Researcher links the trend to reduced borrowing capacity
Nearly one in five Australians say they have used artificial intelligence (AI) to create or alter documents for a home loan, according to a new survey that highlights a growing verification challenge for lenders and brokers.
The OurTop10 AI Mortgage Document Survey found that 18% of 1,018 respondents said they had used AI on home loan paperwork. PureProfile ran the survey for OurTop10 using a nationally representative sample.
Bank statements the main target
Bank statements were the documents respondents most often reported creating or altering with AI, cited by 10%. Employment documents followed at 9%, and payslips or other proof of income at 6%.
A further 3% said they had used AI on a competing lender’s rate offer, often used to negotiate pricing. Respondents could select more than one document type, so the figures overlap.
Younger Australians far more likely
The behaviour was concentrated among younger respondents. More than half of Gen Z (56%) and just over a third of Millennials (36%) said they had used AI on loan documents. That is roughly three times and twice the national rate.
“Younger generations may be more comfortable using AI in their day-to-day lives,” said Mansour Soltani (pictured), head of research at OurTop10.
Borrowing pressure and detection gaps
Soltani linked the trend to higher interest rates. He said those rates are reducing borrowing capacity, particularly for first-home buyers, and leaving some existing borrowers unable to qualify for a refinance. Some borrowers respond by inflating their income or understating their expenses.
“AI tools are evolving faster than many lenders’ ability to detect false documents, and some are still relying on legacy verification systems that weren’t built for this,” he said.
Lenders are already counting the cost of fraud. Since Commonwealth Bank reported suspected home loan fraud to police in February 2026, the estimated exposure across the five biggest lenders has reportedly grown to about $4bn.
Soltani backed consent-based data sharing between the Australian Taxation Office and banks. That would let lenders check declared income against an independent government source, “rather than relying on a PDF that can be altered in seconds with AI”.
The major banks have made the same case. In July 2026, they told a Senate committee they wanted secure access to tax data. Australian Banking Association chief executive Simon Birmingham raised concerns that payslips and bank statements are still commonly handed over on paper or as emailed PDFs. Senator Andrew Bragg, who chaired the hearing, said any reform would only work if mortgage brokers embraced it.
OurTop10’s report warns that altering a payslip or bank statement is fraud. It can lead to a declined application, a loan being called in after settlement, or criminal charges.
