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Variable rate home loans

Access features that could help you get ahead on your home loan and save.

What is a variable rate home loan?

With a variable rate home loan, your repayments may increase or decrease based on interest rates, pricing and market conditions. 

While you don’t have the fixed repayments that come with fixed rate home loans, a variable rate home loan offers flexibility. You can choose to set your repayments above the minimum and make extra repayments without penalties.

Your loan may also include access to an offset account or redraw facility, giving you more control over how quickly you pay down your loan and enabling you to access funds when needed.

Why choose a variable rate home loan?

  • Make extra repayments at any time without penalty
  • Access redraw features to manage your cash flow
  • Take advantage of interest rate reductions when or if they are passed on

If you’d prefer more predictable repayments, a fixed rate home loan may better suit your budgeting needs.

Is a variable rate home loan right for you?

A variable rate home loan may suit you if you plan to make extra repayments and pay off your loan faster without penalties. Our variable rate home loans come with redraw facilities and you can link your home loan to an offset account1 when you take out an NRMA Home Loans Offset Home Loan.

What you need to consider

Keep in mind that your repayments may increase if interest rates go up. This means you may need to find extra room in your budget.

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Our home loan property usage options

Owner-occupied

With an owner-occupied home loan, you're buying a property to live in. It’s simply the difference between whether you’re living in the property or not. If it’s your current residence, it’s considered owner-occupied. These loans typically have lower interest rates than investment loans.

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Investment

With an investment home loan, you're buying a property to generate income, either through rent or capital gains, while living elsewhere. How the property is used determines the type of loan you need. Investment loans usually come with higher interest rates than owner-occupied loans.

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Repayment type

Principal & Interest

With a principal and interest loan, you make repayments that reduce both the amount borrowed (the principal) and the interest charged. This is the most common type of home loan, and it means your loan balance decreases over time. We offer both fixed and variable rate principal and interest loans.

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Interest-only

With an interest-only loan, you only pay the interest charged on the loan, but not the principal itself. If you only make interest only repayments, the loan balance won’t reduce over the interest only period. We offer both fixed and variable rate interest-only loans.

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Home loan calculators

Simple and easy to use, our home loan calculators can help you estimate repayments, how much you can borrow, and what you could save if you refinance. But remember, the results are just a guide to help get you started on your journey.

Borrowing calculator

How much can I borrow?

Find out how much you could borrow to get started on your online home loan journey.

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Refinance calculator

Looking to refinance a home loan?

Find out how much you could save by switching to an NRMA Home Loan.

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Repayments calculator

Want to calculate your potential mortgage repayments?

Find out your repayment options, rates and schedule on your loan amount.

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Variable rate FAQs

View all FAQs

Yes. Your repayments may increase or decrease depending on interest rate changes over time. This means your repayments are influenced by economic changes and lender pricing and appetite changes.

Generally there are no penalties or limits for making extra repayments with a variable rate loan, and this can help you pay off your loan faster.

NRMA Home Loans offers a 100% offset account1 with its Offset Home Loans.

An offset account is a bank account linked to your home loan, which offsets the balance in the bank account against the outstanding loan amount, which reduces the amount of interest payable.

For example, if you have $10,000 in your offset account and $500,000 outstanding on your loan, you only pay interest on $490,000, reducing the interest payable.

The offset account comes with a Debit Mastercard that you can use at any Bendigo Bank ATM free of charge. You can also use this at other ATMs, however, you may be charged a small fee. You can also make bill payments via BPAY from your offset account.

Redrawing is the ability to access any extra payments you’ve made on your home loan. To be able to access your redraw, you must be 1 full repayment ahead and the available redraw is the amount you are in front of the 1 repayment. You are able to transfer this into your NRMA Home Loans offset account.

For variable rate home loans, free, unlimited online redraws on surplus payments made at least one month in advance are available.

For fixed rate home loans, redraws are limited to $20,000 per year of the fixed rate, without being charged a penalty. After the fixed period ends, it'll roll over to the "roll to rate" at the time and any future redraws will then be unlimited.

For more information on offset accounts, read the Offset Account Terms and Conditions.

Yes. You can choose to switch to a fixed rate loan if you prefer repayment certainty. Speak with your lender to understand the process and any applicable fees.

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Things you should know

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited (ABN 11 068 049 178, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 237879) (“Bendigo Bank”) is the credit provider. Credit services are provided by Tiimely Pty Ltd (ABN 41 605 696 544 and Australian Credit Licence 496431) (“Tiimely”). Insurance Australia Limited trading as NRMA Insurance (ABN 11 000 016 722) (“IAL”) is a member of AFCA and does not hold an Australian Credit Licence. IAL may receive a commission from Bendigo and pay a commission to Tiimely if your loan application is approved.

NRMA Home Loans is brought to you by Insurance Australia Limited ABN 11 000 016 722, trading as NRMA Insurance, which is a separate and independent company from National Roads and Motorists' Association Limited ABN 77 000 010 506, trading as NRMA. NRMA provides Membership, the “My NRMA” app and other services.
 

  1. Terms and conditions, fees and charges apply. All information is subject to change without notice. Full details available on application. Lending criteria apply. The Offset Account is available on the Offset Home Loan only for both fixed and variable products and must be linked to an eligible Home Loan account. The Offset Account product can only be linked to one eligible Home Loan account at any one time. Linked offset facility must be in the name of the customer name/number. Insurance Australia Limited is a member of AFCA. If you have a complaint about the home loan or offset account please refer to www.nrma.com.au/home-loans/complaints. Other fees and charges may apply and can be found at the Rates & Fees page. This is general advice only and does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation or needs (“your personal circumstances”). Before using this advice to decide whether the Offset Account product is right for you, please consider your personal circumstances and read the Offset Account Terms and Conditions to determine if this product is right for you. The Offset Account Terms and Conditions and Offset Account TMD are available from this website.