Cash rate at 4.85 per cent: what five rises this year mean for your mortgage, loan by loan

The Reserve Bank of Australia raised the cash rate to 4.85 per cent on Tuesday 3 November, its fifth increase of 2026. A borrower whose lender has passed on every rise in full is now paying a variable rate 1.25 percentage points higher than in January, and the board meets again on 7 and 8 December.

This report sets out, in dollars, what that means for loans of four common sizes, what a sixth rise would add, how to check whether your lender has passed the rise on, and the steps Moneysmart says to take if repayments are getting hard to meet. It is built for households deciding in the next four weeks whether to change their budget, their loan or their lender.