How to read a rate move, without being quoted one.
Updated
This site does not publish interest rates, and this page explains why while giving you something more useful: how the rate you pay is set, what moves it, and what a change means for a loan you already have or are about to take.
No interest rate is quoted on this page or anywhere on this site. Any rate we show you is yours, in writing, with its comparison rate, conditions and fees.
Why there are no rates on this site
Three reasons. A rate advertised without its comparison rate, its conditions and the fees behind it is close to meaningless, and the law requires the comparison rate for good reason. Rates change weekly and a number on a page is out of date before anyone reads it. And the rate you would actually be offered depends on your loan size, your loan to value ratio, your income type, whether the loan is for a home or an investment, and whether it is principal and interest or interest only. A rate that is not yours tells you very little. When we show you a rate, it is yours, in writing, with everything attached.
The cash rate and your rate are different things
The Reserve Bank sets a target for the cash rate, the rate at which banks lend to each other overnight. Its Monetary Policy Board meets eight times a year on scheduled dates, and the decision is announced at 2.30 pm on the second day of the meeting. That decision does not set your rate. Your lender sets your rate according to what it pays for the money it lends, which is a mix of deposits, wholesale funding and its own capital, and according to what its competitors are doing. After a cash rate change, lenders decide whether to pass it on in full, in part, or with a delay, and they do not all decide the same thing. That is why two borrowers with the same loan at different lenders can pay different rates after the same decision.
What moves fixed rates
Fixed rates are priced off the bond and swap markets, where the cost of borrowing for two, three or five years is set by what investors expect the cash rate to do over that period. Fixed rates therefore move before the cash rate does, in the direction the market expects, and sometimes in the opposite direction to the most recent decision. A rising fixed rate while the cash rate is steady usually means the market expects increases; a falling one means it expects cuts. Neither is a forecast you can rely on, but both tell you what the lender is pricing in when you consider fixing.
Repricing: the rate you pay against the rate they advertise
Lenders compete hardest for new customers, and the rate on a loan written three years ago drifts above the rate offered today unless someone asks. Asking is called repricing, and it is the first step in every review we do. Lenders usually respond when the request is specific, comes with evidence of what the alternative is, and comes from a borrower they would rather keep. Whatever the lender offers becomes the benchmark for the refinance calculation, and staying with a repriced loan is a legitimate outcome.
The buffer and the debt to income limit
APRA requires the banks and other authorised deposit-taking institutions it regulates to assess a residential mortgage using a buffer of at least three percentage points above the loan rate, and each lender’s assessment policy adds its own rules on top. A cut in rates lowers your repayment and lifts your borrowing power, but by less than the headline suggests, because the buffer is applied on top of the new rate too. From 1 February 2026 APRA has also limited the share of new lending at a debt to income ratio of six or more to 20% of each regulated lender’s new mortgage lending, measured separately for owner-occupier and investor lending, with exemptions that include owner-occupier bridging and loans to buy or build a new dwelling. That is a lender portfolio limit, not a universal six-times-income ceiling or entitlement, and it affects investors and high-value purchases more than the middle of the market. The borrowing power tool on this site applies a 3 percentage point buffer on the rate you enter.
What to do when rates move
If your rate goes up: check that the increase matches what the lender announced, ask for a reprice, and run the refinance savings tool with your actual figures. If your rate goes down: the same three things, because a cut passed on in part is a reprice opportunity too. If your fixed term is ending within three months: run the fixed rate ending tool and start the review, because the revert rate is rarely the rate you would choose. If you are about to buy: run the borrowing power tool at the rate you have been quoted, then at that rate plus one percentage point, and decide what you are comfortable with rather than what the maximum is. If nothing has moved for a year: that is the moment most people forget to check, and the moment the gap between your rate and the market is usually largest.
Where the numbers come from
Cash rate decisions, the meeting calendar and the minutes are published by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The serviceability buffer sits in APRA’s prudential standard APS 220 and its guidance, and the debt to income limit in APRA’s announcement of 28 November 2025; both are linked in the sources at the end of this page. Comparison rate rules come from the National Consumer Credit Protection regulations. When something on this page changes, the page is updated and the date at the top changes with it.
Three tools for a rate move.
Is switching worth it?
Refinance savings calculator: a lower rate is not automatically a saving.
OpenToolWhat happens when my fixed rate ends?
Fixed rate ending calculator: when a fixed term ends the loan reverts to the lender's variable rate, and the repayment moves on the day.
OpenToolHow much could I borrow?
Borrowing power calculator: a lender does not start from the price of the house.
OpenAsked about this topic.
Why don’t you publish interest rates?
Because a rate without its comparison rate, conditions and fees is not useful, because rates change weekly, and because the rate you would be offered depends on your loan size, ratio, income type and purpose. Any rate we show you is yours, in writing, with everything attached.
Does the RBA set my home loan rate?
No. The RBA sets the cash rate target at eight scheduled meetings a year. Your lender sets your rate according to its own funding costs and competition, and decides how much of any cash rate change to pass on and when.
Why did fixed rates move when the cash rate did not?
Fixed rates are priced off bond and swap markets that reflect what investors expect the cash rate to do over the fixed term. They move ahead of the cash rate, in the direction the market expects.
What is the serviceability buffer?
APRA requires the banks and other ADIs it regulates to assess whether you could repay a residential mortgage at a rate at least three percentage points above the rate you will actually pay; lenders outside APRA’s prudential standards set their own policies. It is why a rate cut lifts borrowing power by less than the headline suggests.
Where the facts on this page come from.
- 2026 Monetary Policy Board meeting dates (RBA media release)
- Cash rate target (RBA)
- APRA announces update on macroprudential settings, 23 July 2025 (serviceability buffer)
- APRA limit on high debt-to-income home loans, 28 November 2025
- Prudential Standard APS 220 Credit Risk Management (APRA)
- Comparison rates (ASIC Moneysmart)
Prepared by Opulent Finance. The facts above were checked against these sources on 8 September 2026. This page is general information; it has not been reviewed by the licensee’s compliance function and is not credit assistance. Credit assistance at Opulent Finance is provided by Dayan Kasturiratna, Australian Credit Representative 394747, under Australian Finance Group Ltd, ACL 389087. Sources change: where a scheme, threshold or rule matters to your decision, check the source on the day.
When the reading raises a question, ask it.
A finance review starts with a conversation and a written position from Dayan Kasturiratna, who provides the credit assistance on every file. No credit check to start.
The Learn section is general information about lending in Australia. It does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs, is not credit assistance, and is not tax, legal or financial advice. Lender policies, government schedules and regulations change; check the current position with the relevant body or with us before relying on it.
