Fixed Rate Ending Soon? What Three RBA Rate Rises Mean for Fraser Coast Homeowners

If you fixed your home loan rate in 2021, 2022 or 2023, there’s a good chance that term is ending this year — and rolling onto a variable rate that looks very different to the one you locked in. Here’s what’s actually changed, and what’s worth checking before your fixed term lapses.

What’s happened to rates in 2026

After an extended run of holds and cuts through 2024 and 2025, the RBA lifted the cash rate three times in the first half of 2026 — 25 basis points in February, another 25 in March, and a third in May — taking it from 3.60% to 4.35%. The board has since held rates at both its July and August meetings, with the next decision due in late September. Governor Michele Bullock has said the board still needs “further progress” on inflation before it can be confident rates are settled, which means another move either way shouldn’t be ruled out.

For anyone who fixed a rate back when the cash rate was near record lows, that 75 basis point rise this year sits on top of an already much higher rate environment than when they signed. The gap between what you’ve been paying and what you’ll be offered when your fixed term ends can be larger than people expect.

Why this matters most right now

Two- and three-year fixed terms taken out during 2021–2023 — a period when a lot of Fraser Coast buyers locked in rates well under 3% — are expiring throughout 2026. When a fixed term ends, most lenders automatically roll the loan onto their standard variable “revert” rate, which is often not the most competitive rate that lender offers to new customers, let alone the market more broadly.

If nothing’s actioned before that happens, you can end up paying more than you need to simply because the switch happened by default rather than by choice.

What to check before your fixed term ends

• Your actual expiry date — check your loan documents or ask your lender directly; it’s easy to lose track of an exact date set two or three years ago
• What your lender’s revert rate will be — ask now, not after the term has already rolled over
• What else is available — both from your current lender (some will negotiate to retain you) and from other lenders on the market
• Break costs — irrelevant if you’re letting the fixed term run out naturally, but essential to know if you’re considering refinancing before the term technically ends
• Fixed vs. variable again — given the RBA has flagged further rate uncertainty, whether locking in a new fixed rate or moving to variable suits your situation depends on your own risk tolerance, not a generic rule

It’s not just about the headline rate

A lower advertised rate from a new lender doesn’t automatically mean a better outcome once discharge fees, new establishment costs and (if applicable) any remaining break costs are factored in. We run the actual numbers — what you’d genuinely save over the life of the loan versus what switching costs — before recommending anything. Sometimes the right answer is to stay put and negotiate with your current lender instead.

Get your loan checked before it rolls over

If your fixed rate is ending in the next few months, it’s worth getting it checked now rather than after you’ve already been moved onto a revert rate. Whether you’re in Pialba, Maryborough or anywhere else on the Fraser Coast, a free refinance check tells you plainly whether switching is worth it — or whether it isn’t, yet.