Profile
“Our mission is simple: we empower financial planners to spend more time building trust, deepening client relationships, and growing their business”
Chris Arthur, Bold Wealth
When Michael Killiner co-founded Tusk Finance with his wife, Jemima, in late 2023, he simply hoped to build a business that genuinely helped people while delivering solid results.
In the company’s first full financial year, his efforts earned him a place on MPA’s Top 100 Brokers list for 2025, recognition he describes as deeply humbling and a meaningful milestone for a young family business.
Killiner’s professional journey began in real estate. Those early years shaped not only his skill set and grounded his belief in the importance of education, accessibility and trust. Today, those values guide both his work with clients and Tusk’s steady growth.
“Creating Tusk Finance with Jemima is the greatest achievement of my career,” he says. “Any success we’ve had over the past 12 months comes down to one thing: trust. Our clients put their confidence in us to help them reach their property goals, and their referrals are what keep us moving forward.”
That trust is most visible in his hands-on, client-first approach, where every conversation is an opportunity to simplify the complex and support people through what can be an overwhelming process. He focuses less on making clients feel informed and empowered.
Over time, he has become a trusted sounding board for many clients, someone they can rely on to explain the jargon and offer straightforward guidance with genuine care.
Through Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and LinkedIn, Killiner shares educational content that now reaches over 100,000 people each month. His goal is to make financial literacy more accessible for anyone preparing to buy a home or grow an investment portfolio.
His newly launched podcast, That Backyard Property Pod, extends that mission even further, offering weekly episodes and bite-sized educational series to help listeners better understand the property market.
Tusk has also introduced a structured yet personal service model known as “The Tusk Way.” This semi-automated workflow is designed to ensure transparency, communication and consistency from the first meeting all the way through to post-settlement care.
Clients receive regular updates, valuations and reports, reinforcing Tusk’s commitment long after settlement. The addition of a dedicated client care specialist has helped formalise that promise and maintain the same level of service that shaped the business in its early stages. Every six months, clients receive a property valuation, an equity position report and rate discount checks, follow-ups that protect their interests and strengthen the relationships that drive repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals. Those referrals are the truest measure of client satisfaction.
Managing strong growth while continuing to deliver high-level service is a daily balancing act, but it’s one that motivates Killiner.
“As the business grows, we’ll need to bring on brokers, and delegating responsibility will become essential. But what matters most is keeping our relationships strong and making sure the client experience stays consistent across the team,” he says.
Tusk will move into a larger office in FY26 and has deliberately avoided setting strict loan or financial targets for the year, preferring to grow steadily and sustainably so the team can continue delivering the level of service clients have come to expect.
128 Churchill Ave., Subiaco, Perth, WA 6008
0488 758 870
broker@tuskfinance.com.au
au.linkedin.com/in/michaelkilliner
tuskfinance.com.au
Michael Killiner
Director and Mortgage Broker
Tusk Finance
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“Whether I’m in a strategy session or a hiring meeting, I try to lead with understanding. Financial planners are under immense pressure, and so are our internal teams. The best way to earn trust is to truly listen”
Chris Arthur,
Bold Wealth
2014–2017
2017–2023
2023
2024–2025
2025
Worked as a real estate agent
2014–2017
Mortgage broker in franchise
2017–2023
Started Tusk Finance
2023
Better Business Awards FY24, WA State Finalist, Best Boutique Office, Best New Office, Best Residential Broker and Customer Service Award
The Elite Broker Ranking FY25, Number 24 Residential Mortgage Broker
MFAA WA State Winner FY25 Customer Service Award
Finalist for Best Residential Broker and Young Professional in FY25
2024–2025
Ranked No. 8 on MPA’s Top 100 Brokers list
2025
Assistant Vice President and Senior Broker at MJ Hall & Company since 2018
Present
Milestones
Aug 2022
Milestones
Sept 2021
Feb 2022
Apr 2022
Jul 2022
Aug
2022
Suncorp Bank introduces Solar Home Bonus offer for customers who are choosing renewable energy for their homes
Sept 2021
Month-on-month market share growth commences
Feb 2022
Suncorp Bank wins the Canstar award for most outstanding value in investment loans
Apr 2022
Suncorp Bank wins Money Magazine’s Bank of the Year and Business Bank of the Year awards for the fifth year in a row
Jul 2022
Suncorp Bank’s turnaround times are the lowest they have ever been. The lender becomes Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bank for both its operation and transaction services
Aug 2022
Milestones
