Afiyah is a broker, not a lender. Its website identifies the operating company as Afiyah Capital Pty Ltd, an authorised credit representative (CRN 577318) working from a Truganina office in Melbourne's west and serving clients Australia-wide. It arranges Ijarah-based home finance, refinancing from conventional loans, investment property and SMSF property finance, and staged development finance for small projects, and it says it has guided more than 250 families. What sets it apart in the Australian broker tier is governance: every product it recommends is certified through ADL Advisory, an independent Shariah advisory firm led by Dr Mufti Yousuf Sultan, and the site explains the scope of that certification in unusual detail. What it does not publish is any fee, commission, lender name or rate. This review covers both halves.
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What Afiyah is and is not
The about page states that Afiyah operates as an authorised credit representative providing credit assistance within Australia's regulated credit environment, and the site footer gives the entity as Afiyah Capital Pty Ltd, ACN 694 519 438, with credit representative number 577318. The pages we read on 28 September 2026 do not name the Australian credit licence holder that authorises it, which is the first thing to ask for in its Credit Guide and to check on ASIC's professional registers. Afiyah also says it operates within AFCA's external dispute resolution scheme and under FBAA and MFAA professional standards where applicable. The team page names Aamir Shaik as Director of Operations, Mohammed Arafat as Director of Growth, Thofeyal Ahmed as Head of Lending Operations and Peter Juan as Head of Client Services.
Being a credit representative rather than a licensee or a lender means three things for a client. Afiyah does not fund anything; it places your application with a financier and is paid for doing so. It is not the party whose contract you sign, so the Shariah quality of the finance ultimately rests on the financier's documents, which is why Afiyah's governance pages talk about reviewing those documents rather than issuing its own. And its licence obligations flow through its licensee, whose name should appear on the Credit Guide you receive before any application. The overview of Islamic home finance brokers in Australia explains the three licensing tiers in this market; Afiyah sits in the middle one.
What Afiyah arranges: products as described on its site
| Service | Structure described on afiyah.com.au | Published eligibility detail | Our provider page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home finance (first home, upgrade) | Ijarah lease-to-own; rental payments under a lease with transfer of the property once obligations are completed | Proof of income, deposit, Australian residency, credit assessment; deposit size not stated | /providers/afiyah |
| Refinance from a conventional loan | Review of balance, equity, fixed-rate position and discharge costs, then move to a Shariah-aligned structure where available | Current loan statement, property estimate, income, debts, identification | Same |
| Investment property finance | Ijarah-based structures reviewed within its governance framework | Deposit typically 20% to 30% depending on property value and amount | Same |
| SMSF property finance | Murabaha or Ijarah structures inside an SMSF | Established SMSF, minimum fund balance (figure not stated), valuation, trustee evidence | Same |
| Development finance | Staged drawdowns matched to project milestones | Project plan, valuation, financial stability evidence; equity typically 20% to 30% of project value | Same |
Two things stand out in that table. The investment and development pages give a deposit or equity range, 20% to 30%, while the owner-occupier home finance page only says a modest deposit is usually necessary, so a first home buyer has to ask what the minimum actually is for the lender Afiyah would use. And the SMSF page names Murabaha as well as Ijarah, which is unusual in Australian SMSF property finance; ask which financier offers the Murabaha version and request its certificate, because the structure determines who owns the property during the term. The Islamic home financing hub sets out the questions that apply to every structure.
Shariah governance: ADL Advisory, the named scholar, and the scope caveats
Afiyah's Shariah governance page is the most detailed published by any Australian Islamic finance broker we have reviewed. It states that every Islamic finance product recommended through Afiyah is supported by Shariah certification and oversight through ADL Advisory, an independent Shariah advisory firm, and that Afiyah does not recommend a product as Islamic unless it has gone through review, documentation assessment and certification within an approved scope. It names Dr Mufti Yousuf Sultan as founder and chief executive of ADL Advisory, describing him as a Registered Shariah Adviser with the Securities Commission Malaysia and Labuan FSA and an AAOIFI Master Trainer and working group member. It lists what is reviewed: product structure, sale and lease documents, supplementary agreements, fee and default treatment, ownership and risk allocation under Ijarah, and the client-facing explanation.
Just as useful are the caveats Afiyah itself prints. Certification applies to the products, contracts and processes reviewed within the approved scope; where a product is issued by a lender, the certification is based on that lender's documentation and supplementary agreements; and advisory references apply to the defined scope only and should not be read as a blanket statement across all products, lenders or structures. The page says clients can request a certificate summary covering scope, approved products, reviewed documents and key conditions. That request is the test. The guide to verifying a halal provider's Shariah governance explains what a usable certificate contains; with Afiyah, ask for the summary for the exact product and lender being recommended, not a general letter.
Fees, commissions and lender names: what is not published
Nothing. The pages we read carry no brokerage fee, no commission disclosure, no clawback terms and no lender rate. That is normal for the broker tier but it is still the gap a client has to close in writing. Under the credit laws that apply to a credit representative, Afiyah must give you a Credit Guide and, before you sign, a credit proposal disclosure showing the commissions it expects to receive from the financier and any fee it charges you. Ask for both at the first meeting rather than at the end. Ask separately whether any fee is payable if the application is declined or if you withdraw, and whether a clawback clause means Afiyah would seek anything from you if you refinance away within the first two years.
- The Credit Guide, which must name the Australian credit licence holder that authorises Afiyah Capital Pty Ltd under CRN 577318.
- The credit proposal disclosure showing the commission Afiyah expects from the financier and any fee charged to you, before any application is lodged.
- The name of the financier being recommended, so you can compare the proposal with that financier's own published deposit and rate policy.
- The ADL Advisory certificate summary for that exact product and financier, covering scope, reviewed documents and key conditions.
- A written statement of what, if anything, is payable if the application is declined, withdrawn or refinanced away within two years.
Lender names are the other omission. Afiyah's pages say it identifies suitable lenders and works with the lender so your application aligns with their rules, but they do not say which financiers are on its panel. That is a material difference from Safa Pacific, covered below. Before a credit enquiry is lodged, ask which financier the recommendation is for, whether that financier accepts direct applications, and what the published deposit and rate policy of that financier is, so you can compare the broker's proposal with what you could get yourself. Our provider directory has a page for every Australian Islamic financier that a broker could place you with.
The calculators and guides
Afiyah publishes a Deposit and Costs Planner, a Rent versus Buy snapshot, an Equity and Next Purchase Planner, and a Refinance Roadmap, along with guides for first home buyers and development finance basics. They are described as early-stage tools to assess borrowing capacity, deposits and indicative payments. Use them for orientation and nothing more: a rental estimate that does not come from a named financier's current rate card is not a quote, and the site itself says payments may vary in line with the agreed facility terms. The deposit planner is the one with real value for a Melbourne buyer, because Victorian duty and first home buyer concessions change the cash needed at settlement more than the rental rate does; the Melbourne halal home financing guide has the state specifics.
Afiyah against Safa Pacific and Sharia Finance
The three brokers publish different things, and the comparison is less about who is better than about which gap you can live with. Safa Pacific in Sydney prints its lender panel by name but describes its Shariah oversight only as its own Shariah board without naming anyone. Sharia Finance in Adelaide publishes its credit licence number and says it is a member of the Association of Shariah Advisors in Islamic Finance, with access to more than 50 products, but does not publish a scholar or a certificate framework. Afiyah publishes the scholar, the advisory firm and the certification scope but not the panel or the licensee. The business financing hub is the place to compare the development and commercial side across all three.
| Disclosure | Afiyah | Safa Pacific | Sharia Finance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licence status on site | Authorised credit representative, CRN 577318; licensee not named on pages read | Not shown on pages read; ask for Credit Guide | Publishes ACL per our provider research |
| Lender panel named | No | Yes: Hejaz, Meezan, Riyadh, MCCA, Ijara, Amanah | No; says 50+ products from multiple funders |
| Named scholar or advisory firm | Yes: ADL Advisory, Dr Mufti Yousuf Sultan | Own Shariah board, no names | Member of Association of Shariah Advisors in Islamic Finance; no named scholar |
| Certification scope explained | Yes, in detail | Says panel certificates are reviewed | No |
| Fees or commissions published | No | No | No |
| Office | Truganina, Melbourne, by appointment | Norwest, Sydney | Glenelg, Adelaide |
Our view
For a Melbourne home buyer who cares most about the Shariah quality of the contract, Afiyah is the broker with the clearest answer to the question of who checked it, and the certificate summary it offers is worth more than most financiers' own marketing. Insist on that summary, the Credit Guide naming the licensee, and the financier's name before any credit enquiry, and compare the proposal with a direct application to that financier. For a developer with a duplex or townhouse project and 20% to 30% equity, Afiyah is one of very few Australian brokers that describes staged, riba-free development funding at all, and the construction finance guide covers what the financier's contract needs to say. For a business owner with irregular income, Afiyah's self-employed page promises preparation before submission, which is the right approach, but note that it brokers property finance; working capital and equipment are not on its product list. If you want a panel you can see in advance, Safa Pacific publishes one; if you want a licence number on the page, Sharia Finance prints it. Facts checked against afiyah.com.au, safapacific.com.au, shariafinance.com.au on 28 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is Afiyah a lender or a broker?
A broker. Afiyah Capital Pty Ltd describes itself as an authorised credit representative (CRN 577318) providing credit assistance. It does not fund finance; it places your application with an Islamic financier whose contract you sign. The licensee that authorises Afiyah is not named on the pages we read, so ask for the Credit Guide and check ASIC's credit representative register.
Who certifies Afiyah's products as Shariah-compliant?
ADL Advisory, an independent Shariah advisory firm founded and led by Dr Mufti Yousuf Sultan, whom Afiyah describes as a Registered Shariah Adviser with the Securities Commission Malaysia and Labuan FSA and an AAOIFI Master Trainer. Afiyah says certification covers the product, contracts and process within a defined scope and that clients can request a certificate summary.
Which lenders does Afiyah work with?
Afiyah does not name its lender panel on its website. Its pages say it identifies suitable lenders and manages the application with the lender, and that where a product is issued by a lender the certification rests on that lender's documents. Ask which financier is being recommended before a credit enquiry is made, and whether you could apply to that financier directly.
What does Afiyah charge?
No fee, commission or clawback term is published. As a credit representative Afiyah must give you a Credit Guide and a credit proposal disclosure showing expected commissions and any fee before you sign. Ask for both at the first meeting, and ask what, if anything, is payable if the application is declined or withdrawn.
Does Afiyah do development or business finance?
It brokers development finance for duplexes, townhouses and small projects, funded in staged drawdowns against milestones, with a developer equity contribution typically 20% to 30% of project value, plus SMSF and investment property finance. Its business owner page is about presenting self-employed income for property finance; working capital and equipment finance are not listed products.
Compare providers in your state
See side-by-side comparisons of Shariah-compliant products, or let our matcher recommend the best options for your situation.
Where is Afiyah based and does it serve other states?
Afiyah's office is in Truganina, in Melbourne's west, and visits are by appointment. Its about page says it supports clients Australia-wide and lists Western Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and northern Australia. Applications are handled by phone, email and its online portal, and it offers language support on request.
