How a self-managed novated lease works
The mechanics are the same whoever administers your salary packaging. The paperwork is the same instrument any novated lease uses — what differs is who provides the finance underneath it, and who chases the documents.
Ask for it by name
The wording matters more than it should. “Can I use my own bank” reads as a question about paying cash. The terms below name a product your provider has a process for — if one is not recognised, try another before treating the answer as final.
- “I'd like a self-managed novated lease.”
- “I'd like a BYO finance novated lease.”
- “I'd like a finance-only novated lease.”
- “I'd like an externally financed novated lease.”
What your provider will need
- Written finance approval
- From your financier, showing the lender, the amount financed, the term and the residual. This is the document the whole process hangs off.
- The novation deed
- The administrator issues it. It is signed by you, your employer and the financier, and it is what transfers the lease obligations to your employer while you are employed there.
- The dealer tax invoice
- Made out correctly to the financier, not to you. A wrong purchaser or GST treatment on this invoice is the most common cause of a delayed settlement.
- Proof of identity
- Usually a driver licence. Standard for any lease, novated or not.
- A payroll start date
- Your deductions normally begin in the first full pay cycle after settlement. Confirming the date in writing avoids a gap between the first lease payment and the first deduction.
Fees worth confirming in writing
Asking for a fee schedule before you sign is ordinary practice on any lease. Naming the items makes it answerable in one reply rather than three.
- The administration fee, and whether it differs for an externally financed lease
- Any establishment or set-up charge added to the lease budget
- Fuel or charging card fees, and account-keeping fees
- Which add-on products are bundled into the running-cost budget, and whether each is optional
About the first couple of months
Novated leases normally start with a deferral of around two months. That is deliberate — it gives your salary packaging provider time to accumulate deductions from your pay and fund the first lease payment out of your packaged balance, so the arrangement runs through payroll from the start the way it is meant to.
What about my provider specifically?
Tell us who administers your packaging and who you work for, and we will tell you what we know about that combination — including where we know it is restricted. We deal with administrators directly every week and would rather give you a straight answer than have you find out three weeks in.
Get a quote on the same car
Send the car you have been quoted on and we will price the finance separately, so you can see what the bundled quote was charging for it.
Common questions
Do I have to change salary packaging providers?
No. Your employer chose who administers your salary packaging and that does not change. They continue to run your pre-tax deductions, running-cost budget, card and reporting exactly as now. The only thing that changes is who provides the finance on the car.
Will my provider know how to do this?
The paperwork is the same instrument any novated lease uses — a finance contract plus a deed of novation — so it is a process they already have. The friction is usually vocabulary rather than capability: a consultant working from a bundled quote may not recognise the request unless you name the product. The wording above is what to use.
What if I am told it is not possible?
Ask for that in writing, along with the provision of your employer’s salary packaging arrangement that prevents it. That distinction matters. A provider declining as a matter of its own process is a different thing from your employer’s arrangement prohibiting it, and only the second is settled. Some arrangements genuinely do restrict it — where that is the case we would rather tell you than waste your time.
How long does it take?
Once finance is approved, the limiting factor is usually how quickly the novation deed is signed and the dealer invoice is issued correctly. We prepare and chase both. Settlement typically follows within a few business days of a complete document pack.