Certificate of Independent Legal Advice
Your Lender Won’t Settle Without It. We Can Sign It This Week.
- Signed certificates of independent legal advice accepted by all major Australian lenders.
- Guarantors, SMSF trustees, company directors, trustees and co-borrowers.
- Appointments usually same-day or next business day — in person, by phone or by video.
- Certificate returned to you, your broker and your lender the same day it is signed.
- Fixed fee, quoted before we start. No hourly billing.
What the certificate is
A Lawyer’s Signature That Says You Understood What You Signed
A certificate of independent legal advice is a short document signed by a solicitor confirming that they explained a guarantee, mortgage or loan document to you, that you understood it, and that you signed it freely — without pressure from the borrower, the lender or anyone else.
It is not advice about whether the deal is a good idea financially. It is a record that the legal consequences were properly explained to you by someone acting for you alone, before you were bound by them.
Lenders ask for it because, without it, a guarantee can be difficult to enforce. You should want it for the opposite reason: because it is the one point in the process where somebody sits down with you and tells you, plainly, what you are actually risking.
We must be genuinely independent. We cannot certify for you if we also act for the borrower, the fund or the lender on the same transaction. That independence is the whole point of the document.
Talk to UsThis page explains the legal effect of guarantees and loan documents. It is not financial, tax or credit advice. Whether a loan or guarantee suits your circumstances is a question for your accountant, financial adviser or credit adviser, and we will tell you when you need one.
When it’s required
When a Lender Asks for a Certificate
If you are taking on someone else’s debt, or borrowing through a structure rather than in your own name, expect to be asked for one. These are the situations we see every week.
Family or parental guarantees
A parent guarantees a child’s home loan, often securing it against the family home. The lender will almost always require the guarantor to obtain independent legal advice before the guarantee is signed.
SMSF borrowing (LRBA)
Where a self-managed super fund borrows to buy property under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement, lenders routinely require certificates for the fund’s trustee directors and for any personal guarantors.
Director’s guarantees
Company and business borrowing is usually supported by personal guarantees from directors. If you are signing away personal assets to support a company debt, the lender will want evidence you understood that.
Trustee and trust borrowing
Where a trustee borrows on behalf of a discretionary or unit trust, the trustee’s personal exposure and the trust deed’s borrowing power both need to be explained — and certified.
Co-borrowers who get no benefit
If you are named on a loan but receive none of the money — a spouse, a family member, a silent partner — you are in substance a guarantor. Lenders and courts treat that situation with particular care.
Gifts, related-party and below-value transfers
Where property moves between family members or related entities, or a deposit is gifted rather than lent, a lender may ask for a certificate confirming the transferor or donor understood what they were giving up.
Not sure which of these you are? Send us the document and we’ll tell you.
Get In TouchWho we act for
Who We Certify For
Guarantors
Most often parents helping a child into their first home, but also spouses, siblings and business partners. We explain exactly what the lender can come after, and in what order.
- What you are guaranteeing, and for how much
- Whether it is limited or unlimited
- What happens if the borrower defaults
- Whether your own home is at risk
- How and when the guarantee ends
SMSF trustees & members
Limited recourse borrowing is its own world — a bare trust, a custodian, and a loan whose recourse is meant to stop at the property. We explain where the limit really sits.
- How the bare trust and custodian fit together
- What “limited recourse” does and does not protect
- What any personal guarantee adds on top
- What the fund is committing to
- When to send you back to your adviser
Directors & trustees
A director’s guarantee turns a company debt into your debt. We make sure you know that before you sign, not after the company stops paying.
- Personal exposure behind a company loan
- All-monies and continuing guarantees
- Whether the trust deed permits the borrowing
- Indemnities buried in the security documents
- What happens if you resign as a director
Whoever is asking you to sign, we act only for you.
Book a ConsultationWhy it exists
What the Certificate Is Actually Protecting
Australian courts have repeatedly set aside guarantees signed by people who did not understand them, or who signed under pressure from someone close to them. The certificate exists because of those cases.
Signing without understanding
In Commercial Bank of Australia v Amadio, the High Court set aside a guarantee given by parents who did not fully understand what they had signed. Where a lender takes advantage of a special disadvantage, the guarantee can be unenforceable.
Pressure from someone you trust
In Garcia v National Australia Bank, a wife who guaranteed her husband’s business debt, received no benefit, and did not understand the transaction, had the guarantee set aside. Trust is exactly what makes these guarantees risky.
The lender’s own obligations
Under the Banking Code of Practice, subscribing banks must give guarantors information and time, and must tell them to consider independent legal advice. The certificate is how the lender records that this happened.
Guarantees far wider than expected
Many guarantees are “all monies” and continuing — they cover not just today’s loan but future advances, and they keep running until formally released. People routinely think they are guaranteeing one loan.
Your home as the security
A guarantee supported by a mortgage over your own home is a different risk from a guarantee of income. We make sure you know which one you are giving, and what a default would mean for where you live.
No way out
Guarantors often assume they can withdraw once the borrower is on their feet. Usually you cannot — not without the lender’s consent or a refinance. We tell you what your exit actually looks like.
Understand the risk before you carry it, not after.
Talk to UsHow it works
From Documents to Signed Certificate
Send us the documents
Email the guarantee, loan offer, mortgage and any related security or trust documents — usually straight from your broker or the lender. We confirm the fixed fee before we start.
We read them first
We review the documents before your appointment so the time is spent explaining what matters to you, not reading in front of you.
Your appointment, on your own
Usually same-day or next business day, in person, by phone or by video. The borrower does not attend — that is a requirement, not a preference, and it exists for your protection.
We sign and witness
Once we are satisfied you understand the document and are signing freely, we complete the lender’s certificate and witness your signature where required.
Returned the same day
The signed certificate goes to you, your broker and the lender the same day, so settlement or funding is not held up.
If we can’t certify
Occasionally we conclude someone does not understand the transaction, or is under pressure. We will say so rather than sign. That is uncomfortable, and it is the entire value of an independent certificate.
Working to a settlement date? Tell us the deadline and we’ll work to it.
Book a ConsultationA Fixed Fee, Quoted Before We Start
Independent legal advice is charged as a single fixed fee, confirmed in writing before your appointment. There is no hourly billing and no charge for the follow-up call if you need one. Our full fee list is published — including conveyancing, contract reviews, strata review, leasing and SMSF structuring.
See Our Pricing Get a QuoteWhy Choose Corporate Legal
Genuinely independent
We act for you and no one else on the transaction — not the borrower, not the fund, not the lender. Without that, the certificate is worth nothing.
A solicitor, every time
Your advice comes from a qualified property lawyer who deals with guarantees, SMSF borrowing and security documents daily.
Fast when it’s urgent
Most appointments are available same-day or next business day, and the certificate is returned the day it is signed.
Accepted by lenders
We complete the lender’s own certificate in the form they require, so it isn’t bounced back to you two days before settlement.
Plain English
You will leave knowing what you have guaranteed, what it is secured against, and what happens if the borrower stops paying.
Australia-wide
We advise guarantors, trustees and directors across NSW, VIC, QLD and WA, in person or remotely.
Need a certificate signed this week?
Book a ConsultationRelated Services
Independent Legal Advice
The full picture on when independent advice is required and what we cover. Learn more →
SMSF Bare Trust & Custodian Setup
The structure your fund needs in place before it can borrow. Learn more →
Title & Ownership Changes
Transfers between spouses, family members and related parties. Learn more →
If the guarantee supports a purchase we can also handle the conveyancing, review the contract before you sign, and set up the SMSF structure if the fund is borrowing — all under one fixed fee arrangement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a certificate of independent legal advice?
Why does my lender insist on it?
How quickly can I get one?
Can the borrower come with me to the appointment?
Can you certify if you already act for the borrower?
Does the certificate mean you are advising me to sign?
What documents do you need from me?
Do you provide certificates for SMSF limited recourse borrowing?
What if you decide you can’t sign the certificate?
Do you act outside New South Wales?
Still not sure what you’re being asked to sign?
Ask Us DirectlyDon’t Sign Until You Understand It
A guarantee is one of the few documents you can sign that puts your own home behind someone else’s debt. Before you do, spend half an hour with a lawyer who acts only for you — and get the certificate your lender needs at the same time.
Book a Consultation Call 02 7813 4754Corporate Legal provides legal advice on the effect of guarantees, mortgages and loan and security documents. We do not provide financial, taxation or credit advice, and nothing on this page is a recommendation to enter into or decline any credit facility. Case references are provided as general background only.