Michael Killiner of Tusk Finance has never been afraid of the hard graft required to succeed in the Western Australian broker market.

After launching his own brand two years ago, the Subiaco-based broker has grown his brokerage into a high-volume business, writing over 320 loans a year while embracing a "give first" philosophy to win over referral partners.

Annie Kane catches up with the multi-finalist for the Better Business Awards Western Australia to discuss his approach to leadership, why he believes the number of brokers in the industry will shrink, and how he uses video technology to provide ultimate transparency to his clients.

Tune in to find out:

• How he built a "spider web" of referrals reaching from Perth to Sydney and Canberra.
• Why he uses video tools for every single client interaction and team training session.
• His advice for new-to-industry brokers on surviving the first two years of business.

And much more!

Cost-of-living pressures and fuel supply chain constraints continue to weigh on the mortgage market following the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) second interest rate hike in 2026.

This week, the central bank offered a glimpse at its thinking, noting most mortgagors still have sufficient buffers to withstand tougher conditions. But questions remain about how resilient households will be if rates rise further and fuel prices continue to spike.

In this week's episode of The Adviser's What's Making Headlines podcast, Charlie Tchetchenian and Ben Squires analyse the RBA's March 2026 Financial Stability Review and what it signals for borrowers amid the latest inflation data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

They also review key developments across the mortgage and finance sector, including Recludo's latest acquisition, a Connective survey on broker AI adoption, and a warning from FICO's Corey Smith that the rise in fraudulent income documents and AI-generated paperwork has escalated the issue into what is now an industry-wide challenge.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Adviser team

As the mortgage landscape undergoes rapid digital transformation, lenders are increasingly leveraging automation, AI, and insurance to deliver a more seamless, efficient experience for brokers and their clients.

In this episode of In Focus, sponsored by First Title, Annie Kane speaks with Chris Evans, general manager of sales and relationships at First Title, and Darren McLeod, head of third party and lending solutions at Beyond Bank, to unpack how innovation in lending technology is reducing friction in the settlement process and helping lenders scale consistently.

Tune in to find out:

• How First Title is helping lenders process a refinance within a single day.
• The importance of high-quality API data in ensuring a human-touch-free journey from approval to funding.
• First Title's move to overcome the certificate of currency delays.

And much more!