Your loan
The variable rate pre-filled is an example for the arithmetic, not a rate on offer and not a forecast. Replace it with the rate your lender quotes for the roll-off, or with a rate you are comparing. Repayments are monthly over the years entered.
The same balance at a range of roll-off rates
| Roll-off rate | Monthly | Change from now | Change over a year |
|---|
Each row is 0.25 percentage points apart, centred on the compared rate. The rate change page keeps the current cash rate setting and its history.
What is worth doing, and when
- About 90 days out Ask your lender in writing what variable rate the loan will roll to and whether a new fixed term is offered, and at what rate. Lenders are usually able to tell you from about this point.
- 60 days out Compare that roll-off rate with what the same lender offers new customers and with what other lenders offer. The refinance calculator puts the switching costs beside the saving so the comparison is honest.
- 30 days out Decide: stay on the variable rate, fix again, split, or move. If you move, the application needs to be lodged by now to settle near the expiry date without paying a higher rate in between.
- At expiry Check the first repayment at the new rate against the figure above, and that any offset or redraw arrangement carried across. If the direct debit stays at the old amount after a lower rate, the loan is simply running ahead, which is fine if intended.
What actually changes at expiry
The rate. Most fixed loans roll to the lender's standard variable rate less any discount written into the original contract. That discount is often smaller than what the same lender gives new customers, which is why a conversation with the lender, before the date, is usually worth having.
Break costs stop applying. After the fixed term ends you can make extra repayments, use an offset, or refinance without a break cost. If you are considering a move before the date, the lender can quote the break cost on the day; it depends on the gap between your fixed rate and current wholesale rates and on the time left.
Nothing is reassessed automatically. Staying with your lender at the roll-off rate needs no application. Fixing again with the same lender is usually a form, not a full assessment. Moving lenders is a new application at today's policy and assessment rate; the borrowing capacity calculator shows how that lands for your figures.
Knowing the date, the roll-off rate and the arithmetic three months early turns the expiry from a surprise into a decision made in good time.