Who writes our guides
Every guide on this site is published by the Fair Finance Editorial Team. We don't put made-up names or stock-photo faces on our pages. When a guide is credited to the team, the team is responsible for it.
We use software, including AI writing tools, to help research and draft. Every page then goes through the checks below before it is published, and a person on the team signs it off.
How a guide is researched
- The real question first. We start from what New Zealanders actually search for and ask us, and read the pages that currently answer it so we can cover what they miss.
- Official sources for rules and rights. Consumer Protection (MBIE) and the CCCFA for lending law, the Financial Markets Authority for how lenders and intermediaries are supervised, the Insolvency and Trustee Service for bankruptcy and the No Asset Procedure, Work and Income for benefit help, Immigration New Zealand for visas, and Sorted for money guidance.
- Lender criteria from lenders. What lenders look at (income, expenses, credit history, visa length, deposit) comes from the criteria New Zealand lenders publish and from how applications are assessed in practice. Criteria vary between lenders and change over time, so we describe what is typical, never what any one lender will decide.
What every guide must pass
- No promises of approval. We're a referral service, not a lender. No guide says or implies you will be approved, and none uses "guaranteed", "no credit check" or "instant approval" claims.
- Written for one situation. Each guide answers one person's situation in full. We don't publish pages that only swap a town or a job title.
- Sources listed. Rules, numbers and timeframes link to the official source.
- Honest about cheaper options. If a Work and Income payment, a community loan or a budgeting service would serve you better than a car loan, the guide says so.
Review dates
Every guide shows the date it was last updated. We review our guides at least every six months, and sooner when a law, a benefit rate or lender criteria change. When we update a page, the date changes with it.
Corrections
If you think something on this site is wrong or out of date, tell us through the help page. We check every report and correct errors promptly.
How we're paid
We're paid a referral fee by lenders only when a loan settles. That never changes your rate, and it doesn't decide what we write. The full details are in our disclosure.