When your fixed rate period ends, your home loan automatically reverts to your lender's standard variable rate. This revert rate is often significantly higher than the rates available to new customers — and it is one of the most expensive passive decisions a home loan borrower can make. Here is what to do and when.
The revert rate (also called the standard variable rate or SVR) is the rate your fixed loan automatically converts to at the end of the fixed period. Revert rates at major banks are typically 0.5–1.5% higher than the best variable rates those same banks are offering to new customers. A $600,000 loan on a 1% higher revert rate costs approximately $6,000 extra per year in interest.
Lenders design revert rates this way because most borrowers do not actively manage the transition. They simply accept the higher rate without realising the market has moved on. The revert trap is real and costs Australian borrowers billions of dollars annually.
Your fixed rate expiry date is on your loan documents and is visible in your online banking. Set a calendar reminder 90 days before the expiry date — this gives you enough time to compare the market, apply for a new product, and settle any refinancing before the revert kicks in.
Negotiate first. Before going through the effort of a full refinance, call your current lender's retention team and ask for a rate match. Lenders will often match or come close to competing rates to avoid losing a customer. If you are a good borrower (never missed a payment, loan balance is reducing), you have real leverage. Get the competing offer in writing before calling.
The fixed rate expiry is also an opportunity to review your overall loan structure. Consider:
With the RBA cash rate at 4.1% and the next meeting scheduled for 5 May 2026, fixed rates are being offered broadly in the 5.4–5.8% range while variable rates sit at 6.0–7.0% depending on lender and product. Borrowers coming off pandemic-era fixed rates (locked in at 2.0–2.5%) face the largest payment increases. For these borrowers, the transition is painful regardless of which variable or fixed option they choose.