Consumer price inflation rose by 1.8% in the June quarter, and by 6.1% on a rolling 12-month view. Whilst high, these measures were below consensus expectations. In turn, this prompted hopes that local interest rates might not need to increase as much as previously feared.
Australia has a high level of household debt, with a large- proportion of borrowers on variable-rate mortgages. Rate hikes can therefore be
particularly painful for Australians.
Policymakers therefore have a challenging task, balancing the need to dampen inflation through tighter monetary policy settings, without
strangling growth by crippling homeowners with sharply rising mortgage re- payment costs.
The Reserve Bank of Australia raised rates again on 1 November, by a further 0.25 percentage points. Official interest rates are now
2.85% and may be raised again in December.
Smart Private Wealth, part of the Smart Business Solutions Group, has been honoured as a recipient of the prestigious 2025 Barry Lambert Award, recognising exceptional community fundraising and volunteer work within the Count Financial network.
Shannon Smit, Founding Director of Smart Private Wealth, has been awarded the prestigious Excellence in Innovation award at the 2025 Count Financial Awards, recognising her ground-breaking leadership in transforming how financial advice and professional services are delivered in Australia.
