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$20,000 Personal Loans

Whatever you need it for, you can take out a $20,000 personal loan with one of Savvy’s many reputable lending partners.

100% free. No impact on your credit score.
$20,000 Personal Loans
Savvy Editorial Team Written By: Savvy Editorial Team
Last Updated: 04/06/2025
Fact Checked

Personal loans are designed to be highly flexible, enabling you to spend your funds however you like and spread out the repayments over your preferred timeline. Borrowing $20,000 can open up a range of opportunities, from clearing outstanding debts to covering medical expenses or your next trip overseas.

Why apply for a personal loan with Savvy?

Help from the experts

When you submit your application, one of our consultants will compare the best available options and walk you through the process.

Paperless applications

You don't need to worry about sifting through documents and visiting the post office, as they can all be submitted online.

Reputable lending partners

We've partnered with personal loan companies you can trust to ensure your comparison is a high-quality one.

A checklist for before you apply for a $20,000 personal loan

Compare with Savvy

Before you commit to any one offer, you should first explore your options as thoroughly as possible. You can do this by analysing offers available from Savvy’s lending partners, comparing different loans based on factors such as interest rates, fees, minimum and maximum loan term and repayment flexibility. Doing this will give you greater peace of mind that you’ve settled on the right loan after surveying the market closely. Once you’ve chosen your loan, you can proceed to reviewing its particulars.

Confirm your eligibility

One key factor when comparing loans is to make sure that you meet your lender’s eligibility criteria. It’s especially important that you do this given that a series of rejected applications on your file could lower your overall chances of approval, which is highly avoidable when it comes to eligibility. You’ll need to meet the following points to qualify for most personal loans:

  • 18 years or older
  • An Australian citizen or permanent resident
  • Employed and earning a stable income of at least $20,000 p.a.

Review your credit file

You should be across what’s on your credit file before you submit your application to your lender. Your score is a major determining factor when it comes to approval in general, as well as the rate and borrowing power you’ll be afforded, so you can check this for free every three months via Equifax, Experian, illion or another credit reporting agency in Australia. This also gives you the chance to rectify any potential errors on your file.

Work out your affordability

In addition to this, you should have a reasonable understanding of how much you can feasibly afford to take on with a personal loan. Lenders will only approve you for amounts they believe you can comfortably afford to repay, with any level of risk met by an increase in interest rates. You can calculate your monthly disposable income by subtracting your regular expenses from your earnings in a given month. Lenders won’t usually approve loans on terms that exceed 30% of your disposable income.

Prepare your documents

Finally, you should gather all of your documents ready for submission prior to your initial application. Doing this will help you save time and gain approval faster, providing you with speedier access to the funds you need. While lenders may differ slightly, the documents you’ll generally be required to supply are:

  • Your last two payslips (employment contract and/or 90 days of bank statements may be requested)
  • Photo ID: your driver’s licence and/or passport
  • Your online banking details
  • Information on your assets and liabilities

Types of personal loans

Man sitting on the couch smiling at his phone

Unsecured personal loans

With an unsecured personal loan, you can potentially borrow as much as $75,000 without the need to attach any valuable assets, such as your car, as security. These loans are the most widely available and often the quickest, with same-day approval possible.

Man leaning against his car, looking into the distance

Secured personal loans

Secured personal loans, on the other hand, make use of collateral. This lowers your risk profile in the eyes of a lender, potentially lowering your interest rate and expanding your borrowing power beyond what you may be able to get through an unsecured loan.

Woman smiling looking at her tablet at her desk

Fixed rate personal loans

Fixed interest rates are locked at the beginning of your loan and remain constant throughout your repayments. This acts as a valuable protection against interest rate increases, as your loan will be unaffected, but you’ll miss out on potential drops as well.

Woman sitting on the couch looking at her phone

Variable rate personal loans

Variable interest rates remain open to fluctuation during your term. This means you can benefit from decreasing rates and save on your loan if the market heads in that direction, although you’ll also pay more if rates start rising.

Person sitting at a desk calculating their bills

Debt consolidation loans

If you’re paying off multiple debts at the moment, particularly those with high interest (such as credit card debts), consolidating them into one payment can make them more convenient to manage and save you money.

Couple smiling at their laptop while sitting on the couch

Joint personal loans

Many lenders will give you the option to apply jointly with a partner. Doing so can boost your chances of approval, given that your loan will be serviced by two incomes instead of one. It may also be convenient for covering shared expenses.

Businesswoman on the phone at her desk at home

Self-employed personal loans

Personal loans aren’t limited to PAYG employees. If you’re running your own business, you can still be approved by submitting tax returns and other business financials instead of payslips and utilise your funds however you wish.

Personal Loan Repayment Calculator

It’s important to have an idea of what different loans might cost you overall before you apply. Fortunately, Savvy’s personal loan repayment calculator is simple to use and tells you everything you need to know about how much different offers might add up to overall based on a variety of different factors.

$500
$200,000

Your estimated repayments

$98.62

Weekly Fortnightly Monthly
Total interest paid: Total amount to pay:
$1233.43 $5,143.99

How to apply for your personal loan online with Savvy

  1. Complete our simple online application form

    First and foremost, you’ll need to fill out our quick and easy online form. Tell us about yourself, your finances, the loan you’re after and why you need it in just a few minutes.

  2. Compare your options with Savvy

    Once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to assess the products on offer from our partnered lenders. A member of our team will reach out to help you choose the best available offer.

  3. Send your documents and formally apply

    If you’re happy with one of the options available, you can go ahead and formally apply. We’ll handle this for you; simply send the required documents through our online portal and we’ll do the rest.

  4. Get approved and sign your contract

    We’ll let you know when you’re formally approved, which can happen in a matter of hours, and all you’ll need to do is sign your loan contract electronically to receive your funds as soon as the same day.

Personal loan eligibility and documentation

Eligibility

  • Age

    You must be at least 18 years of age

  • Residency

    You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident (or, in some cases, an eligible visa holder)

  • Income

    You must be earning a stable income that meets your lender’s minimum threshold (this can start from as little as $20,000 per year)

  • Employment

    You must be employed on a permanent, casual or self-employed basis

  • Credit score

    You must meet your lender’s minimum requirements related to your credit score and not be bankrupt or under a Part IX debt agreement

  • Contact

    You must have an active phone number, email address and online bank account in your name

Documents

  • Personal information

    Your full name, date of birth, address and contact details

  • Photo ID

    Such as a driver's licence or passport

  • Payslips

    Your last two consecutive payslips (or your last tax return if you're self-employed)

  • Assets and liabilities

    Information about any assets you own (such as a car or house) and liabilities in your name (such as other loans)

  • Bank statements

    90 days of bank statements may be requested, but not always

Common $20,000 personal loan queries

How quickly can I be approved?

Once you’ve submitted your initial application, you can receive an instant approval from your lender in as little as 60 seconds. If you’re successful, you’ll be able to continue with your application and have the funds transferred directly into your account in as little as 24 hours from your first submission.

The entire process is a fast one, so you can maximise that speed by having everything prepared and applying early in the day and week.

How much can I borrow with bad credit?

Bad credit borrowers are only accepted for unsecured personal loans up to a maximum of $10,00 to $12,000, so you won’t be able to take out a $20,000 loan if you find yourself in this position. You can, however, look to a bad credit car loan if you intended on using the funds to buy a vehicle, as these will allow you to borrow $20,000 or more (provided you can afford to repay it).

Am I able to calculate my loan’s repayments before approval?

Yes – you can use our personal loan repayment calculator to determine the total monthly and overall cost of financing prior to applying. Even if you don’t already have your personalised rate and fees, you can run a rough calculation of what your loan might cost you by adding 2% to the minimum interest rate, $350 to your $20,000 loan sum and $3 or $4 to your monthly repayments.

How often can I make repayments?

Personal loans will give you the option of whether to make your repayments on a monthly, fortnightly or weekly schedule. You can choose this based on your own personal income frequency so that you give yourself the best chance of taking on a personal loan that you can manage comfortably.

If your lender doesn’t charge for extra payments, you can make these as often as you like beyond the minimum. Making fortnightly repayments may actually save you money over monthly payments, as they come to an equivalent of 13 months’ worth of contributions each year.

Can I apply for a $20,000 loan on Centrelink benefits?

Yes – so long as you’re earning enough to support your proposed loan’s repayments, you can be approved for a $20,000 loan on Centrelink payments. However, a large part of this is determining whether your benefits are accepted as income by your lender, which isn’t always the case.

Stable sources such as aged, disability, carer’s and veterans’ pensions are all accepted, but payments contingent on your age, employment or study status like Youth Allowance, Austudy and JobSeeker (on its own) aren’t.

What’s a guarantor and should I use one?

A guarantor is a third party, such as a parent or close relation, in a strong financial position who guarantees the full repayment of your personal loan, even if you can’t do so yourself.

These are especially useful for borrowers with a bad or minimal credit history that wouldn’t otherwise qualify for $20,000 or would be at a high rate. If you stay on top of your repayments comfortably and consistently, your guarantor won’t be involved in your repayments at all.

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Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd (ABN 78 660 493 194) trades as Savvy and operates as an Authorised Credit Representative 541339 of Australian Credit Licence 414426 (AFAS Group Pty Ltd, ABN 12 134 138 686). We are one of Australia’s leading financial comparison sites and have been helping Australians make savvy decisions when it comes to their money for over a decade. We’re partnered with lenders, insurers and other financial institutions who compensate us for business initiated through our website. We earn a commission each time a customer chooses or buys a product advertised on our site, which you can find out more about here, as well as in our credit guide for asset finance. It’s also crucial to read the terms and conditions, Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or credit guide of our partners before signing up for your chosen product. However, the compensation we receive doesn’t impact the content written and published on our website, as our writing team exercises full editorial independence. For more information about us and how we conduct our business, you can read our privacy policy and terms of use.

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