Private Mortgages Australia Team
We’re here to help
Private Mortgages Australia was founded with the aim of starting a company with a transparent lending process, that is responsive to client’s needs, adapts solutions and provides quick lending decisions. We are extremely proud of the company we have built and the service we have provided to both our referrers and our borrowers.
Meet the Team
Senior Executive Team
Peter Cuskelly
Managing Director
Peter joined Private Mortgages Australia in 2015 and is now responsible for leading the team at PMA. He has a wealth of experience in credit across all types of lending including commercial, agribusiness, mortgage and personal clients.
Prior to joining PMA he was a mortgage broker offering individual and commercial clients tailored finance options to suit their needs. He has also worked with a number of large institutions including ANZ and Commonwealth Bank. Peter’s passion is working with clients to provide innovative and cost effective solutions whilst maintaining acceptable levels of risk.
Peter has a Bachelor of Business, Graduate Certificate in Corporate Finance and is a qualified CPA. He has completed the Agile Project Management Foundation & Practitioner course and also holds a Diploma of Finance and Mortgage Broking Management.
Brendan Barry-Murphy
Relationships Manager
Brendan joined Private Mortgages Australia in 2024 and he has an extensive banking background spanning 33 years with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, including as a Senior Business Banking Credit Executive.
Following his career at CBA, Brendan became a Mortgage Broker with a large Broking Firm in South Yarra and thus learnt all about the Banks' and Non-Banks' lending products as well as tailoring solutions for high net worth clients.
Brendan then became a Business Development Manager for a Non-Bank Home Loan Lender for the last four and a half years prior to joining PMA. He loves nothing more than making and structuring deals that best the needs of the client and getting to yes as quickly and easily as possible.
Dushen Tissera
Relationships Manager
Dushen started his finance career at National Australia Bank in 2016 and then moved on to the non-bank and private lending sector where he gained a strong understanding of mortgage and SME lending from both the business development and credit perspectives. Working in multiple private lending firms, working in both credit assessment and recoveries, Dushen has a holistic understanding of the credit process from start to finish and is able to ensure that our loans are all in line with the customers and investors requirements.
Dushen has a Bachelor of Business/Marketing from Swinburne University and brings over 5 years of credit experience in other private lending financiers to the team.
Peter Stevens
Credit Manager
Peter has had a career in banking spanning over 30 years. He started his career at ANZ working as a Senior Credit Manager in a variety of commercial credit roles. More recently Peter worked for Bank Australia where he led the Commercial Credit Team.
Peter has extensive experience in all types of lending including commercial, development and agribusiness. Peter will make client focused commercial decisions while ensuring that an adequate level of risk management is maintained.
Non-Executive Team
Tim Hart
Co-Founder, Private Mortgages Australia
Tim is the co-founder of Private Mortgages Australia and has played an integral part in growing the business since the company began in 2014.
Tim has been a full-time investor since 2006. He has completed a multitude of investments in residential real estate, commercial property and private lending in this time.
As an educator, Tim has delivered training to thousands of investors, in both residential and commercial fields, using creative investment strategies.
Tim has a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) with Distinction, (Financial Planning and Accounting) from Deakin University.
Lewis O’Brien
Principal, Lewis O’Brien & Associates
Lewis is a member of the PMA Credit Committee and the principal of his boutique legal practice that centres on meeting the needs of property investors. Lewis is renowned for his knowledge and experience in executing innovative property investing techniques. Since 2000 Lewis has been arranging direct mortgages with his own capital and on behalf of his High Net Worth clients and has been assisting clients with their own mortgage investments. Lewis provides balance to the Credit Committee by remaining independent to Private Mortgages Australia.
Lewis has a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Law (Honours 2A) from Melbourne University and a Masters of Business Administration from Melbourne Business School.
