A home loan rate rise reaches most big four variable borrowers on Friday 9 October 2026. CommBank, Westpac, NAB and ANZ have each confirmed they will lift variable home loan rates by 0.25% p.a. from that date, passing on the Reserve Bank's 29 September increase in full. If you have a variable mortgage and plan to apply for a car loan in the next few weeks, the new repayment changes the numbers a lender works with. This article sets out what the banks announced, when your repayment actually changes and what to check before you apply. It is general information, not advice about your own situation.
The short answer
From 9 October 2026, variable home loan rates at the four major banks are 0.25 percentage points higher. ANZ estimates that adds about $79 a month to the repayment on a $500,000 variable loan. A car loan lender assesses the repayment you will actually be making, so a higher mortgage repayment can trim your car loan borrowing power, even though your income and credit history have not changed.
What the big four banks announced
All four banks published their decisions on 30 September 2026, the day after the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.60%. According to each bank's own announcement:
- CommBank is increasing its variable home loan interest rates by 0.25% p.a. effective Friday 9 October 2026, across owner occupier and investment loans. Its standard variable rate for owner occupiers paying principal and interest moves from 8.80% to 9.05% p.a.
- Westpac is lifting variable rates for owner occupier and investment home loans by 0.25% p.a. from Friday 9 October 2026, applied automatically on that date.
- NAB will increase variable home loan rates by 0.25% p.a. effective Friday 9 October 2026, and is also increasing some personal savings rates by up to 0.25% p.a.
- ANZ will increase variable rates across its Australian home loans by 0.25% p.a., effective 9 October 2026.
Other lenders set their own timing, and some may choose a different date or amount. The only figure that applies to you is the one in your own lender's notice. A standard variable rate is a reference rate, and many borrowers pay a discounted rate below it, so the percentage that matters is the one on your own loan, plus 0.25.
When the new home loan repayment shows up
The rate changes on 9 October, but your repayment may not change on the same day. Each bank explains this a little differently:
- CommBank says customers paying principal and interest can see their new rate from Saturday 10 October and their updated repayment by Sunday 11 October.
- Westpac says it will review repayments and send a letter if your repayment arrangement is changing, including when the change starts.
- NAB says the changes are visible in its app and internet banking from 9 October.
This timing gap matters for a car loan application. For a few weeks, your bank statements may still show the old repayment, while the lender's notice shows the new one. Lenders assessing you in October or November will often want to see the new figure, so it is better to know it before they ask.
How much more you could be paying
ANZ's own example is about $79 more a month on a $500,000 variable home loan. Here are two more illustrations. The rates are round numbers chosen to show the effect, not any lender's actual rate:
- $650,000 owing over 30 years: at 6.50% the monthly principal and interest repayment is about $4,108. At 6.75% it is about $4,216, roughly $107 more a month or $1,289 a year.
- $400,000 owing over 25 years: at 6.25% the repayment is about $2,639. At 6.50% it is about $2,701, roughly $62 more a month or $746 a year.
For comparison, a $30,000 car loan over five years at 9.50% would cost about $630 a month. A single 0.25 point rise on a larger mortgage can absorb a meaningful slice of the room you had set aside for that repayment. You can run your own figures on our car loan calculators.
Why the rise matters for your car loan application
A car loan lender works out serviceability from your income, your living expenses and your existing debts. For most mortgage holders, the home loan repayment is the biggest existing debt in that sum. When it rises, the surplus left for a new car repayment falls, and the maximum loan a lender will offer can fall with it. We explained the mechanics in detail when the rise was first announced in what a home loan rate rise means for your car loan borrowing power.
Lenders also add a buffer when they test whether a new loan is affordable, so the effect of a higher mortgage repayment on borrowing power can be larger than the dollar difference alone suggests. Each lender sets its own policy, which is why two lenders can give you different answers on the same day.
What to check before you apply this month
A few practical steps can keep an application clean while repayments are changing:
- Find your new repayment. Check your bank's app or the letter it sends after 9 October, and write down the new amount and the date it starts.
- Use the new figure on the form. If an application asks for your mortgage repayment, give the amount you will be paying from now on, not last month's. A lender that finds a different figure on your statements will ask why.
- Recheck your budget. If your household spending has also risen this year, update both sides of the sum. Our guide to how lenders check household expenses explains the benchmark lenders use.
- Keep your offset or redraw buffer in mind. Money sitting in an offset account or available in redraw can help you absorb the rise, but drawing it down for a car deposit changes the picture a lender sees.
- Compare the car loan, not just the mortgage. Car loan pricing is set separately from home loan rates. Look at the comparison rate on our current car loan rates page and browse the lenders we compare.
If you already have a car loan
Many car loans are written on a fixed rate, and if yours is fixed, the 9 October change does not alter its repayment. Check your contract if you are unsure. What changes is the household budget around it. If your mortgage and car loan together are getting harder to manage, our guide to car loan hardship help covers how to ask your lender for help early. ANZ and NAB both list contact options for customers who want to discuss home loan repayment support.
If you took out a car loan when rates were lower and your budget has tightened since, it can be worth comparing what you pay with current offers. Our refinancing hub explains when switching can make sense and what it costs.
What could happen next
The Reserve Bank's statement says the Board will continue to do what it considers necessary to bring inflation sustainably back to target, including increasing the cash rate further if needed. Its next scheduled meetings are on 2 to 3 November and 7 to 8 December 2026. We have also covered what the Bank's latest Financial Stability Review means for borrowers. Nobody can say for certain what the Board will decide, so it is sensible to test any new loan against a repayment you could still manage if rates rose again.
The bottom line
The 9 October home loan rate rise is modest on its own, but it lands in the same assessment that decides your car loan. Know your new mortgage repayment, put the right figure on your application and compare car loan rates on their own terms. Lenders' policies differ, so the same household can receive different offers, and a broker can help you see which lenders fit.
Sources: Reserve Bank of Australia monetary policy decision, 29 September 2026, and Monetary Policy Board meeting schedule (rba.gov.au); CommBank, Westpac, NAB and ANZ rate change announcements, 30 September 2026. Checked 8 October 2026.
