MortgageSMART™by Emanate Finance
Interest rates
The RBA cash rate is 4.35%
The current cash rate target took effect on 6 May 2026, and the most recent decision the Reserve Bank published was on 6 May 2026. This page tracks every change, shows the longer-run interest rate history, and explains what a move actually means for an Australian home loan.
The figures come from the Reserve Bank's own published cash rate table, and the page is refreshed as each decision is handed down — so it stays useful between our individual rate updates.
Cash rate target
4.35%
Effective 6 May 2026
Last move
+0.25%
From 4.10% to 4.35%
Changes on record
25
Since 5 June 2019
Interest rate history
Where the cash rate has been
The Reserve Bank has published a cash rate target since 1990. The timeline below plots the moves through the recent cycle — the emergency lows of 2020, the fastest tightening run in a generation, and where the rate sits today.
| Effective date | Change | New cash rate |
|---|---|---|
| 6 May 2026 | +0.25% | 4.35% |
| 18 March 2026 | +0.25% | 4.10% |
| 4 February 2026 | +0.25% | 3.85% |
| 13 August 2025 | -0.25% | 3.60% |
| 21 May 2025 | -0.25% | 3.85% |
| 19 February 2025 | -0.25% | 4.10% |
| 8 November 2023 | +0.25% | 4.35% |
| 7 June 2023 | +0.25% | 4.10% |
| 3 May 2023 | +0.25% | 3.85% |
| 8 March 2023 | +0.25% | 3.60% |
| 8 February 2023 | +0.25% | 3.35% |
| 7 December 2022 | +0.25% | 3.10% |
| 2 November 2022 | +0.25% | 2.85% |
| 5 October 2022 | +0.25% | 2.60% |
| 7 September 2022 | +0.50% | 2.35% |
| 3 August 2022 | +0.50% | 1.85% |
| 6 July 2022 | +0.50% | 1.35% |
| 8 June 2022 | +0.50% | 0.85% |
| 4 May 2022 | +0.25% | 0.35% |
| 4 November 2020 | -0.15% | 0.10% |
| 20 March 2020 | -0.25% | 0.25% |
| 4 March 2020 | -0.25% | 0.50% |
| 2 October 2019 | -0.25% | 0.75% |
| 3 July 2019 | -0.25% | 1.00% |
| 5 June 2019 | -0.25% | 1.25% |
Source: Reserve Bank of Australia — Cash Rate Target. Earlier changes back to 1990 are published in the RBA's own table.
What it means
What a rate move does to a mortgage
A 0.25 percentage point move is the RBA's usual step. If a lender passes it on in full, this is roughly what it adds to a principal-and-interest repayment on a 30-year loan at a 6% rate.
It is a useful reality check, and it is also the smaller half of the story: the term your loan is set to and where your surplus goes each month move the total interest bill far more than a single 0.25% step ever will.
$400,000 loan
$65 / month
per 0.25% move, if passed on in full
$600,000 loan
$97 / month
per 0.25% move, if passed on in full
$800,000 loan
$129 / month
per 0.25% move, if passed on in full
$1,000,000 loan
$162 / month
per 0.25% move, if passed on in full
A cut is not automatic. Lenders choose whether to pass a change on and how much of it. Existing borrowers are often priced above what the same lender offers a new one.
A rise is not the whole problem. If a loan was reset to a fresh 30-year term at some point, the interest cost of that reset can dwarf the rate move that gets all the attention.
Fixed rates do not move during the fixed period — but they do roll off, and that roll-off date is worth knowing before it arrives.
Common questions
RBA cash rate questions
What is the RBA cash rate?
The cash rate is the Reserve Bank of Australia's target for the interest rate on unsecured overnight loans between banks. It is the benchmark that most Australian lenders price their variable home loans against.
When does the RBA decide the cash rate?
The RBA's Monetary Policy Board meets on a published schedule and announces its decision at 2.30pm on the final day of the meeting. Any change to the target takes effect the following day.
Does my home loan rate change every time the cash rate changes?
Not automatically. Lenders decide whether to pass a change on, how much of it to pass on and when. Fixed rates do not move at all during the fixed period. Comparing your rate against what lenders are currently offering new borrowers is usually more useful than watching the cash rate alone.
Is a lower cash rate always good for borrowers?
A cut can reduce a variable repayment, but the total cost of a mortgage is driven far more by the loan's structure and term than by a single rate move. A cut applied to a loan that has just been reset to 30 years can still cost more overall.
Next step
Rates move. Your mortgage structure is what you control.
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Last updated 14 August 2026. Cash rate data is sourced from the Reserve Bank of Australia and is provided as general information only. It does not take your objectives, financial situation or needs into account, is not a rate offer, and individual lender rates and repayments will differ.