The Reserve Bank publishes its cash-rate decision at 2.30pm Sydney time on Tuesday 3 November 2026. The board meets across 2 and 3 November; the announcement is on the Tuesday, which is Melbourne Cup day in Victoria. Going in, the cash rate target is 4.60%, effective 30 September 2026. The next update on that page is listed as 2.30pm on 3 November.
This is general information, not a forecast and not financial advice. Nothing below says the rate will rise, fall, or stay. The three columns are what repayments do if a loan rate moves by 0.25 percentage points, which is the size of a standard cash-rate step. A cash-rate decision does not rewrite your mortgage by itself. Lenders choose whether to pass a move on, in full or in part, and a fixed-rate period does not change until it ends.
The rate these scenarios start from
The cash rate and a home-loan rate are different numbers. In August 2026 the average rate on new owner-occupier principal-and-interest loans was 6.15%, and the average on new investor principal-and-interest loans was 6.32%. Both figures are from the RBA's lenders' interest rates for August 2026, and both series mix variable and fixed loans. They are not an advertised special, and they are not your rate.
Loan size comes from the ABS Lending Indicators, June quarter 2026, original series. The average new owner-occupier dwelling loan was $731,000. The average new investor dwelling loan was $708,000. September-quarter figures are not out yet; the ABS has scheduled that release for 11 November.
The other two owner-occupier sizes are illustrations, labelled as such: $500,000, which is the round figure our repayment page already uses in its examples, and $1,000,000.
What the calculator does with 0.25 percentage points
The mortgage repayment calculator uses the standard principal-and-interest formula. Monthly rate r is the annual rate divided by 12. Over n months, with n = 360 for a 30-year term:
M = P × r(1+r)ⁿ / ((1+r)ⁿ − 1)
The page then rounds to the nearest dollar. Every figure in the table is that rounded result. Re-enter the loan and the rate and you should see the same monthly number.
A 0.25 percentage point rise takes 6.15% to 6.40%. A cut of the same size takes it to 5.90%. "No change" leaves the August average where it is. The term is 30 years, principal and interest, with no fees and no offset.
| Loan | 5.90% | 6.15% now | 6.40% | If the rate rises |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | $2,966 | $3,046 | $3,128 | +$82 a month |
| $731,000 average new owner-occupier | $4,336 | $4,453 | $4,572 | +$119 a month |
| $1,000,000 | $5,931 | $6,092 | $6,255 | +$163 a month |
A cut is not quite the mirror image, because the rounding lands differently. On these three loans the calculator's rounded repayments fall by $80, $117 and $161 a month.
Before rounding, the monthly cost of a 0.25 percentage point rise is $81.39 on $500,000, $118.99 on $731,000 and $162.78 on $1,000,000. Over a year that is about $977, $1,428 and $1,953. The table shows the gap between the rounded figures the calculator actually displays, which is a dollar or two higher.
▶ Extra each month if the loan rate rises 0.25 percentage points
The same formula on the average new investor loan of $708,000, starting from the August new investor principal-and-interest rate of 6.32%, returns $4,392 a month. At 6.57% it returns $4,508, which is $116 more. At 6.07% it returns $4,277.
None of this is a 30-year forecast. A single meeting does not set the rate for the rest of the term. The monthly gap is the honest reading of one 0.25 percentage point move. If that new rate were held for the entire remaining term, interest over 30 years on the $731,000 loan would be about $43,000 higher at 6.40% than at 6.15% — and that "if" is doing a lot of work.
What else moves, and what does not
Offset. A higher rate makes each dollar in the offset worth more, because interest is charged on the loan minus the offset balance. The offset calculator runs that on your balance and your rate. The direction is enough to know before Tuesday: the same offset balance saves more interest when the rate is higher.
Borrowing power. Serviceability tightens when the assessed rate rises and loosens when it falls. How much, and on whose test, is the lender's model. The borrowing power calculator is a simplified estimate of that relationship, not a pre-approval.
Refinance. The question after a decision is the gap between the rate on the loan and the rate on offer, minus the cost of moving. The refinance calculator is that comparison. It does not include break costs.
Fixed rates. A loan inside a fixed period does not change because the cash rate changed. The comparison, if you are choosing or if you are thinking about leaving early, is fixed versus variable and the break-cost calculator.
The decision itself. Minutes of the November meeting are scheduled for 11.30am on 17 November. The following board meeting is 7–8 December, with the decision on Tuesday 8 December. Both dates are on the RBA's 2026 meeting schedule.
If you are lodging your own tax return, that deadline is the day before: Monday 2 November. The checklist is separate from anything the Bank does on Tuesday. Business activity statements for July–September were due on 28 October; that guide covers who they apply to.