FunanceFour rate rises in 2026. On the average Australian home loan, repayments are up about $469 a month.
The RBA has lifted the cash rate four times this year, from 3.60% to 4.60%. Passed on in full, that adds about $469 a month to the repayments on the average new home loan in Australia ($731,000, ABS), or $5,625 a year. The table for four loan sizes, why each rise costs a little more than the last, and what 3 November could add.
Updated 3 November 2026: the examples now use the average new home loan in Australia, $731,000 (ABS Lending Indicators, June quarter 2026), the loan Funance uses for every repayment example. They previously used an example of $600,000.
The RBA has now raised the four times in 2026: February, March, May and September, 25 basis points each time. It started the year at 3.60%. Since the 29 September decision it sits at 4.60%, one full percentage point higher.
On the average new home loan in Australia, $731,000 (ABS Lending Indicators, June quarter 2026), a full point is about $469 a month more in repayments, or $5,625 a year, if your lender passed every rise on in full. The big four did exactly that with the September rise, from 9 October.
The Board meets again on 2 and 3 November. Here is what the year so far has done, worked through in dollars, and what the next decision could change.
The year in four steps
| Decision | Change | Cash rate after |
|---|---|---|
| Start of 2026 | 3.60% | |
| February | +0.25 | 3.85% |
| March | +0.25 | 4.10% |
| May | +0.25 | 4.35% |
| 29 September | +0.25 | 4.60% |
Sources: RBA cash rate, RBA statement, 29 September.
In September the RBA said inflation "remains elevated". The last monthly reading backs that up: annual CPI was 4.0% in August, with the trimmed mean at 3.6%, both above the 2% to 3% target. We went through those two measures in Inflation hit 4.0% in August.
What a full point costs, by loan size
The cash rate is what banks pay each other overnight. You never pay it directly, but your variable home loan rate is priced off it, and when a lender passes a rise on in full, your rate moves by the same amount.
To keep the comparison clean, the table below assumes a new 30-year principal and interest loan at an illustrative 5.45% in January, and 6.45% now after four full pass-throughs. The middle row is the national average new home loan; the others sit either side of it.
| Loan | Repayment in January (5.45%) | Repayment now (6.45%) | Extra a month | Extra a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | $2,823 | $3,144 | $321 | $3,848 |
| $731,000 (national average) | $4,128 | $4,596 | $469 | $5,625 |
| $1,000,000 | $5,647 | $6,288 | $641 | $7,695 |
| $1,500,000 | $8,470 | $9,432 | $962 | $11,543 |
Illustrative rates, not a market average. Your own rate, balance and remaining term will give different figures, and a loan with fewer years left will move by less.
Two things worth seeing in that table. The extra cost scales almost exactly with the loan: double the balance, double the hit. And none of it is temporary. A rise stays in the repayment until a later decision takes it out again.
Run this post on your loan
What the September rise costs you
Filled in with the post’s example: the $731,000 average loan. Put in your own.
Repayment now: about $4,596 a month.
Why each rise costs a little more than the last
Here is the same $731,000 average loan, one rise at a time:
| Rate | Monthly repayment | Added by that rise |
|---|---|---|
| 5.45% | $4,128 | |
| 5.70% | $4,243 | $115 |
| 5.95% | $4,359 | $117 |
| 6.20% | $4,477 | $118 |
| 6.45% | $4,596 | $119 |
Each 0.25 adds a few dollars more than the one before it. That is the mechanism of a principal and interest loan: the higher the rate, the more of each repayment goes on interest, so the repayment needed to clear the balance on time climbs a little faster with every step. It is a small effect at this size. On a $1 million loan the fourth rise added about $6 a month more than the first.
What does not move, or moves differently
Fixed loans. Your repayment stays where it is until the fixed term ends. What changes is the rate you roll onto. Fixed rates have been rising too: lenders lifted 289 fixed rates after the September decision, according to Canstar.
. Money in an offset reduces the balance you pay interest on, so each dollar in it saves interest at your loan rate. When the loan rate rises, so does what that dollar saves. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation: whether cash belongs there depends on what else it is for.
Interest-only loans. The repayment is all interest, so a one point rise moves it by about one per cent of the balance a year, which is $7,310 on the $731,000 average loan, or about $609 a month. That is more than the principal and interest figure, because there is no principal portion to absorb part of the change.
The timing of your first higher repayment. Lenders change the rate on a set date, but when the new repayment first comes out depends on your repayment cycle and your lender's notice. Your lender's letter or app has the exact amount.
What 3 November could add
Two things land before the next decision. The ABS publishes September CPI on Wednesday 28 October, and the Board announces its decision at 2:30pm on Tuesday 3 November, with its quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy released at the same time.
We are not going to guess the outcome. But both possibilities are easy to put a number on:
| If the RBA… | Cash rate | $731,000 average loan, monthly change |
|---|---|---|
| Holds | 4.60% | $0 |
| Raises 0.25 | 4.85% | +$121 (6.45% to 6.70%) |
Same illustrative loan as above. A fifth rise would take the year's total on the average loan to about $589 a month.
The useful number is not either of those. It is the rate at which your own budget stops balancing. If you know that figure before the decision, the announcement is information. If you do not, it is a surprise.
Running it on your own loan
Every figure above is for the national average loan at illustrative rates. Yours has its own rate, balance and years left, and that changes the answer.
- The free mortgage scenario calculator runs a rate change against your own loan, with no account needed.
- The Debts tab (free) holds your actual loan and shows its payoff date at your real rate, and what do to it.
- The What-If Scenarios tab (Pro) puts a rate rise beside your whole budget, not just the loan, so you see what is left over each month at 4.85% or 5.10% before it happens. Pro starts with a 14-day trial.
This post is general information about public RBA decisions and standard loan arithmetic. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it is not personal financial advice. For your own situation, talk to a mortgage broker or a licensed financial adviser.
Run the four rises on your own loan. The mortgage calculator takes your balance, rate and years left, and shows the repayment before and after a rate change. Nothing to sign up for.
Frequently asked questions
How much have rates gone up in 2026?
The RBA raised the cash rate by 25 basis points in February, March, May and September, taking it from 3.60% to 4.60%. That is one full percentage point. The big four banks passed the September rise on to variable home loans in full from 9 October.
How much does a 1% rate rise add to the average Australian mortgage?
The average new owner-occupier home loan in Australia is $731,000 (ABS Lending Indicators, June quarter 2026). As a new 30-year principal and interest loan, moving from 5.45% to 6.45% lifts its monthly repayment from about $4,128 to about $4,596, an extra $469 a month or $5,625 a year. Those rates are illustrative. Your own rate, balance and remaining term will give a different figure.
When is the next RBA decision?
The Monetary Policy Board meets on 2 and 3 November 2026. The decision is announced at 2:30pm on Tuesday 3 November. You can model a further rise against your own loan with the free mortgage scenario calculator.
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