Fixed Home Loan Rates Are Rising in Australia: How to Compare a Fresh Offer After the RBA's 4.6% Cash Rate

TL;DR: lenders repriced first — the RBA decision is only part of the move

Australian lenders lifted 289 fixed home loan rates after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.6% on 29 September 2026. Seventeen lenders lifted fixed rates by an average of 0.24 percentage points in the week after the decision, adding about $91 a month to a $600,000 loan according to Canstar. Once that rise is passed on in full, a borrower with a $600,000 loan would be paying about $364 a month more than before the first of 2026's four hikes. Fixed rates are priced off bond yields and funding costs rather than the cash rate alone, so they can move before or without an RBA decision. To judge a fresh offer, compare the quoted rate with fees, features, the repayments and the date the rate actually starts, and get the Key Fact Sheet for the amount you intend to borrow.

This is general information only. It does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it is not personal financial advice. Speak to a licensed broker or financial adviser before you commit to a loan.

What actually changed after the 29 September decision

• The RBA's Monetary Policy Board increased the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.6% on 29 September 2026. Before that meeting the cash rate sat at 4.35%, and the move was the fourth increase of 2026.
• 4.6% is the highest cash rate since late 2011. The Guardian described it as the highest level in 15 years.
• Lenders have lifted 289 fixed rates since the decision.
• Seventeen lenders raised those fixed rates by an average of 0.24 percentage points in the week after the decision.
• On a $600,000 loan, Canstar puts the latest increase alone at about $91 a month.
• Over the same week, seven lenders lifted 49 owner-occupier and investor variable rates by an average of 26 basis points, and many of the announced variable increases had yet to take effect, with most due over the following week or so.

Canstar's group manager of research, Josh Sale, said most lenders had yet to respond to the new 4.6% cash rate, and that variable borrowers should treat the next few weeks as a moving target. The average variable rate for owner-occupiers paying principal and interest now sits at 6.63%. The lowest variable rate on Canstar's database is 5.69%, from Pacific Mortgage Group, and only two rates remain below 5.75%, which Sale expects will not last once repricing runs its course.

Why fixed rates are not the RBA's rate

A fixed interest rate stays the same for a set period, usually between one and five years, and your repayments will not change during that period even if market interest rates rise or fall. When the fixed period ends, the loan will usually move to the lender's variable interest rate, or revert rate, unless you switch home loans or agree to another fixed-rate period.

The RBA's own explainer describes the cash rate as the anchor for the yield curve, with changes in the cash rate tending to shift the level of the curve, while longer-term yields also reflect what markets expect the cash rate to do over the life of the loan; the yield curve is therefore important for fixed mortgage rates. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions once a bond has been issued.

That is why repricing can run ahead of, or independently of, a board decision. Sale said the fixed moves are the ones to watch because lenders are not just passing on September's hike, and that banks are pricing in higher bond yields and the possibility of a further RBA increase, with central banks in the US, Europe and Japan also tightening through September.

The context behind the pricing

• Headline inflation reached 4% in August, a four-month high, while the RBA's preferred underlying measure held at 3.6%. The RBA's target range is 2% to 3%, and data released after the decision was expected to show underlying inflation running at 3.6% for a third month.
• Unemployment rose to 4.6%, its highest level in almost five years.
• The big four banks are split: some expect 4.6% to mark the peak, while others are forecasting one more increase in November. ANZ and UBS stood by predictions of a hike as soon as November, while Commonwealth Bank and NAB reaffirmed forecasts for rates to stay put, and AMP economist My Bui predicted a hold.
• Sale said the September inflation figures, due on 28 October, would go a long way to settling the debate.

None of this settles the question for a borrower. It explains why two lenders can quote very different fixed rates on the same day, and why a quote you receive this week may not be available next week.

How to compare a fresh fixed-rate offer

Work through these items for every loan you are considering, and keep them all on the same borrow amount:

• The rate and the cost behind it. The home loan interest rate is not the only cost to compare; fees, loan features and repayment amounts matter too.
• The Key Fact Sheet. Get one for each loan, based on the amount you are likely to borrow, from your mortgage broker, from the lender directly, or from the lender's website. It is a good way to compare the cost of different loans, but it does not include every feature or condition, so ask the broker or lender about anything missing.
• At least two lenders. Compare loans from at least two different lenders on interest rates, fees and features.
• The fixed period and the revert rate. Ask what variable interest rate is likely to apply when the fixed period ends, and whether you can switch to another loan at that point.
• Flexibility costs. Ask what fees or restrictions apply if you want to make extra repayments, refinance or pay the loan out early.
• Features. Different lenders offer different features and conditions; compare these alongside the cost information in the Key Fact Sheet. An offset account is one such feature, and it can reduce the home loan interest you pay.
• A split option. A split home loan divides the loan into two parts, one fixed and one variable, in a proportion you agree with the lender, for example 50/50 or 20/80.
• The stress test. Run repayments at more than one interest rate, ideally including a rate 3% higher, to see whether your budget has room for repayments to rise.
• Loan term and repayment type. Your loan term affects both the size of your repayments and the total interest you pay, and the first choice is between principal and interest and interest-only.

One caution on the numbers: the repricing data published with the story covers the size of the moves across lenders, not a single market-wide average fixed rate. Treat any average fixed rate you see elsewhere as a separate claim that needs its own source and date.

Timing: the date the quoted rate actually starts

A quoted rate and a charged rate are two different things. Many of the variable increases announced after the September decision had not yet taken effect at the time of reporting, with most due over the following week or so — the clearest evidence that the date matters as much as the number.

For a fixed-rate offer, ask the lender or broker, in writing:

1. Confirm the rate being quoted.
2. Ask what happens if settlement slips past that date.
3. Ask what the repayments will be on settlement day.
4. Ask when the fixed period starts and ends.

If you want to check whether your lender has actually moved, the RBA publishes lenders' interest rates five business days after the end of each month, drawing on APRA and RBA data, with housing lending rates in Statistical Table F6.

How lenders test whether you can repay

APRA is responsible for both microprudential and macroprudential policy in Australia, and serviceability restrictions typically work by adjusting the interest rates lenders use to calculate maximum loan sizes. The RBA's October 2021 Financial Stability Review describes the rate banks use to determine loan serviceability as the higher of a floor rate or the current interest rate on the loan plus a serviceability buffer prescribed by APRA, and says that assessment rate accounts for potential increases in interest rates and shocks to income. The same review records that in 2019 APRA indicated it expected banks to use a buffer of at least 250 basis points, and that in early October 2021 APRA increased the buffer. Treat that review as background on how the framework works, not as a statement of the buffer in force today.

APRA's capital standards also shape residential mortgage lending. APS 112 sets out the conditions a standard residential property exposure must meet, how the loan-to-value ratio is calculated, the treatment of lenders' mortgage insurance, and requires the property valuation to be done independently from the lender's mortgage acquisition, loan processing and loan decision process.

For your own purposes, the practical version is Moneysmart's: use the mortgage calculator at more than one rate and see whether your budget has room if interest rates went up by 3%.

What to do next

2. Decide whether you want principal and interest or interest-only repayments.
3. Shortlist at least two lenders.
4. Request the Key Fact Sheet for each loan at your borrow amount.
5. Compare the rate, the fees, the features and the repayment.
6. Ask what the revert rate will be when the fixed period ends.
7. Ask what applies if you repay early, refinance or make extra repayments.
8. Run the numbers at a rate 3% higher.
9. Confirm in writing when the quoted rate starts.
10. Consider whether a split loan fits your situation.
11. Ask a licensed broker or financial adviser to check the loan against your circumstances before you commit.

The terms, validity and conditions of a pre-approval differ between lenders, so ask the lender or broker you are dealing with to set out theirs in writing rather than assuming a standard rule applies.

Where the official information comes from

• Reserve Bank of Australia, Statement by the Monetary Policy Board: Monetary Policy Decision, 29 September 2026.
• Reserve Bank of Australia, Lenders' Interest Rates, published five business days after the end of each month, including Statistical Table F6 – Housing Lending Rates.
• Reserve Bank of Australia, Bonds and the Yield Curve explainer.
• Reserve Bank of Australia, Financial Stability Review – October 2021, Mortgage Macroprudential Policies.
• APRA, APS 112 Capital Adequacy: Standardised Approach to Credit Risk.
• Mortgage Professional Australia, Fixed home loan rates rise as lenders price in further tightening, 7 October 2026, reporting Canstar tracking.
• The Guardian, RBA interest rates: Reserve Bank raises cash rate to highest level in 15 years, 29 September 2026.

Questions borrowers are asking

What is the cash rate now, and when did it last change?

It is 4.6%, after the RBA increased the cash rate target by 25 basis points on 29 September 2026. The cash rate sat at 4.35% before that meeting, and the move was the fourth increase of 2026. It is the highest level since late 2011.

Why did fixed rates rise when I had not heard of another RBA decision?

Because fixed rates are priced from bond yields, funding costs and expectations of future cash rates, not from the cash rate alone. The RBA describes the cash rate as the anchor of the yield curve, while longer-term yields also reflect expected policy over the life of the loan. Canstar's Josh Sale said lenders were pricing in higher bond yields and the possibility of a further RBA increase, not just passing on September's hike.

Should I use the advertised rate or the comparison figure?

Neither on its own. Moneysmart's guidance is that the home loan interest rate is not the only cost, and to compare fees, features and repayment amounts alongside it, using the Key Fact Sheet for the amount you are likely to borrow. If a lender shows a single comparison figure, ask what it includes, because the Key Fact Sheet does not cover every feature or condition.

Which costs should I put side by side?

The interest rate, upfront and ongoing fees, loan features and the repayment amount, plus what applies on extra repayments, refinancing or early payout, and the variable revert rate that applies when the fixed period ends. Compare loans from at least two lenders.

Does the rate I am quoted apply straight away?

Not necessarily. Many variable increases announced after the September decision had not yet taken effect at the time of reporting, with most due over the following week or so. You can check whether a lender has moved in the RBA's lenders' interest rates publication, released five business days after each month end.

How will a lender judge whether I can afford the loan?

Through a serviceability assessment rate set above the loan's contract rate. The RBA's October 2021 Financial Stability Review describes it as the higher of a floor rate or the loan rate plus an APRA-prescribed buffer, and records APRA increasing that buffer in October 2021 after indicating in 2019 that it expected at least 250 basis points. Moneysmart suggests testing your own budget at a rate 3% higher.