RBA Cash Rate: 4.35%
The Reserve Bank of Australia cash rate is 4.35% as at July 2026. Here is what it means for Australian home loan rates and your repayments, tied to live data across 85+ lenders, refreshed daily.
What is the RBA cash rate?
The cash rate is the interest rate the Reserve Bank of Australia targets for overnight loans between banks. It is the RBA's main lever for managing inflation and the economy. When the cash rate rises, banks' funding costs rise and variable home loan rates typically follow; when it falls, variable rates usually ease. The cash rate is currently 4.35%.
How the cash rate affects your home loan
Across the 85+ lenders Ratesniffers tracks, the average owner-occupier variable home loan rate is 6.17%, about 182 basis points above the 4.35%cash rate. That spread is the banks' margin plus funding and risk costs. On a $600,000 owner-occupier loan over 30 years, that average rate works out to roughly $3,663 a month in principal and interest, but the lowest rate on our comparison table (5.89%) saves materially on the same loan.
Updated 28 July 2026. Cash rate sourced from the RBA; mortgage rates from our daily index. Worked example is indicative only.
What do the big four banks predict?
The big four's own economics teams don't agree on the next move. CommBank and NAB both expect the RBA to hold through the rest of 2026 with the first cut arriving in 2027. Westpac is the outlier, forecasting two more hikes before year end. Each call below is sourced directly from that bank's own research team, dated, and can change before their next published update.
| Bank | Their call | As at |
|---|---|---|
| CommBank | Hold at 4.35%; next move a cut, possibly around May 2027 CommBank Global Economic & Markets Research | 16 June 2026 |
| NAB | Hold “for the next few quarters”; next move down in H1 2027 NAB Group Economics | 16 June 2026 |
| Westpac | A further 50 basis points of hikes in August and September 2026, taking the cash rate to 4.85% Westpac Economics (Westpac IQ) | 23 July 2026 |
| ANZ | Extended hold at 4.35% “through August and beyond” ANZ Research | 7 May 2026 |
Each forecast is that bank's own published call, not Ratesniffers' view. Forecasts are opinions, not guarantees, banks revise them between RBA meetings as new data lands.
Cash rate FAQ
What is the current RBA cash rate?
The RBA cash rate is 4.35% as at July 2026. The cash rate is the interest rate the Reserve Bank of Australia sets at its board meetings; it anchors what banks charge on variable home loans.
When is the next RBA cash rate decision?
The Reserve Bank board meets through July 2026 and announces its cash rate decision at 2:30pm AEST on the second day of the meeting. Economists are widely tipping a hold after three consecutive 2026 hikes, though the RBA has flagged inflation risk.
What do the big four banks predict for the next RBA move?
The big four's own economics teams are split. CommBank and NAB both expect a hold through 2026 with the first cut in 2027; Westpac expects two more 25 basis point hikes in August and September 2026, taking the cash rate to 4.85%; ANZ's most recent published call (7 May 2026) was an extended hold. Each call comes from that bank's own research team and can change before their next scheduled update.
How does the cash rate affect my home loan?
Variable home loan rates move broadly with the cash rate. Right now the average owner-occupier variable rate across the lenders Ratesniffers tracks is 6.17%, about 182 basis points above the 4.35% cash rate. When the RBA moves, most lenders pass the change through within weeks.
What does the current cash rate mean for repayments?
At the current average variable rate of 6.17%, a $600,000 owner-occupier loan over 30 years costs roughly $3,663 a month in principal and interest. A sharper rate from the comparison table lowers that materially.
See live rates against the 4.35% cash rate
Compare every lender's rate, refreshed daily, and see the full rate statistics.