Bird & Bird continues to expand its presence in the market; with a growing team and the addition of expertise through the recruitment of Masi Zaki from Squire Patton Boggs, the firm has strengthened its capabilities and further established itself as a rising force within the legal sector.

Jones Day's Australian banking and finance team, launched in early 2024, is rapidly growing and already advising on some of Australia’s most high-profile financing deals for leading domestic and international investors, corporates, and financial institutions.

Allens's finance team advises across leveraged, acquisition, corporate, and property financings, with particular strength in fund finance. The group is led by Tim Stewart, who is recognised for his work on fund establishment and subsequent lending investments by superannuation and private credit funds. Jo Folan boasts a broad practice with a client roster spanning sponsors, borrowers, and lenders, while Alan Maxton brings expertise on borrower-side mandates. Tom Highnam is noted for fund finance, leveraged finance, and derivatives work, and Ben O’Hoy focuses on corporate and event-driven transactions, including M&A and structured lending. Rita Pang regularly advises on complex cross-border financings, rounding out a highly capable and integrated team.

The Ashurst banking and finance team routinely provides advice on corporate, acquisition, property, and asset finance matters, handling both domestic and cross-border transactions. The team’s work spans leveraged loans, asset-based lending, sustainable finance, and integrated financing arrangements, with a strong focus on practical, commercial guidance. Kenneth Nguyen leads the team, overseeing corporate and real estate finance transactions and advising on structuring and execution. Shawn Wytenburg and Martin Coleman. are also core members of the department.

John Schembri and Gail Christopher lead the Gilbert + Tobin banking and finance team, which boasts experience in high-value transactions surrounding acquisitions, corporate mandates, and property finance matters. The practice is especially strong in property finance, advising both lenders and borrowers on a wide range of high-value transactions across all asset types. Simon Lynch routinely works on corporate facilities, leveraged buyouts, complex financings, and restructurings. John Schembri leads major acquisition financings and refinancings, while Adela Smith brings deep expertise in infrastructure and energy transactions. Stuart Cormack focuses on real estate finance, and Spiro Papadolias provides specialist insight into AREIT financings. The team combines sector knowledge with experience across corporate, acquisition, and property finance for complex transactions.

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP's banking and finance team is highly regarded for its expertise combined with commercial views. The team routinely acts for national and international banks, financial institutions, corporates, sponsors, and government departments, and its offering spans corporate facilities, property and project finance, leveraged and acquisition finance, asset and structured finance, debt capital markets, securitisation, swaps, and other derivatives. Andrew Booth focuses on corporate, acquisitions and property finance, while Amy Repse advises lenders and borrowers on syndicated, bilateral, and club facilities across various industries. John Angus is a leading authority on domestic and cross-border structured asset and aviation finance, and Hayley Neilson specialises in senior, untrenched, mezzanine, and holdco debt. Melita Cottrell is another key name in the practice.

King & Wood Mallesons‘s banking and finance team provides advice to both domestic and international investment banks. Beyond traditional financings, the team also has experience in emerging areas, such as sustainable finance, fintech, and open banking. The group is jointly led by Yuen-Yee Cho  and Jonathan Oldham, both of whom are widely recognised for their expertise in the market, and are thus frequently invited to speak on committees within their specialisations. Other notable names in the department is Ken Astridge, who specialises in real estate finance and corporate debt, Marcus Wettenhall, whose practice spans the energy and utilities sectors, and Dale Rayner, who is noted for his work in asset and structured finance.

A&O Shearman’s banking and finance team is recognised for its strong expertise and ability to handle complex transactions efficiently. The team is led by Peter Wilkes, a seasoned banking, finance, and projects lawyer with particular experience in the energy and resources sector. Marnie Fels heads the firm’s leveraged finance practice in Australia, bolstering the Asia Pacific banking group and the global leveraged finance practice. William Kim focuses on real estate, structured and fund finance, and corporate finance. Senior associate Shirley Wong brings extensive experience across Australian and Hong Kong finance transactions, including fund and corporate financing, pre-IPO deals, real estate, asset finance, and securitisation.

The team at Clayton Utz 'delivers high-quality service with a stable, long-serving team that works seamlessly together' and advises across acquisition, corporate, property, project, and asset finance, as well as private capital. With offices in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, the group has a strong national presence and is also well connected to international markets, often working on cross-border deals involving Asia, the US, and Europe. The practice is led by Alexander Schlosser, who is trusted on complex, high-profile matters. Graeme Tucker brings longstanding experience in corporate and structured finance, Kate O’Donovan is recognised for her clear, strategic approach, while Jeremy Murnain is widely respected across the banking and finance community.

Corrs Chambers Westgarth has expertise in fund finance, debt restructurings, and social and affordable housing projects. The firm maintains a prominent national banking and finance practice, with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth. Its client portfolio includes major lenders, sponsors, and leading corporate borrowers. The team’s experience is reflected in its appointments to key Australian bank legal panels. John Mosley regularly advises on leveraged and acquisition finance, corporate finance, and M&A-related financing. Adam Stapledon leads the group, covering the full range of financing matters with extensive experience across sectors. Megan Russell focuses on real estate finance, particularly within the social and affordable housing space.

Minter Ellison‘s team advises on fund establishment, capital raising, stretch-senior and mezzanine debt, preferred equity, and equity co-ventures. James Mok is recognised as a market-leading specialist in structured and asset finance in Australia. Tony Berriman brings over 20 years of expertise in banking and property finance, representing some of the largest lenders in the market. Daniel Marks is a trusted adviser on major property and project financings, while Nicole Boustani specialises in debt finance for property, construction, REIT, acquisition, and corporate transactions. Geoff Earl advises on corporate and acquisition finance for banks, borrowers, sponsors, and non-bank lenders.

Norton Rose Fulbright boasts notable cross-border experience, as is evident in its frequent handling of complex, multi-jurisdictional finance transactions. Tim Mornane   leads the Australian banking and finance practice and has a strong track record in handling high-value transactions. Nuncio D’Angelo is a highly regarded adviser with over 30 years’ experience supporting Australia’s major banks, financiers, and corporate clients. Hamish Dixon brings extensive expertise in financing property investment and development projects. The team also includes specialists in corporate and acquisition finance, structured lending, and asset finance.

The banking and finance team at Arnold Bloch Leibler has experience across all aspects of property and development financing, providing advice on the structuring and documentation of financing facilities, including intercreditor and tripartite arrangements. Ben Mahoney is a commercial and banking and finance partner, focusing on large-scale debt and equity financing as well as restructuring transactions, while Damien Cuddihy practises in banking and finance law with particular expertise in property finance. In addition, Genevieve Sexton advises financiers, borrowers, and corporations on a wide range of matters.

The team at Clifford Chance operates with global reach, utilising the firm's international network to advise on complex multi-jurisdictional transactions. Richard Gordon specialises in financing matters, including leveraged acquisitions acting for both lenders and borrowers. Elizabeth Hundt Russell focuses on leveraged and corporate finance, advising a diverse client portfolio, while Chad Bochan handles energy and infrastructure financings across Asia Pacific, often structuring novel solutions. Mark Gilgren has experience in international finance, debt restructurings, and insolvency matters across Australia, Asia Pacific, and Europe, and Nikki Smythe is a key finance and restructuring practitioner.

The banking and finance team at Johnson Winter Slattery is focused on domestic and cross-border transactions, advising on acquisition and leveraged finance, corporate lending, project finance, and restructurings. The group acts for private equity houses, sponsors, and a range of financial institutions. David Beckett leads the practice, specialising in structuring and negotiating leveraged finance transactions, while David Li brings extensive experience in domestic and international deals, particularly in acquisition and leveraged finance. Charlie Detmold adds further depth to the team, advising on project and corporate finance across energy, resources, and infrastructure.

K&L Gates’s practice focuses on property and corporate matters and works closely with the firm’s insolvency and restructuring, corporate, funds, infrastructure, energy, and projects teams on transactions in Australia and across South-East Asia. Alan Maclean is a leading Melbourne banking and finance lawyer with more than 25 years’ experience, and he regularly acts for banks and non-bank lenders. Richard Gray has over 30 years’ experience advising lenders, borrowers, and arrangers on secured and unsecured financings of varying complexity. Deborah Bean routinely assists banks and financial institutions with facilities for property, construction, agribusiness, health, and the aged care sectors.

Dentons’s team routinely advises on cross-border matters, supporting foreign banks lending into Australia and assisting domestic clients. Anthony Walsh is head of the firm's banking and finance department in Australia and has been integral to the development of the national practice over the last 20 years, acting for domestic and international lenders across London and Sydney. Craig Chapman brings 30 years’ experience in financial services regulation, debt capital markets, project finance, and corporate and institutional finance.

Gadens Lawyers’s banking and finance team has experience across property, corporate, acquisition, and project finance through domestic and cross-border transactions. Elliot Raleigh, partner in the corporate and institutional team, co-leads the national banking and finance group alongside Kenneth Tang. Elliot has over 20 years’ experience in property and project finance, corporate and acquisition finance, and mezzanine and preferred equity structures. Tang is a specialist in acquisition and leveraged finance, corporate and funds financing, with more than 25 years’ experience.

The practice at Hall & Wilcox has particular strength in real estate finance, acting for senior and mezzanine lenders, both bank and non-bank, as well as for borrowers, including property funds and developers. The team is co-led by Mark Inston, who has 30 years’ experience in acting for Australian and overseas banks and borrowers across a wide range of finance transactions. David Cooper also co-lead the practice, with expertise in advising on project, leveraged, and acquisition finance, corporate working capital, property and asset finance, and cross-border transactions.

Hamilton Locke's team has experience with private credit fund transactions on both the borrower and lender side. The practice boasts notable expertise in mandates surrounding structured facilities for non-bank lenders and fund financing for family offices, credit funds, and international investment banks across multiple sectors. Zina Edwards leads the group, with a client roster that includes credit funds and alternative lenders, and Lauren Cloete is noted for her expertise in acquisition and corporate debt finance.

The banking and finance department at McCullough Robertson acts for non-bank lenders and government lending bodies, and is frequently requested by property development borrowers as financier counsel across Australian banks. The team is led by Kirby Jukes, who specialises in mid-market debt transactions with a focus on real estate and agribusiness. Wei Lim brings over 20 years of experience to the team, and David Gilham advises on syndicated and bilateral financings, including real estate, acquisition finance, and restructurings.

Mills Oakley's banking and finance team has strong capabilities in real estate finance, corporate and acquisition finance, structured products, and restructuring. Graeme Gurney leads the practice with expertise spanning real estate finance, structured finance, and restructurings. Monique Stella advises across corporate and development finance and construction and property finance, and also develops standard suites of documents. Peter Kennedy leads the Queensland practice with over 30 years’ experience.

2025 marks ten years since Pinsent Masons LLP entered the Australian market, growing from two partners in 2015 to over 200 lawyers across Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth. The team is led by partner Jim Hunwick, who advises clients across the infrastructure, energy, and mining sectors. The team was strengthened further with the addition of Peter Doyle in mid-2024, enhancing project finance and broader debt finance capabilities. Melanie Hunter and Jesse McNaughton are also key members of the department, contributing to the team’s expertise and hands-on, client-focused approach.

Maddocks’s banking and finance team is a practice for both global and domestic financial institutions. Ilan Kraus has a focus on property financing, structuring debt, and equity transactions, routinely advising banks, institutional, and private lenders. Arlene Colquhoun is a highly regarded member of the team advising Australian and international clients, including issuers in Australian and US debt capital markets.

Andrew Johnston leads the team at Sparke Helmore Lawyers, regularly advising on financing transactions as well as security and restructuring matters, while Bill Chapman brings deep expertise in film and entertainment financing, underpinned by his long-standing banking law experience. The firm continues to be active in the mid-market financing sector, with debt deals providing a strong source of work across a range of key industries.

Thomson Geer's banking and finance team regularly advises on complex transactions and mandates surrounding all aspects of lending, from structuring and documenting loans, to settlements, due diligence, and securities. Nicholas Creed focuses on lending, enforcement, and insolvency work, and Jeff Baker is a key member advising international clients, bringing depth and experience to the practice.

White & Case's banking and finance team, led by Mark Wesseldine and Roman Picherack, routinely advises lenders and borrowers on the financing of multi-jurisdictional leveraged buyouts and other complex financing transactions in Europe, the US and Asia. Their experience includes advising on public takeover and private acquisition financings, and other event-driven transactions. The team provides clients in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region with access to global acquisition finance expertise.