The short answer
The Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate 0.25 to 4.85% on 3 November 2026, its fifth rise this year. The Board was split: six members voted to raise and three to hold (statement). The new rate applies from 4 November.
Banks set their own rates. Macquarie announced on the day that it would pass the rise on, from 19 November. After September's rise, most banks took about two weeks.
- 4.85% the cash rate from 4 November, up from 4.60%
- $98 a month added to a $600,000 home loan if a lender passes the rise on in full
- $250 a year added on $100,000 in savings if a bank passes it on in full
What the Governor said
- “Inflation is too high, and our forecasts suggest it will stay higher for longer.” Michele Bullock, Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia (press conference, 3 November)
- “I don't know what the next move will be.” Michele Bullock, asked whether the RBA is now on hold (via ABC News)
- “… we are not looking to tip the economy into recession if we can avoid it.” Michele Bullock, press conference (via ABC News)
The Board's statement puts the rise down to inflation that is high and broad, fuel prices lifted by the conflict in the Middle East flowing into other prices, and an economy with less spare capacity than the Board had thought. Its forecasts moved up: "Inflation is now expected to remain above 3 per cent for the coming year." Three of the nine members voted to hold at 4.60%.
The cash rate through 2026
| Start of the year | 3.60% |
| 3 February | 3.85% |
| 17 March | 4.10% |
| 5 May | 4.35% |
| 29 September | 4.60% |
| 3 November | 4.85% |
What 0.25 is worth
- A home loan. At 6.34%, the middle of lenders' lowest variable rates for a new owner-occupier, $600,000 over 30 years costs $3,730 a month. At 6.59% it costs $3,828, about $98 more. On $750,000 it's about $123 more.
- Savings. A rate 0.25 higher pays $250 a year more on $100,000, or $125 on $50,000, before tax.
- All five rises this year. If a lender passed each on in full, a $600,000 loan's rate went from 5.34% to 6.59%, and its repayment from $3,347 a month to $3,828: $481 more a month, or about $5,800 a year. On $100,000 in savings, 1.25 points is $1,250 a year more, before tax.
- Fixed rates and term deposits already open don't change. Their rate holds until the fixed term ends or the deposit matures.
How fast banks passed on this year's rises
BankMate reads every bank's rates from its Open Banking feed each night, so each rise's pass-through can be counted bank by bank.
Median days from the announcement to a bank's new savings rate
| 17 March rise: 31 of 33 banks | 11 days |
| 5 May rise: 45 of 50 banks | 15 days |
| 29 September rise: 54 of 61 banks | 14 days |
The first to move each time were easyStreet in March (4 days after), AMP GO in May (8 days) and Australian Mutual Bank in September (2 days). Each rise is on its own page: March, May and September.
Borrowers felt September's rise faster: 40 of the 41 home loan lenders BankMate tracks raised their variable rate for new borrowers, a median of 11 days after the announcement. AMP moved first, 4 days after.
When the big four moved after September's rise
- CommBank · 9 Oct: savings and home loans, 10 days after
- ANZ · 9 Oct: savings and home loans, 10 days after
- NAB · 9 Oct: savings 10 days after, home loans 11
- Westpac · 9 Oct: savings 10 days after, home loans 11
Who has moved since 3 November
Macquarie announced on the day that its variable home loan rates and its savings and transaction account rates rise by 0.25 from 19 November.
- “We're again waiting more than two weeks before this latest increase takes effect.” Ben Perham, Head of Personal Banking, Macquarie Bank (via ABC News)
Updated every morning from the banks’ Open Banking feeds.
Every bank and lender, with each rate before and after and how many days it took, is on the November 2026 decision page. It fills in each morning as the feeds update.
Where savings rates stand now
What economists expect next
Economists don't agree on whether this is the last rise. Some read the 6–3 vote as a Board near its peak; others expect at least one more early next year.
- “My base case is the RBA will raise rates again in February 2027.” David Bassanese, Chief Economist, Betashares (via ABC News)
- “We believe that the Bank is now done tightening though it probably won't loosen policy until the end of next year.” Capital Economics, economic research firm (via ABC News)
- “It feels like the economy is adjusting to higher interest rates but we're not at the end of the story.” Sally Auld, Chief Economist, NAB, before the decision (via ABC News)
- “Five rate hikes in a single year is a significant hit to household budgets.” Sally Tindall, Data Insights Director, Canstar (via ABC News)
What a rise doesn't change
- Bonus conditions. In a month the conditions aren't met, most bonus accounts pay only their base rate. The article How bonus interest works shows what that costs.
- Intro rates. A bank can raise its ongoing rate and leave its intro rate where it is, or close the offer.
- Existing home loans. Lenders' feeds show the rates a new borrower is quoted. A lender tells existing borrowers their new rate and the day it applies.
The Board next announces its decision on 8 December. Every decision, and who passed each one on, is on BankMate's RBA page.
Cash rate and statement from the RBA. Quotes as reported by ABC News on 3 November 2026. Portrait of Michele Bullock: Reserve Bank of Australia, CC BY 4.0, engraved by BankMate. Pass-through figures from each bank's Open Banking feed, read by BankMate each night, as on the decision pages on 3 November 2026. Repayments are principal and interest over 30 years; this year's start assumes each rise was passed on in full.
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