Refinance
Usually, if your rate is more than about 0.3 points above the best and your fixed term is over.
Three sums decide it. What rate your repayment works out to. What the same loan costs at the best rate on the panel, which is 5.88% across the 33 lenders 1st Street works with, priced 21 August 2026. And what it costs to move, which is $450 to $1,400 in fees, plus break costs if you are on a fixed rate. The tables below do all three for the loan sizes people ask about.
Find what you owe and what you pay a month. The rate is what that repayment works out to over 30 years, principal and interest.
| You pay a month | Your rate works out to | At 5.88% | Gap a month | Gap a year | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,250 | 3.52% | $2,959 | — | — | Check your loan type |
| $2,500 | 4.39% | $2,959 | — | — | Check your loan type |
| $2,750 | 5.21% | $2,959 | — | — | Already the best |
| $3,000 | 6.01% | $2,959 | $41 | $492 | Marginal |
| $3,250 | 6.77% | $2,959 | $291 | $3,492 | Clearly worth it |
| $3,500 | 7.51% | $2,959 | $541 | $6,492 | Clearly worth it |
| $3,750 | 8.23% | $2,959 | $791 | $9,492 | Clearly worth it |
| You pay a month | Your rate works out to | At 5.88% | Gap a month | Gap a year | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3,250 | 3.22% | $4,439 | — | — | Check your loan type |
| $3,750 | 4.39% | $4,439 | — | — | Check your loan type |
| $4,250 | 5.48% | $4,439 | — | — | Already the best |
| $4,750 | 6.52% | $4,439 | $311 | $3,732 | Worth it |
| $5,250 | 7.51% | $4,439 | $811 | $9,732 | Clearly worth it |
| $5,750 | 8.47% | $4,439 | $1,311 | $15,732 | Clearly worth it |
| You pay a month | Your rate works out to | At 5.88% | Gap a month | Gap a year | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $4,000 | 2.59% | $5,919 | — | — | Check your loan type |
| $4,500 | 3.52% | $5,919 | — | — | Check your loan type |
| $5,000 | 4.39% | $5,919 | — | — | Check your loan type |
| $5,500 | 5.21% | $5,919 | — | — | Already the best |
| $6,000 | 6.01% | $5,919 | $81 | $972 | Marginal |
| $6,500 | 6.77% | $5,919 | $581 | $6,972 | Clearly worth it |
| $7,000 | 7.51% | $5,919 | $1,081 | $12,972 | Clearly worth it |
A rate below 4.5% is a warning, not a bargain. No lender on the panel is near it. So the repayment is almost certainly on a fixed rate that is about to end, or an interest-only period. $4,000 a month on $1 million works out to about 2.59%. When it ends, the same loan costs $6,314 a month at the middle rate of 6.49%. Refinance before it ends.
The fees, and how many months of saving it takes to get them back, if you move from the middle rate to the best rate.
| Balance | At 6.49% | At 5.88% | Saving a month | Fees | Break-even | Net over 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $300,000 | $1,894 | $1,776 | $118 | $450–$1,400 | 4–12 months | $5,680 |
| $500,000 | $3,157 | $2,959 | $198 | $450–$1,400 | 3–8 months | $10,480 |
| $750,000 | $4,736 | $4,439 | $297 | $450–$1,400 | 2–5 months | $16,420 |
| $1 million | $6,314 | $5,919 | $395 | $450–$1,400 | 2–4 months | $22,300 |
Principal and interest over 30 years. The five-year figure uses the high end of the fees. Break costs on a fixed loan are extra and can be thousands. Ask your lender for the figure in writing before you set a date.
Discharge fee
$150–$400, set in your loan contract; only Macquarie publishes a figure, $400. It comes out of the payout, not as a separate bill.
Titles office
$150–$200 each, set by each state's land titles office, per mortgage, and there are two: one off, one on. Your conveyancer passes them on.
New lender
$0–$600, often waived on a refinance, otherwise up to about $600. If you owe more than 80% of what the home is worth, you pay LMI again. Check that first.
Most refinance quotes have a trap in them. The repayment looks lower but the loan costs more.
Say you owe $612,000 with 24 years left, and you move to 5.88%. Over the 24 years you have left, the repayment is $3,970 a month and the interest is $531,360. Over a new 30 years it is $3,622 a month. That is $348 less, and it is the number the quote will show you. But the interest is $691,920, which is $160,560 more. The smaller repayment is the dearer loan. Ask for the years you have left, not a new 30.
The discharge form, how long each lender takes, and what they say about the fee. Checked 18 August 2026.
When your rate is more than about 0.3 points above the best rate you could get, and your fixed term is over. On 21 August 2026 the best comparison rate on the panel was 5.88% and the middle rate was 6.49%. Someone on the middle rate with $500,000 owing saves $198 a month by moving to the best. The fees are paid back in 3 to 8 months. Ask your own lender to match it first. They often will.
Usually, if the gap is real and you keep the years you have left. It is a bad idea in two cases. One, you are still in a fixed term, because break costs can be thousands. Two, you move onto a new 30 years without meaning to. The repayment drops but the total interest goes up. On $612,000 with 24 years left at 5.88%, a new 30-year term cuts the repayment by $348 a month and adds $160,560 in interest.
About $450 to $1,400 in fees, whatever the balance. There is a discharge fee from your current lender, set in your contract and usually $150 to $400. There are land titles fees to remove the old mortgage and register the new one, usually $150 to $200 each. And there may be an application or settlement fee from the new lender, often waived on a refinance, otherwise up to about $600. On $300,000, moving from the middle rate to the best rate saves $118 a month, so the fees are paid back in 4 to 12 months. If you are still on a fixed rate, add break costs. Ask your lender for that figure in writing.
As often as a lender will take you. But each move costs the fees above and a new credit enquiry, and most lenders want to see six to twelve months of repayments on your current loan first. Every two or three years is common. The habit that matters is checking your rate every year. Most of the time a phone call to your lender fixes it, without moving.
$4,000 a month on $1 million over 30 years works out to a rate of about 2.59%. No lender on the panel is near that. So it is almost certainly a fixed rate that is about to end, or an interest-only period. When it ends, the same loan costs $6,314 a month at the middle rate of 6.49%, and $5,919 at the best rate. Refinance before it ends, not after.
Priced 12:00 pm AEST, 21 August 2026, re-priced monthly and after each RBA decision. Rates are comparison rates from that run, one product per lender. They are a guide only. The rate you get depends on your loan and your situation. The fees are ranges, not quotes. Your contract and your state’s titles office have the exact figures. Repayments use the same sum as the repayments calculator. Arthr Pty Ltd provides marketing and lead-generation services only; credit assistance is provided by 1st Street Pty Ltd, Credit Representative 490057 under Australian Credit Licence 389328.
Then the gap is your number. A broker at 1st Street can tell you which lenders would take you at the lower rate, and put the costs in writing.