RBA Cash Rate: Current Target and History

Q: How do I get the RBA cash rate target history?

Use the history route with start and an optional end. The limit parameter accepts 1 to 1000 observations. For each subsequent request, pass the returned next_cursor as cursor; pagination ends when next_cursor is null. A cursor pins publications for 24 hours. An expired cursor returns HTTP 409, as does a cursor whose source rights have been withdrawn. Unavailable data returns HTTP 404, and unsafe source data returns HTTP 503. See API errors for error documentation.

The Reserve Bank of Australia cash rate target is 4.60%, unchanged since 2026-09-30. The Reserve Bank of Australia sets the cash rate target to steer short-term interest rates in Australia.

RBA cash rate target

Rate	4.60%
Rate type	Cash rate target
In force since	2026-09-30
Currency	AUD
Country code in the API	`AUS`

The target expresses the RBA's policy rate as a percentage per annum. A point rate has one value; a range has a lower and an upper bound. Narwhal's records distinguish these forms with rate_type, and early Australian records include ranges. Values are decimal strings, with the original published values preserved.

Recent rate changes

Date	Changed from	Changed to	Change in percentage points
2026-09-30	4.35%	4.60%	+0.25
2026-08-12	4.35%	4.35%	0.00
2026-06-17	4.35%	4.35%	0.00
2026-05-06	4.10%	4.35%	+0.25
2026-03-18	3.85%	4.10%	+0.25
2026-02-04	3.60%	3.85%	+0.25
2025-12-10	3.60%	3.60%	0.00
2025-11-05	3.60%	3.60%	0.00
2025-10-01	3.60%	3.60%	0.00
2025-08-13	3.85%	3.60%	-0.25
2025-07-09	3.85%	3.85%	0.00
2025-05-21	4.10%	3.85%	-0.25

Australian policy-rate records use effective_on, the date a rate took effect. The contract also supports observed_on for sources that record an observation date, but each record has exactly one of these fields. An announcement date can appear separately as announced_on. A future effective date does not replace the current rate before it takes effect.

Get the RBA cash rate target from the API

Access covers every plan, including Free, with live data and one metered unit per request. Use AUS as the country code and send your API key in the Authorization header.

Request the latest rate Omit date to request the latest source observation at or before today in UTC. Read rate_type before choosing the point value or range bounds.
Latest policy rate
```
curl --header "Authorization: Bearer $NARWHAL_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.narwhalapi.com/v1/economics/AUS/central-bank/policy-rate"
```
Look up a past date Pass date to request the latest source observation at or before that date. Days without a source publication are not filled with invented observations.
Policy rate at a past date
```
curl --header "Authorization: Bearer $NARWHAL_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.narwhalapi.com/v1/economics/AUS/central-bank/policy-rate?date=1990-01-23"
```
Request the history Set start for the history request. Results arrive oldest first, with a default limit of 100 observations. Follow next_cursor until it is null.
Policy-rate history
```
curl --header "Authorization: Bearer $NARWHAL_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.narwhalapi.com/v1/economics/AUS/central-bank/policy-rate/history?start=1990-01-23"
```

{
  "country": "AUS",
  "authority": "reserve_bank_of_australia",
  "currency": "AUD",
  "instrument": "cash_rate_target",
  "rate_type": "point",
  "rate": "2.50",
  "qualifier": "exact",
  "unit": "percent",
  "effective_on": "1990-01-23"
}

History coverage

Field	Value
From	23 January 1990
Date field	effective_on
Rows	Source observations, oldest first in history responses

The historical series comes from the Reserve Bank of Australia. Its instruments are cash_rate_target for point observations and cash_rate_target_range for ranges in the early history. Both use percent per annum. Keep the instrument and rate type with each observation when you store a history, so both forms retain their meaning.

How do I get the RBA cash rate target history?

Use the history route with start and an optional end. The limit parameter accepts 1 to 1000 observations. For each subsequent request, pass the returned next_cursor as cursor; pagination ends when next_cursor is null.

A cursor pins publications for 24 hours. An expired cursor returns HTTP 409, as does a cursor whose source rights have been withdrawn. Unavailable data returns HTTP 404, and unsafe source data returns HTTP 503. See API errors for error documentation.

Source

Source: Reserve Bank of Australia 2026. This information is available free of charge on the RBA website: https://www.rba.gov.au.

Use is subject to the RBA terms. No endorsement by the Reserve Bank of Australia is implied.

Published 28 October 2026.