Gov ScoreAustralia

Condition

Interest rate rises

How many times have interest rates gone up under this government?

Interest rate rises: 1.35% in Jul qtr 2022, 4.60% in Oct qtr 2026. The highest level since Nov qtr 2010.

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Latest
16cash rate rises, versus 3 cuts · since 23 May 2022 (to 30 Sep 2026)
Since the government took office
Higher+3.25 pts1.35% → 4.60% (Jul qtr 2022 → Oct qtr 2026)Starting point: The cash rate was at a pandemic emergency low of 0.35% in May 2022. The Reserve Bank had begun lifting it earlier that month.A higher or lower cash rate is a tool, not a goal, so its direction isn’t coloured.
Over the past year
Not a time series, so no yearly change is shown.

RBA cash rate target

  • Policy rate

What this is

The cash rate is the Reserve Bank's official interest rate. Banks base their lending rates on it. This counts every decision to raise or cut it since the government was sworn in on 23 May 2022.

Why it matters

The RBA is independent, but it raises rates when inflation is too high, and government spending affects inflation. At current rates, each 0.25-point rise adds about $100 a month to repayments on a $600,000 loan.

More from the figures

  • The cash rate is 4.60%, up 4.25 percentage points from 0.35% when the government was sworn in.
  • There have been 16 rises and 3 cuts since then, including 4 rises so far in 2026.

How it’s calculated

Every cash rate target decision published in RBA Table A2 after 23 May 2022, cross-checked against the monthly cash rate target in Table F1.1.

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