Quick answer
An assets and liabilities statement is a signed, dated list of everything you and your business own and owe. In a low doc loan it stands in for the balance sheet that financial statements would normally provide. Lenders check each line against something independent, such as loan statements, bank statements, a valuation, your credit file or your ATO account, so realistic values and a complete list of debts matter more than a big net figure.
Key points
- With no financials, the assets and liabilities statement is the lender's balance sheet.
- Every line gets checked against something independent, so estimates need to be defensible.
- Credit cards are usually assessed on the limit, not the balance owing.
- ATO debt and personal guarantees are the liabilities most often left off.
- Joint assets should show your share and say who the co-owner is.
Somewhere in almost every low doc application there’s a form that looks like an afterthought: two columns, “assets” and “liabilities”, and a line for your signature. Plenty of owners fill it in from memory in five minutes, with round numbers.
That’s a mistake, because when your financial statements are missing, this form is doing a far bigger job than it looks. It’s the closest thing the lender has to a balance sheet. Get it right and it quietly supports everything else in the file. Get it wrong and it creates questions you’ll spend a week answering.
Why does this one form matter so much in a low doc loan?
A full doc application comes with accountant-prepared financial statements, and those include a balance sheet. business.gov.au describes a balance sheet as showing your assets (“what you own”) and liabilities (“what you owe”) at a point in time, with net assets worked out by subtracting one from the other.
When those financials don’t exist, or are a year or two out of date, the lender still needs that picture. Your BAS and bank statements show money moving. They don’t show what you’ve built up, what you owe elsewhere, or whether one bad quarter would tip you over. The assets and liabilities statement fills that gap.
It answers three questions an analyst always asks:
- What else do you owe, and what does it cost you each month? That feeds straight into whether a new repayment fits.
- Is there a cushion? Cash, equity and saleable assets show you can ride out a slow period.
- Is the security real? For property-secured loans, it shows the equity before the valuation confirms it.
What does a lender actually check on each line?
Nothing on this form is taken on trust. Each line is matched to something independent. Knowing what that is tells you how to fill the line in.
| Line on the form | How a lender tests it |
|---|---|
| Home or investment property value | Their own valuation (full or desktop) for secured loans; recent local sales otherwise |
| Mortgage balance and repayment | Latest home loan statement, credit file |
| Cash at bank | Your bank statements for the same date |
| Vehicles and equipment | Registration papers, purchase invoices, finance contracts |
| Shares and managed funds | Recent holding statement |
| Superannuation | Latest 30 June balance in ATO online services (usually given little weight) |
| Business stock and debtors | Stocktake summary, aged receivables report |
| Car, equipment and personal loans | Loan statements, credit file |
| Credit cards and overdrafts | Credit file, card statements (assessed on the limit) |
| Tax debt | ATO account statement, payment plan letter |
| Personal guarantees | Guarantee documents, company searches |
If a line can’t be backed by anything, expect a question about it. That doesn’t make it worthless; it just means it carries less weight than a line with a statement behind it.
Which assets carry the most weight?
Not all assets are equal in a lender’s eyes. What matters is how reliable the value is and how easily it could be turned into cash.
Property sits at the top. It’s valued independently, it’s registered, and it can be used as security. For a lot of owners whose paperwork is behind, property equity is the single strongest piece of evidence they have. Our page on property equity as evidence explains why it can outweigh missing returns.
Cash comes next, as long as the statements show it. A balance that arrived the week before you applied, with no explanation, gets treated with caution. A balance that’s been building for months reads as genuine.
Vehicles, equipment and stock count, but at a discount. They lose value, and a forced sale rarely gets the price you paid. List what they’re realistically worth today, not the purchase price.
Superannuation is usually noted rather than relied on. The ATO says you can view the most recent 30 June balances reported by your funds through ATO online services, which makes it easy to fill in accurately. Just don’t expect it to move the needle.
Debtors owed to the business help if they’re backed by an aged receivables report. Debts that are 90+ days overdue are generally discounted heavily or ignored. If you keep your books in software, the reports lenders actually read include exactly this one.
Which liabilities do owners forget?
This is where most statements go wrong, and it’s almost never deliberate. People list the mortgage and the ute loan and forget the rest. The analyst then finds the missing items on the credit file or the bank statements, and the whole form starts to look unreliable.
The ones that get missed most often:
- Credit card limits. Many lenders assess a card on its full limit, not what you owe today, because you could draw it at any time. A $30k card with a $2k balance often counts as a $30k commitment. If you have cards you don’t use, closing them before you apply can help.
- Buy now, pay later and store finance. Small, but they show up in statements and on credit files.
- ATO debt. Including amounts on a payment plan. The ATO’s online services let businesses view account balances and transactions, so there’s no reason to guess. List the balance and the instalment, and attach the plan.
- Personal guarantees. If you’ve guaranteed a lease, a supplier account or another company’s loan, that’s a contingent liability. It may never be called on, but lenders want to know it exists.
- Director’s loan accounts and family loans. Money owed to relatives or to your own company. Lenders generally want to know if it’s expected to be repaid soon.
- Lease commitments. Equipment or vehicle leases that don’t feel like loans but behave like them.
A complete list of debts says more about you than a big net assets figure. It tells the lender that what you’ve written can be relied on, which matters a great deal when the rest of the file is lighter than usual.
If you’d like a second set of eyes on what your position supports before you fill in anyone’s form, start a short enquiry here and we’ll talk it through.
How should you put a value on things?
The rule is simple: write the number you could defend to a stranger.
- Property: base it on recent comparable sales in your street or suburb, not the best result in the area or what you hope it’s worth. For secured loans the lender’s valuation will come back with its own figure, and an estimate that lands close to it builds credibility.
- Vehicles and equipment: use a realistic private-sale or trade-in figure today.
- Stock: at cost, not retail, and only stock that’s actually saleable.
- Shares: the value on a recent statement, with the date.
- Joint assets: show the full value, your share and who the co-owner is. If you own a house with your partner, the lender needs to know, because they may need your partner involved if it’s used as security.
Round numbers are fine for estimates, but loan balances should be close to the latest statement. “Mortgage: about $400k” invites a question; “Mortgage: $412,600 as at 31 August” doesn’t.
What does a filled-in statement look like?
Illustrative example only; not a real business or client.
Dan is an electrician trading as a sole trader for nine years. His last two tax returns aren’t lodged because his bookkeeping fell behind, but his BAS are up to date. He wants $150k, secured by a second mortgage over his home, to buy a second van and carry stock for a run of commercial jobs.
| Assets | Value | Liabilities | Balance | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home (joint with partner, 50%) | $1,100,000 | Home loan (joint) | $520,000 | $3,600 |
| Business account | $38,000 | Van finance | $27,000 | $780 |
| Personal savings | $15,000 | Credit card (limit $15k) | $3,100 | — |
| Van and tools | $55,000 | ATO payment plan | $18,000 | $1,500 |
| Stock on hand (at cost) | $12,000 | Guarantee: supplier trade account | contingent | — |
| Super (30 June balance) | $96,000 |
He attaches the latest home loan and van finance statements, three months of business and personal bank statements, the ATO payment plan confirmation and a printout of his ATO account balance.
What an analyst sees: substantial equity in the home (both owners will need to sign), a modest and declared tax debt with a plan that’s being met, existing commitments that are easy to verify, and nothing hidden. Combined with consistent BAS and statements, that’s a file a low doc secured lender can work with. The overdue returns still matter, but they’re now a question of timing rather than a reason to stop.
What doesn’t this statement prove?
Be clear-eyed about its limits. An assets and liabilities statement shows your position on one date. It doesn’t show income, and it doesn’t show whether you can meet repayments.
So it never travels alone:
- For unsecured and cash-flow lending, typically $5,000 to $500,000, the size of the facility comes mainly from turnover and bank statements. Your statement of position supports that assessment; it doesn’t replace it.
- For property-secured lending, from $20,000 to $5,000,000 by first mortgage, second mortgage or caveat, the statement carries more weight because the equity is the main evidence. See low doc secured business loans.
- Where your financials are simply missing, our page on business loans with no financials shows what else typically fills the gap.
Not sure which pieces you’d need alongside it? The substitute checker matches what’s missing to what lenders accept instead.
Quick checklist before you sign
- Date the statement, and use loan balances from the same month.
- Separate personal and business items.
- List every card by its limit as well as its balance.
- Include ATO debt, payment plans and any guarantees.
- Show joint ownership and your share.
- Value property and equipment at what they’d realistically sell for.
- Attach a statement or document for every liability you can.
- Check it agrees with your bank statements and credit file before it goes in.
It takes an hour to do properly, and it’s the hour that most often decides whether the rest of a low doc file is believed.
Your position might support more than your paperwork suggests
Owners whose returns are behind often assume the answer will be no before anyone has looked. Yet a clear statement of what you own and owe, especially with property behind it, can carry a lot of a file that would otherwise stall. Reading those positions is what we do every day.
The enquiry takes about 60 seconds and there’s no credit check when you first enquire. We don’t send your details to a pile of lenders, so your phone won’t light up with strangers. A real person looks at your situation, including what you own, what you owe and which paperwork is behind, and calls you to talk through the realistic options.
Please fill the form in accurately, particularly your property, existing debts and turnover. Honest numbers up front mean we can match you with the right lender the first time.
Frequently asked questions
What is an assets and liabilities statement for a business loan?
It's a signed, dated list of what you and your business own (property, cash, vehicles, equipment, stock, debtors) and what you owe (mortgages, car and equipment finance, cards, tax debt, guarantees). For a low doc loan it often replaces the balance sheet from financial statements.
Do I list personal and business assets together?
Most lender forms ask for both, especially for sole traders and company directors who will guarantee the loan. Keep them in separate columns or sections so the analyst can see which is which.
Should I include my superannuation?
If the form asks, include the latest balance shown in ATO online services. Lenders generally give it little weight because you usually can't access it before retirement, but leaving it off isn't a problem either.
How do I value my house for the statement?
Use a realistic figure based on recent comparable sales nearby, not the best sale in the street. For property-secured loans the lender orders its own valuation anyway, and a figure close to it builds trust.
Does an ATO payment plan count as a liability?
Yes. List the balance owing and the instalment amount. Lenders can usually see ATO debt through other checks, and it's far better coming from you with the plan details attached.
Can an assets and liabilities statement replace tax returns on its own?
Not on its own. It shows your position, not your income. It sits alongside income evidence such as BAS, bank statements or an accountant's letter, or alongside property security.