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About The Standard Variable

The Standard Variable is a publication about Australian home loan rates, named after the banks' list rate, which the Reserve Bank has recorded every month since 1959. Every rate on the site comes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's own tables, with its table and month beside it.

What we do

We publish the numbers that move Australian home loans, the day they change: the cash rate within the hour of each Reserve Bank decision, and the average rates borrowers pay when the Reserve Bank publishes its monthly tables. Around them we write plain guides to buying, borrowing and switching, each figure linked to its source.

Where the numbers come from

  • The cash rate and every decision: the Reserve Bank's Cash Rate Target table and its media releases.
  • Average rates borrowers pay: RBA statistical table F6, Housing Lending Rates, monthly from July 2019.
  • The banks' standard variable and fixed rates since 1959: RBA statistical table F5, Indicator Lending Rates.
  • Government schemes: Housing Australia's firsthomebuyers.gov.au, read on the day each page was updated.
  • Consumer guidance: ASIC's Moneysmart, and ASIC's regulatory guides.
  • Forecasts: only the published, dated forecasts of named economists, quoted as theirs.

Corrections

If a figure is out of date or wrong, we fix it and change the date at the top of the page.

Disclaimer

General information only, not credit or financial advice. The Standard Variable is not a lender or a broker and holds no Australian Credit Licence. It does not recommend loans or lenders or take applications. Every repayment example states its rate, term and assumptions, and the rates are market averages, not offers. For help with your own situation, see how to choose a licensed broker.

This site has no connection to any business that used this web address before.

Sources

  1. Reserve Bank of Australia, Statistical tables (F1.1, F5, F6)
  2. RBA, Cash Rate Target
  3. Moneysmart (ASIC)
  4. First Home Buyers (Housing Australia)

Checked 3 October 2026. Figures are general information, not credit advice. Rates move often: for corrections, see the about page.

General information only, not credit or financial advice. We are not a lender or a broker and hold no Australian Credit Licence. Rates shown are RBA market averages, not offers.