Work Vehicle Finance for Australian Trade Businesses

We finance work utes, vans, dual-cabs, trailers, mini-excavators, skid steers, EWPs, light plant and fitted-out mobile workshops across all major makes including Toyota, Ford, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen. New, used, demonstrator, dealer or private sale.

Pre-approval is typically inside 24 hours once you submit the form. Settlement timing then depends on the lender and asset details, with many Australian deals settling within a week of pre-approval.

No. Many of our lenders score the deal on your trade income and asset value rather than requiring property security. Non-property owners regularly settle work vehicle finance through Equifund.

Not always. $0 deposit is available for prime applications, especially for established trade businesses with an active job book or builder framework. Other deals may require a deposit depending on the asset, the lender and the loan term.

Yes. We finance dealer purchases, private sales, auctions and end-of-lease buyouts. The vehicle just needs to meet the lender's age and condition requirements.

Yes. Many Australian trade businesses refinance to access a better rate, restructure repayments around their income cycle, release equity from the asset, or consolidate multiple loans into one facility.

We have a panel of 80+ Australian lenders spanning major banks, specialist asset financiers and non-bank lenders that understand trade businesses and how work vehicle and equipment finance is structured. Your specialist matches your file to the right lender for the deal.

Yes. We regularly settle multi-vehicle deals for Australian trade fleets, often splitting the package across more than one lender to fit each asset and your overall structure.

Yes. Work utes, vans, trailers, mini-excavators, EWPs and light plant are all on the panel. Trailer or equipment security can be structured independently of your vehicle finance if that better suits the deal.

A chattel mortgage gives you immediate ownership of the vehicle while the lender holds it as security. You claim GST upfront and depreciate the vehicle for tax. It is the most common structure for established Australian trade businesses. A finance lease keeps the vehicle on the lender's books with set monthly payments and an optional residual paid at the end of the term. Useful for fleet operators managing income cycle against vehicle turnover. Your Australia-based trade finance specialist will recommend the structure that suits your business and tax position. Read the full chattel mortgage vs finance lease comparison.

Trade income recognition is how a specialist lender reads income from job invoices, progress claims and contractor payments rather than treating only PAYG salary as income. Bank credit templates often miss this. Specialist lenders read trade income accurately, which is why established Australian trade businesses frequently get approved on deals that mainstream banks decline.

Low-doc work vehicle finance is approval on a reduced documentation set, usually a Director declaration plus business activity statements or recent bank statements, rather than full financials. It is faster to process and common for established trade businesses in Australia who would rather not produce two years of full tax returns for a single vehicle purchase.

Pre-approval is a conditional finance approval issued before you commit to a vehicle. It sets the maximum loan amount, indicative rate, term and repayment structure so you can negotiate with dealers, private sellers or auction houses on solid ground. Equifund pre-approvals are typically issued within 24 hours of form submission.

An Australian Credit Licence (ACL) is a licence issued by ASIC permitting a business to engage in credit activities under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act. Equifund holds Australian Credit Licence 389328. Working with an ACL holder is a baseline regulatory protection for the borrower and a baseline trust signal for any Australian finance provider.

Yes. Specialist trade and small-business lenders on our panel routinely score work vehicle finance on ABN, BAS, bank statements and the active builder framework or job book, rather than requiring three years of full tax returns. Established trade businesses (typically 2+ years trading ABN) qualify.

Yes. Lenders on our panel routinely assess multi-trade fleets (plumbing, electrical, HVAC, building services) on consolidated BAS and the active job book across all entities, treated as one business case rather than separate applications per entity.

Yes. Specialist trade lenders structure the chattel mortgage term, balloon and repayment cycle to match the builder framework's renewal cycle and progress-claim schedule, so repayments fit how the framework actually pays.