SENATOR DEAN SMITH
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE SHADOW TREASURER
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR THE COST OF LIVING
LIBERAL SENATOR FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA
17 March 2026
RBA RATE HIKE DEEPENS MORTGAGE PAIN IN LABOR-HELD SEATS
With inflation still elevated after the Albanese Government failing to rein in spending, the Reserve Bank has again been forced to lift the cash rate by another 0.25 percentage points – adding yet more pressure on Australian households already struggling with rising mortgage repayments.
New analysis commissioned by Senator Dean Smith from the Federal Parliamentary Library shows the suburbs most exposed to rising interest rates are overwhelmingly located in Labor-held electorates.
Using the most recent ABS Census data*, the analysis identifies the 20 suburbs with the highest concentration of households paying a mortgage.
At the top of the list is Strathnairn in the ACT, where 85.4 per cent of homes are owned with a mortgage.
This is followed by Denman Prospect in the ACT (78.2 per cent); Brabham-Henley Brook in Perth’s north-east (75.5 per cent); Clyde North-South in Melbourne (73.8 per cent); Piara Waters-Forrestdale in Perth’s south-east (72.7 per cent); Googong in NSW (71.6 per cent); Flagstone West-New Beith outside Brisbane (70.8 per cent); Eynesbury-Exford near Melbourne (70.2 per cent); and the ACT suburbs of Taylor (70.0 per cent), Throsby (69.4 per cent) and Moncrieff (68.8 per cent).
Completing the list are Marsden Park-Shanes Park in western Sydney and Fraser Rise-Plumpton in Melbourne (both 68.6 per cent); Byford in Perth’s south-east (68.4 per cent); Landsdale in Perth’s north-west (68.1 per cent); Mickleham-Yuroke outside Melbourne (67.7 per cent); Harrisdale in WA (67.2 per cent); Box Hill-Nelson north-west of Sydney (67.1 per cent); Aveley in Perth’s north-east (67.0 per cent); and Carramar in Perth’s north-west (66 per cent).
Except for Flagstone (West)-New Beith and part of Clyde North-South, every suburb on the list sits in a Federal Labor electorate.
This includes four suburbs in the ACT seat of Fenner, three in Burt in Western Australia, two in WA’s Hasluck, and one suburb each in Bean, Holt, Eden-Monaro, Hawke, Chifley, Gorton, Cowan, Calwell, Greenway and Pearce.
The Parliamentary Library analysis also tracked mortgage repayment changes between August 2021 and early 2026, a period largely under the Albanese Government.
In Strathnairn, median monthly mortgage repayments rose by $932 between August 2021 and February 2026, reaching $3,123 per month.
With today’s additional 0.25 percentage point rate increase, repayments will climb even higher for mortgage holders already under financial pressure.
The analysis also models what repayments could look like if three further rate rises of 25 basis points occurred. Under that scenario, median repayments in Strathnairn would reach $3,383 per month by January 2027 — an increase of $1,192 since August 2021.
Because the Census baseline is from August 2021, the number of households now exposed to higher repayments is likely even larger, reflecting strong population growth and new housing construction in metropolitan growth corridors.
At the same time Australians are carrying larger mortgages than ever before, with ABS Lending Indicators showing the average home loan rose by $42,000 in the December quarter to $736,000.
Comments attributable to Senator Dean Smith:
“Today’s interest rate rise will deepen the mortgage pain already being felt by Australian households.”
“This analysis shows the suburbs most exposed to rate rises are overwhelmingly located in Labor-held seats.”
“Families in these communities are already paying hundreds of dollars more every month on their mortgages compared to just a few years ago.”
“The Reserve Bank has repeatedly warned that inflationary pressures remain, and that government spending is playing a role.”
“Unless the Albanese Government restores fiscal discipline to the Budget, Australian households face the real prospect of further rate rises and even higher mortgage repayments.”
“This data shows just how severely each rate increase hits families already under pressure from Labor’s cost-of-living crisis.”