ApplyOnline becomes the only way to lodge with VMG from 2 November 2026. Manual applications will no longer be accepted after that date. Upgraded functionality goes live on 28 September, and until 1 November you can lodge either way, through ApplyOnline or manually. There is nothing to set up, because VMG is already a lender in ApplyOnline. Anything lodged manually before 2 November will still be processed.
Lodging applications with VMG is changing. Victorian Mortgage Group is moving to ApplyOnline as the single channel for every loan application, and manual submissions are being retired.
The platform stops being where applications arrive and becomes where they are worked, from lodgement through to approval. For brokers that means cleaner submissions, fewer document requests, and a file you can track without picking up the phone.
For most brokers this changes very little. You already lodge through ApplyOnline and you already have access to it through your aggregator. What changes is what happens after you hit submit.
For the smaller group still lodging manually, this is the part that matters: there is nothing to sign up for, and nothing to wait for. VMG is already listed as a lender in ApplyOnline. Select us and lodge.
You can start using the integrated features for all new lodgements straight away.
Brokers still lodging manually can continue to do so while they move across. Nothing is switched off overnight.
Manual lodgement ceases. Applications submitted manually before this date will still be processed through to settlement.
What’s changing
VMG is moving to the full ApplyOnline ecosystem, which means the platform stops being just an inbox. Today it handles intake: the application form and your document upload. From the transition it holds the full application through to approval, so the file’s status is something you can see rather than something you have to ask about.
The practical difference at your end is that ApplyOnline won’t let you lodge an incomplete file. The form is conditional: as you work through the scenario, it determines which documents that scenario requires and lists them. Anything outstanding is flagged against the application, and it can’t be submitted until it’s supplied.
That means the file reaches a credit analyst complete. No first pass spent working out what’s missing, no email chain to collect it, no waiting while a client digs out a document nobody asked for at the start.
That matters most on scenarios needing human underwriting, where the context around a file is doing real work.
Cleaner submissions mean faster assessment and faster indicative decisions.
Identity verification is completed inside the application too, rather than on a separate platform. Client details are captured once, in the same place as everything else on the file.
The form adapts to the scenario. Select an option and it lists the documents that scenario needs, before you go looking for them.
Anything outstanding is flagged against the application. You can’t submit until it’s supplied, so nothing arrives half finished.
Identity verification is completed inside the application rather than on a separate platform, so client details are entered once.
If we need something further, it’s raised as a More Information Request against the application.
What it means for your submissions
Most of the delay on a specialist file comes from incomplete information, not from the assessment itself. Moving everything into ApplyOnline removes a large part of that.
You know the document list upfront. The form tells you what the loan application requires as you build it, so you’re asking the client once rather than three times.
Faster assessment and faster indicative decisions. Upfront validation means the file arrives clean, so a credit analyst opens a full application instead of spending the first pass establishing what’s missing. How we assess hasn’t changed. What’s changed is how much of the analyst’s time goes into assessing rather than chasing.
Information requests come to you in the file. If a credit analyst needs something further, the request is raised against the application itself as a More Information Request. You see what’s needed, respond in the same place, and it’s resolved without a phone call or an email chain.
Identity checks happen in the same place. VOI is completed inside the application rather than on a separate platform, so you’re not switching tools or re-keying client details you’ve already entered.
Nothing sits in an inbox. An emailed application has to be found, opened and moved into the system before anyone can start on it. A lodged application is already there.
You can see where it is. Outstanding conditions and milestone updates sit in one place, so “I’ll chase it up and get back to you” becomes something you can answer on the call.
| Step | Now | From 2 November |
|---|---|---|
| Lodgement | ApplyOnline, or manually for some brokers | ApplyOnline for all applications |
| Knowing what’s required | Worked out from policy, or asked | Listed by the form as you build the application |
| Incomplete files | Can be sent, then chased | Cannot be submitted until complete |
| Identity verification | Completed on a separate platform | Completed inside the application |
| Where the file sits | Moved off the platform after intake | Held in ApplyOnline through to approval |
| Tracking a file | Email or call to ask | Status visible in one place |
| Information requests | Raised by email or phone | Raised and resolved against the application |
| DocuSign | Runs through ApplyOnline | Unchanged |
| Who assesses it | A human credit analyst | Unchanged |
The assessment doesn’t change
Worth being direct about this, because “held and assessed in ApplyOnline” can sound like something it isn’t.
VMG is not automating credit decisions. No credit scoring. No DTI ratio. No DSR ratio. No algorithm deciding whether your client’s scenario works. Every application is read by a human credit analyst, exactly as it is today.
What’s changing is where the file sits and how completely the information reaches the analyst. Not who makes the call, and not how they make it. If anything, a complete file means the analyst spends more time on the part that actually needs judgement: the story behind the numbers, the compensating strengths, the reason the scenario doesn’t fit a template.
The platform is the desk. The person sitting at it hasn’t changed.
A better platform doesn’t change who reads the file. Victorian Mortgage Group applies no credit scoring, no DTI ratios and no DSR ratios. Every application is assessed by a human credit analyst, and that is not changing in November. What better upfront data does is give the analyst a cleaner picture sooner, so more of their time goes on the part that actually needs judgement: the scenario behind the numbers.
What you need to do
If you already lodge through ApplyOnline:Â Nothing. Keep submitting as you do. The integrated features become available from 28 September 2026.
If you currently lodge manually:Â Start submitting through ApplyOnline any time from 28 September. We are already listed as a lender on the platform, so you can select Victorian Mortgage Group and lodge. You have until 1st November (since manual applications cease on 2nd November), but there is nothing to gain by waiting.
Two practical notes:
- Applications already with us continue as they are. Anything lodged manually before 2 November is processed through our existing channels to settlement. There is no need to resubmit on ApplyOnline. The change applies to new lodgements only.
- DocuSign is unaffected. It already runs through ApplyOnline rather than as a separate route, so that part of your process stays exactly the same.
If you’re unsure about any part of lodging applications with VMG after the change, your VMG BDM can walk you through it, so feel free to reach out.
What to have ready before you start
The form tells you what each scenario requires as you build it, so there is no guesswork. You will still move faster with the basics to hand before you open the application.
For most submissions that means:
- Client identification. Identity verification is completed inside the application, so have your client’s identification ready before you start. NextGen’s digital lodgement overview covers how the integrated tools work.
- Income evidence appropriate to the product. Payslips and employment detail for Full Doc; business financials, BAS, tax portal statements or an accountant’s declaration for Alt Doc.
- Existing commitments and liabilities, including anything being consolidated or paid out
- Security property details, including what is being purchased or refinanced.
- A short written summary of the scenario where it is complex. A separation, a business sale, a period of self-employment or a credit event is worth explaining in your own words rather than leaving the assessor to infer it. Our guides to complex income and near prime scenarios cover what’s worth explaining.
Exactly what is required varies by product and scenario, and the application will tell you. If you want to confirm before you start, check the product guide or ask your BDM.
No need to finish it all at once. An application can be saved as a draft and returned to. Opening the application early, even before you have everything, gives you the document list for that specific scenario. You then know exactly what to ask the client for, once, rather than discovering it in stages.
Before you open the application
Not a policy list. The form will tell you what your scenario needs.
Client identification
Income evidence for the product
Existing commitments
Security property details
A written summary, if the scenario is complex
Not everything, not all at once
Requirements vary by product and scenario. Check the product guide or ask your BDM if you want to confirm before starting.
Applications this affects
All of them. Every product, every scenario, every application type:
- Prime and Near Prime
- Specialist and Specialist Plus
- Flexi Business Plus
- Full Doc and Alt Doc
- Purchases, refinances, debt consolidation, construction, top-up and business lending
There is no category that continues to lodge separately.
Test the scenario first
The lodgement channel is changing. How we assess a scenario isn’t, and neither is the value of a conversation before you submit. Applications are still reviewed by a human underwriter, as they have been since 1946.
If you’re holding something complex, test a scenario with our credit team or book a call before lodging. Five minutes at the front still saves a week at the back, whichever platform the file arrives on.
Not yet accredited? Get accredited with VMG.
Frequently asked questions
When do I need to start lodging through ApplyOnline?
Do I need to set anything up first?
What happens to applications already with VMG?
Are there exceptions for business or construction lending?
Does this mean VMG is automating credit decisions?
What if I don’t have all the documents yet?
How will VMG ask for extra information?
Do I still complete VOI separately?
Does anything change with DocuSign?
All applications are subject to Victorian Mortgage Group’s standard credit assessment and lending criteria. Terms, conditions, costs and charges apply. This article is general information only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs.
Last reviewed: 25th August 2026.