A comparison rate is useful only after you read its loan amount, term and included costs; it is not your quoted rate or a complete cost for every loan.
Scope: Australians comparing unsecured personal-loan rates and fees; excludes lender recommendations, approval predictions, personalised borrowing advice and reconstruction of a statutory comparison rate.
Educational information, not personal financial advice. AI-assisted preparation; no independent human review. We do not receive issuer commissions for these source links. Advertising, if enabled, is separate from our examples.
Start with the example behind the percentage
A personal-loan comparison rate combines the interest rate with most fees for a stated example. Before comparing percentages, write down the example loan amount and term, whether the loan is secured or unsecured, whether the rate is fixed or variable, and which costs are excluded. If two examples differ, the headline rates are not a clean like-for-like comparison.
ASIC Moneysmart says the comparison rate is a guide and is accurate only for the example shown; the lender must state the assumptions. This article is educational, recommends no lender, does not predict approval or your personalised rate, and receives no commission from the official links below.
Source: ASIC Moneysmart — Personal loans
Separate advertised, comparison and personalised rates
The advertised interest rate is one input. The comparison rate adds most known fees to a standard example. The rate a lender offers you may sit elsewhere in the published range and will reflect its assessment. Ask for the actual rate, repayment amount, all fees and total amount repayable for the amount and term you want.
Moneysmart notes that your rate may be different from the advertised rate and that the loan term, fees and charges can change total cost. It also warns that making several loan applications in a short period can affect a credit score, so comparison should precede unnecessary applications.
Source: ASIC Moneysmart — Personal loans
Read a live lender example without turning it into a recommendation
As checked on 26 September 2026, Commonwealth Bank lists fixed unsecured personal-loan interest rates of 7.25% to 22.25% and comparison rates of 8.30% to 23.12%. Its comparison rate uses an A$30,000 unsecured fixed loan over five years. Different amounts and terms produce different comparison rates.
The same page lists a A$15 monthly service fee and a temporary A$0 establishment-fee offer, normally A$250, for eligible loans applied for and funded from 18 August to 9 October 2026. It says the current comparison calculation includes the promotion and does not include redraw fees, early-repayment adjustments or savings from fee waivers. Treat this as an issuer snapshot, not an endorsement.
Source: Commonwealth Bank — Fixed Rate Personal Loan rates and fees
Rebuild the visible fixed-fee layer
For the lender’s five-year comparison assumption, 60 monthly service fees at A$15 total A$900. With the current A$0 establishment offer, the visible fixed-fee layer is A$900. Under the page’s normal A$250 establishment fee, it would be A$1,150. The temporary difference is A$250.
This arithmetic does not reconstruct the comparison rate or total loan cost: it excludes interest, timing of repayments and any contingent cost. Its purpose is to expose one layer hidden by a single percentage and to show why an expiring fee waiver changes a dated example.
| Current issuer example | Calculation | Visible fixed fees |
|---|---|---|
| Five years with A$0 establishment fee | A$15 × 60 + A$0 | A$900 |
| Normal establishment fee scenario | A$15 × 60 + A$250 | A$1,150 |
| Temporary difference | A$1,150 − A$900 | A$250 |
Source: Commonwealth Bank — Fixed Rate Personal Loan rates and fees
Test the amount and term that break the comparison
Suppose you want A$12,000 over three years. A comparison rate calculated on A$30,000 over five years is not a bespoke cost for that request. Monthly fees are spread over fewer payments, your personalised interest rate may differ, and the lender may calculate a different comparison rate for the new amount and term.
Ask each lender for the same A$12,000 term and repayment frequency, then record the personalised rate, repayment, establishment fee, ongoing fees, early-exit or redraw conditions and total amount repayable. Compare those figures side by side. Do not infer a ranking from the standard example alone.
| Field | Standard example | Your quote |
|---|---|---|
| Loan amount | A$30,000 | Record actual |
| Term | Five years | Record actual |
| Interest rate | Published range | Record personalised rate |
| Fees | Stated included and excluded costs | Confirm every applicable cost |
| Total repayable | Not established by the headline alone | Request exact figure |
Source: ASIC Moneysmart — Personal loans · Commonwealth Bank — Fixed Rate Personal Loan rates and fees
Use a six-line worksheet before applying
For every option, record: amount and term; secured or unsecured; fixed or variable; personalised interest rate; included and excluded fees; and total repayable. Mark the date of any promotion and the date the quote expires. A lower comparison rate can still be irrelevant if it is built on assumptions unlike your loan.
Your next step is to copy the assumptions beneath one comparison rate and request a quote for your actual amount and term without submitting multiple unnecessary applications. Recheck the lender page by 8 October 2026 because the fee offer ends on 9 October, and recheck Moneysmart by 26 October 2026.
Source: ASIC Moneysmart — Personal loans · Commonwealth Bank — Fixed Rate Personal Loan rates and fees
Sources & accountability
Follow the evidence
- ASIC Moneysmart — Personal loans ↗
Moneysmart explains that a comparison rate includes interest and most fees, depends on a stated example, may differ from a personalised rate and should be considered with term, fees and application impacts.
Accessed 26 September 2026 - Commonwealth Bank — Fixed Rate Personal Loan rates and fees ↗
Commonwealth Bank publishes current interest and comparison-rate ranges, the $15 monthly fee, the $30,000 five-year comparison assumptions, excluded costs and the temporary establishment-fee waiver.
Accessed 26 September 2026
Automated editorial and calculation checks; primary sources inspected. No independent human review claimed. Next scheduled source check: 8 October 2026.
Educational information, not personal financial advice. Editorial standards · Corrections
Changes to this guide
26 September 2026: First publication after ASIC and issuer review, four fee recalculations, assumption-mismatch counterexample and cross-network originality screening.
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