Percent and percentage points
A move from 4.35% to 4.60% is a rise of 0.25 percentage points, or 25 basis points. It is not a rise of 0.25% in the rate itself.
Australia · Interest & borrowing
Read the rates.
Understand the differences.
The definitions, dates and limits that help make interest-rate comparisons useful.
Cash target effective 30 September 2026 · Lending: August 2026, published 8 October 2026
Basis points
One basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point. One hundred basis points equals one percentage point.
Per annum
An annual rate. It does not mean that the data are collected only once a year. Lending averages here are published for each reference month.
Reference dates
A cash-rate target has an effective date. Lending data have a reference month and a later publication date. Those dates should not be treated as the same thing.
Average rates
These are published aggregate rates across groups of loans. They are not advertised offers, a quote for a new customer or a recommendation.
Missing values
A missing published value is shown as Unavailable and is not treated as zero. Lines do not bridge missing monthly observations.
From policy to household budgets
A cash-rate change can influence lending and deposit rates, but the timing and size of that response vary. Fixed loans may not change until their fixed period ends. Variable rates can change at different times across lenders.
For savers, deposit rates matter too. This section covers the cash-rate target and housing and business lending rates; it does not yet show deposit rates.
Interest payments affect cash flow. They are different from the consumer-price changes measured in the CPI. Household living-cost indexes provide another perspective on some households’ costs.
Sources, dates and calculations
Earlier market-rate history: RBA Table F1.1, FIRMMCRI, published 1 October 2026. The chart uses the RBA’s native monthly averages from May 1976 to December 1989, without calculating our own averages. The earlier underlying measure was the 11am call rate. January 1990 is omitted because its monthly average spans the change to announced targets. A visual connector runs from December 1989’s average to the upper edge of the first announced target range on 23 January 1990. It adds no observation to the figures and calculates no midpoint.
Cash-rate target and changes: RBA Table A2 and the RBA cash-rate target page. Target changes use their native effective dates. The step chart holds a target level until the next published change; it does not create new daily observations.
Home-loan rates: RBA Table F6. Business lending rates: RBA Table F7. Both retain the source labels APRA; RBA. This section uses the August 2026 edition published 8 October 2026. View the RBA lending-rate summary.
Monthly and year-ago changes subtract the rate for the matching prior month or twelve months earlier. Differences are expressed in percentage points or basis points. They are changes in published averages, not a decomposition of lenders’ pricing decisions.
The RBA currently flags delays affecting F6 and F7. The latest files verified on 28 October 2026 still end in August 2026. RBA release schedule and delay notice.
Source: APRA; Reserve Bank of Australia 2026. APRA material is used under APRA’s CC BY 4.0 terms. The historical cash-rate series is used under the RBA’s special Cash Rate terms (section 4); the target data use its Financial Data terms (section 5). Both are subject to attribution and no endorsement. RBA data are used under the RBA’s published reuse terms. The original RBA data are available without a fee. This website is independent and is not endorsed by APRA or the RBA.