithmetic on a multi-year commitment: for homeowners, the pricing gap compounds across years in a way a single-year comparison hides.
•One conversation, not five applications: funding year by year means repeated applications, and each one is recorded on your credit file.
•No enrolment detail required: lenders fund the amount, not the school. We do not ask for your child's records and neither do they.
•90+ lenders on one panel: bank, non-bank, and specialist, so a clean file gets a sharp rate and a complex one still has options.
•Usually no direct cost to you: as a broker we are typically paid by the lender on settlement.
•An honest answer early: if the fee commitment is not sustainable across the years remaining, we will say so rather than fund the next invoice.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is funding used to cover school or course fees and the associated costs. In practice it is a standard unsecured personal loan, or for homeowners an equity release, rather than a specialist education product. The funds are paid to you so you can settle invoices directly as each term or semester falls due, and the loan is repaid over a fixed term with fixed repayments.
Yes, and it is the first thing worth doing. Most independent and private schools offer a direct debit arrangement spreading annual fees across ten or twelve months, frequently at no additional cost, which will beat any loan. Many also have bursaries, scholarships, and confidential fee assistance for families whose circumstances have changed, assessed on application through the business office. Schools generally prefer to keep a student enrolled on an arrangement than lose them, and these conversations are more common than parents assume.
It depends on how many years remain and how stable your income is. Funding one year at a time keeps the balance low, but means a fresh application each year with a new credit enquiry and no guarantee of approval if your circumstances change. Funding several years costs more in interest and removes that uncertainty. For families with four or five years and multiple children ahead, an equity release usually beats both on total cost. We will model the realistic options against your actual schedule.
Yes. Lenders assess the total amount and your capacity to repay it, not how it is allocated between children. A single facility covering the household's fees is usually simpler than separate loans, and generally cheaper than several small ones because of how establishment fees work. It also means one repayment to budget for rather than several with different dates.
No. Funds are released to you and you pay the school as you normally would, which keeps you in control of the timing and lets you settle uniforms, camps, and levies from the same facility. It also means the school has no involvement in your finance arrangements at all, which many parents prefer.
You can, but check the government options first, because they are almost always cheaper. An eligible Commonwealth supported place with HECS-HELP, or FEE-HELP for eligible full-fee courses, is indexed rather than charged commercial interest and is repaid through the tax system only once your income passes a threshold. Study Assist and the education provider can confirm your eligibility. Commercial finance generally makes sense for courses that fall outside HELP, such as some professional qualifications, short courses, and overseas study.
Every credit application is recorded on your file, and several in a short window read poorly to the next lender. This matters more than usual here because funding year by year means a fresh application annually, and those accumulate. If a home loan or refinance is on the horizon, that pattern of enquiries is visible to the mortgage lender. We work out the right structure and lender before anything is lodged.
A comparison rate combines the interest rate with the standard fees into a single figure so two loans can be compared honestly. It matters here because the routes on this page price on completely different tiers, from a school plan at no cost through to an equity release at mortgage rates, so a single headline number would be actively misleading. A comparison rate is also only meaningful for a specific amount and term. We quote your rate and comparison rate for your real structure.
Yes, we do. A default, an old arrears listing, or a thin credit file does not rule you out, and it is not something we will make you feel awkward about. Most people carrying a listing picked it up during a period they did not plan for. Several lenders on our panel assess your current capacity rather than the credit file alone, and price for it rather than decline it. Telling us early lets us approach the right lender first instead of adding enquiries to your file.
Yes. When we provide credit assistance on consumer lending we owe you a best interests duty. We make reasonable enquiries into your financial situation, requirements, and objectives, and we must not suggest or help you apply for a loan that is unsuitable for you. On this page that duty is why we point you to the school plan, bursaries, and HELP before we set out the loans, and why we look at the whole remaining commitment rather than the next invoice. Before we provide credit assistance you will receive our Credit Guide.
Because the next invoice is not the problem, the next five years are. Most of the people we help are parents part-way through a schooling commitment, facing a term invoice that has arrived at an awkward moment, and thinking about it one bill at a time. There is no judgement in the conversation and we do not ask about your child or the school. What matters is the annual figure, how many years remain, and whether you have equity, because a multi-year commitment funded on unsecured debt costs dramatically more than the same commitment funded against a property. We will point you to the school plan and any bursary first, because those cost nothing. Our panel covers 90+ bank, non-bank, and specialist lenders. We are based in Sydney and work with borrowers Australia-wide. Joseph Farhat and his team will tell you honestly and early what is achievable.
No. We do not guide you on your finances, nor give financial advice. We focus on outcomes and solutions of presenting your unique scenario to the right lender so you can access funding in a timely and compliant manner.
Yes. Settled With Joe is based in Sydney but arranges personal finance Australia-wide, covering both metro and regional areas. We work with clients in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Canberra, as well as regional areas including Newcastle, Wollongong, Geelong, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and Toowoomba. Lender appetite does not vary by location on this product, though school fee levels and available bursaries differ considerably between schools and states. Joseph Farhat and his team will identify which lenders on the panel are the best fit for your situation.
Enquire today. We will get back to you within 3 business hours.
No credit check. No obligation.
Why Settled With Joe?
✓Specialist commercial and personal finance broker
✓90+ lender panel across bank, non-bank, and private
✓Loans from $20,000 to $10,000,000
✓Urgent finance within days
✓Financing complex and unique scenarios for both personal and business scenarios
Great experience working with Joseph during my home loan application. He was knowledgeable, responsive, and made the whole process clear and stress-free. I really appreciated his support and would happily recommend him to anyone needing help with property matters.
Getting a loan was difficult for me but not only did Joe get the loan done, he came from a place of understanding. Highly recommend and when I need to refinance at any stage I know who to see.
Joe was awesome to deal with. Super knowledgeable, easy to talk to, and made the whole process smooth and stress-free. He explained everything clearly and worked hard to get the best outcome for us. Highly recommend Settled with Joe if you're looking for reliability, transparency and quality.
Great experience dealing with Joe. His knowledge and expertise made everything seem so easy. Thanks for getting things done. Looking forward to getting another one done with you. Highly recommend.
Great mortgage broker. I have worked with Joe across multiple loans and never had any issues — efficient, professional and always gets you a great deal!
Highly recommend Settled with Joe if you're looking for a mortgage broker who actually makes the whole process easy. Joe was professional, knowledgeable, and always available to answer questions. He handled everything smoothly from start to finish and helped secure a great outcome without the usual stress that comes with finance.
Great experience from start to finish. Joe was professional, responsive and transparent throughout the entire process. He explained everything clearly and made it easy to move forward with confidence. Highly recommend for anyone looking for reliable and trustworthy financial services.
