Transport accounts for 14% of total household spending in Australia
This article was created in partnership with Auto-UX.
Novated leasing is a well-established employee benefit. But are novated leasing companies doing enough to help employees make informed financial decisions?
Navigating the process of buying a car can be overwhelming - even more so when layered with complex financing decisions held up by archaic and outdated processes in the novated sector. For employees, what should be an exciting milestone can turn into a confusing and time-consuming task.
“Buying a car is a big decision, probably the second biggest expense behind housing,” explained Greg Parkes, CEO of Auto-UX. “And people want to get that decision right.”
But for many employees, navigating the complexity of car finance, especially in novated leasing, is anxiety-inducing. Questions around not only what type of car they want but what would offer the best savings and tax relief can turn an already daunting task into a scary one.
“Those things are difficult for people to work through, particularly if they’re not experts in cars or in finance,” explained Parkes. “And most people aren’t.”
Shaking up the ‘old school’ method
It’s that knowledge gap that inspired the creation of Compare Assist, a digital tool designed to enable employees to compare different car buying options and strategies effortlessly.
“To date, there are really no tools or frameworks to help employees work through comparing different quotes against each other or just understanding how the different finance methods compare,” added Parkes. “There has been no framework that makes that process easy for employees. We knew it was an unsolved problem, and we wanted to solve it through technology rather than the old-school method of taking up people’s valuable time by talking them through it.”
That solution is Compare Assist, which splits its functionality into two focused modules: Compare Assist Quotes and Compare Assist Finance. Both are engineered to empower users to self-serve - replacing opaque consultant-driven interactions with a clear, user-guided digital experience.
“Let’s talk about quotes first,” Parkes began. “If we think about novated leasing as one of the methods that you can use to finance a car, the way it has traditionally worked is employees have to engage with a consultant who builds a novated lease quote for them. It’s usually done over a phone consultation and the quote’s usually emailed to them.”
But that’s only the beginning.
“Employees always need multiple quotes, you’re never looking at just one,” Parkes continued. “You might be looking at different cars, terms, or kilometres, all these variables change the cost and can actually be quite overwhelming.”
The standard method for comparing those quotes? Print them out and try and get your head around them side-by-side, something which seems somewhat laughable in today’s digital age.
“Historically, employees got multiple quotes emailed to them over time,” Parkes told HRD. “How do they compare those? Unfortunately, for many years, they probably printed them out, lined them up on the kitchen table, and got out a pen to work out how they compared.”
‘Self-guided’ approach
Parkes describes this process as inefficient and outdated – and one ripe for disruption. “Novated leasing quotes have a lot of information, it’s quite complex. So what we set out to do was significantly simplify that process digitally so people could do it in a self-guided manner.”
With Compare Assist Quotes, users can now view their options side by side digitally and filter based on what matters most to them.
“Maybe they’ve got kids and a dog and go away on weekends, so boot capacity matters. Maybe the upfront cost or fuel economy matters most. Whatever’s most important, they can compare the quotes based on their preferred criteria in the app. And it’s much better than printing the quotes and lining them up.”
Choosing a car may begin with looking at specs but it’s more than that - the real marker of success here is understanding how to best finance it.
“There are four main ways of buying a car: cash, a personal loan, a redraw from a home loan, or a novated lease,” Parkes added. “These methods have vastly different costs and pros and cons, and it’s complicated for people to understand.”
Enter Compare Assist Finance, which breaks down complex cost structures into digestible insights.
“Our challenge was to solve that through a self-guided digital experience,” Parkes said. “It compares the cost of each finance method and educates employees about the total lifetime cost - what it costs to buy, to run and finance, the opportunity cost of tying up money, and the disposal cost.”
This holistic approach enables real comparison - and smarter decisions. As Parkes told HRD, it’s only when you look at those four areas that can you see which is the most cost effective option overall. It unpacks, for example, the different interest implications amongst different methods, and helps people see where tax savings through novated leasing can make a real difference.
‘Feedback from employees has been incredible’
And in a cost-of-living crisis, financial literacy has become more urgent than ever. Recent research found that over the last two years alone, there’s been a 10% increase in the general cost of transport in Australia. And, shockingly, transport accounts for 14% of total household spending in Australia. Novated leasing is a viable, accessible and efficient tool that helps employees ease their financial stress - whilst also helping HR teams in the process.
“Feedback from employees has been incredible,” revealed Parkes. “They love that they can understand the financial implications quickly. Since implementing this, we’ve eliminated the spreadsheet process entirely. [What’s more] HR loves Compare Assist because they want employees to make informed financial decisions. This gives them comfort that their employees now have the tools to think differently and more intelligently.”
Parkes went on to explain that even users who aren’t actively in the market for a car are logging in to explore.
“We’ve lowered the barrier for people to explore and have a play with the platform. Some people are using it who aren’t even in the market for a car yet. When they are, this is the platform they’ll come back to. So far, we’re seeing much stronger adoption and engagement rates. Engagement and satisfaction have both significantly improved because people want to self-serve, and they want to understand.”
But Parkes’ team isn’t stopping there. Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, he told HRD that the next steps involve helping employees choose the best car for their needs.
“We’re not done yet. These features let people compare quotes and finance methods, but the next step is helping them choose the right car. There are tens of thousands of makes, models, and variants - that’s the next challenge.”
