The RBA has hiked three times in 2026, pushing the cash rate to 4.35%. The top savings accounts in the market are now paying 5.90% p.a. On a $50,000 balance, that's $2,950 a year in interest before tax.
Most Australians are not getting anywhere near that. If you're with one of the big four banks and you haven't touched your savings account in a while, you're probably sitting on 1.5% to 3.5%. On the same $50,000, the difference between 2% and 5.90% is $1,950 a year before tax. That's not a rounding error.
The three rate hikes this year came after a period of relative stability. What hasn't happened is the big four fully passing those increases on to savers. ANZ, CommBank, Westpac and NAB have moved their rates, but partially. The spread between what the RBA pays and what a loyal savings customer earns at a major bank has widened.
Meanwhile, smaller institutions and online banks have competed aggressively. Rabobank, ING, Ubank and others are using savings rates to attract deposits. The result is a market where the best rate is nearly double what a complacent big-bank customer earns.
Banks consistently offer their best rates to new customers. If you opened your savings account more than a year ago and haven't switched or called to renegotiate, there's a reasonable chance you're on a legacy rate well below what the same bank advertises today.
This isn't an accident. It's a deliberate retention model. The bank profits from the gap between what it pays loyal customers and what it earns deploying that capital. The solution is simple: check your rate, then act on what you find.
Rabobank High Interest Savings Account: 5.90% p.a. This is the highest rate in the market as of May 2026. It applies on balances up to $250,000 and has no monthly transaction conditions. You don't need to deposit a certain amount each month or make a set number of purchases. The catch is there's no linked transaction account, so it works best as a dedicated savings vehicle sitting alongside your everyday banking.
ING Savings Accelerator: 5.85% p.a. This is an introductory rate for the first four months, applicable to balances between $150,000 and $500,000. Conditions apply. After the intro period, the rate reverts, so you need a calendar reminder and a plan.
Ubank Save: 5.85% p.a. Also an intro rate for four months on balances up to $1,000,000. To qualify, you need to deposit at least $500 per month. Miss the deposit in any given month and you drop to the base rate, which is typically 0.5% to 1.5%.
ING, Ubank, Up Bank and several others attach conditions to their bonus rates. Common requirements include depositing a minimum amount each month, making a certain number of card transactions, or growing your balance. The advertised rate only applies when you meet every condition in that calendar month.
These conditions are not hard to meet if you plan for them, but they are easy to forget. Miss the deposit cutoff by a day, or have a month where you don't hit the transaction count, and you earn the base rate for that entire month. Across a year, that can cost hundreds of dollars.
Rabobank's no-conditions structure is worth paying attention to. At 5.90% with nothing to manage, it removes that risk entirely.
Macquarie Bank and several others offer attractive introductory rates that revert after three to four months. The intro rate gets the headline; the revert rate is what you'll actually earn if you don't act.
If you switch to an intro-rate account, set a reminder for week 14. At that point, compare the reverted rate against the market and either renegotiate, switch again, or move to a no-conditions account. Consumers who chase intro rates without tracking the revert date often end up earning below-market rates for months before noticing.
Before chasing any savings rate, check whether you have an offset account attached to your home loan. If you do, parking cash in the offset account saves interest at your mortgage rate, which is currently around 7% to 8% for most variable loans.
Saving interest at 7.5% is better than earning 5.90% on a HISA, and the offset benefit is effectively tax-free because you're not earning income, you're reducing debt. At a 37% marginal tax rate, 5.90% gross becomes roughly 3.72% after tax. Your offset account beats that by a wide margin.
If you don't have a mortgage, or if you've maxed out the benefit of your offset, then a high-interest savings account is the right next step.
Twelve-month term deposit rates are currently sitting between 5.00% and 5.80% across leading lenders, with Judo Bank often near the top of that range. The tradeoff is straightforward.
A term deposit locks in your rate for the full term. If you think the RBA is done hiking and rates will fall over the next 12 months, locking in 5.50% to 5.80% now makes sense. If you think rates might rise further or you want access to your money, a HISA gives you flexibility at a comparable or better rate right now.
There's no universal right answer. It depends on your view on rates and your liquidity needs. What doesn't make sense is leaving money in a standard savings account earning 2% while either option above pays two to three times more.
Log into your banking app and look for the account details or interest rate section on your savings account. If it's not obvious there, find the product disclosure statement for your account, which the bank is required to keep current and publicly available. As a last resort, call the bank and ask directly: "What interest rate am I currently earning on my savings account?"
Do this today. The number you find will either confirm you're in good shape, or give you a clear reason to switch.
If you're earning less than 5.00%, you have meaningful room to improve. Rabobank at 5.90% with no conditions is the simplest move for most people. If your balance is under $250,000 and you don't want to manage monthly conditions, it's hard to argue against it.
If you have conditions-based accounts you're already tracking, the rates at ING and Ubank are competitive. Just make sure the conditions are part of your monthly routine, not an afterthought.
One more thing: at a 37% marginal tax rate, every dollar of savings interest is taxable income. Factor that into your comparison. A 5.90% gross rate is roughly 3.72% after tax. Still significantly better than 2%, but worth understanding when comparing options.
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