Why your rate drifts
Nothing underhanded happens. Your rate simply stops being the rate your lender would offer you today.
Lenders compete hardest for new borrowers, and existing customers are rarely moved onto that pricing automatically. The gap widens quietly — because your repayment either stays flat or moves with the cash rate, nothing on your statement tells you.
What switching actually costs
A refinance is not free, and an honest comparison counts the costs first.
- Discharge or settlement fee from your current lender.
- Government registration fees to transfer the mortgage.
- Break costs if you are leaving a fixed rate early.
Is it actually worth it?
The test is simple: how many months does the lower repayment take to recover the cost of moving?
A handful of months, and switching is straightforward. If it stretches into years, asking your current lender to reprice is usually the better play. We run that calculation before recommending anything, and we will tell you when the answer is to stay put.
Reasons beyond rate
Rate is the obvious trigger. It is often not the most valuable one.
Release equity
Fund a renovation, a deposit on an investment, or a business need from value you already hold.
Restructure
Add an offset, split fixed and variable, or move between principal-and-interest and interest-only.
Consolidate debt
Roll higher-interest personal loans or cards into the home loan to cut the monthly repayment.