The Reserve Bank's attention is fixed on 3 November, but the Monetary Policy Board has one more meeting on its 2026 calendar, on 7–8 December, and a long gap to the first meeting of 2027.

Almost all discussion of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) right now is about the next decision, due at 2.30 pm on 3 November 2026 at the end of the Board's 2–3 November meeting. That focus is natural: it will be the first decision after the September CPI release, and it falls in the month the RBA has named for its next forecast update.

But the November decision is not the year's last word. The RBA's published schedule shows a final 2026 meeting on 7–8 December. Looking at that meeting now is less about guessing its outcome, which nobody can know, and more about understanding how the Board's calendar shapes the flow of information through the end of the year.

The calendar from here

The RBA's homepage and board meeting schedule set out the following dates. Times are as published by the RBA.

  1. Tuesday 13 October, 11.30 am AEDT: minutes of the September 2026 Monetary Policy Board meeting.
  2. Thursday 15 October, after 3.00 pm AEDT: RBA Annual Report 2026.
  3. 18 October, 11.00 am AEDT: Assistant Governor (Financial Markets) Christopher Kent interview, News 24 with Ross Greenwood.
  4. 19 October, 10.05 am AEDT: Kent fireside chat at the Commonwealth Bank Global Markets Conference.
  5. 20 October, 9.50 am AEDT: fireside chat with Ellis Connolly, Head of Payments Policy, at the AFIA conference.
  6. 21 October, 9.30 am AEDT: Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser appearance at the Citi ANZ Investment Conference.
  7. 28 October: CPI for September.
  8. 2–3 November: Board meeting, with the decision at 2.30 pm on 3 November. The RBA has said its next forecast update is in November.
  9. 7–8 December: final Board meeting of 2026.
  10. 8–9 February 2027: first Board meeting of 2027.

The RBA material reviewed for this article does not specify the time of the December announcement, nor which economic data releases fall between the November and December meetings. Those details are typically confirmed on official calendars closer to the date.

Why the December meeting stands apart

The December meeting has one structural feature that sets it apart: it is followed by the longest gap in the published schedule from here. After 7–8 December, the Board does not meet again until 8–9 February 2027, roughly two months later.

The full 2027 schedule is: 8–9 February; 22–23 March; 3–4 May; 21–22 June; 9–10 August; 27–28 September; 1–2 November; and 13–14 December.

The RBA has not said whether the timing of meetings influences how it weighs any particular decision, and this article does not suggest that it does. The Board's stated approach is data-driven: it "will continue to do what it considers necessary" to return inflation to target and remains attentive to the data.

What we know, and what we don't

What is known:

  • The cash rate target is 4.60 per cent, effective 30 September 2026, after a unanimous 25 basis point increase. That followed three increases earlier in 2026, for a total of 100 basis points this year based on RBA statements.
  • The Board held at 4.35 per cent in August before raising in September, showing that it has both paused and moved within the same year.
  • Headline CPI was 4.0 per cent over the year to August 2026. Underlying inflation has been about 3.5 per cent for the past six months, according to Governor Michele Bullock, and the trimmed mean was 3.6 per cent in the June quarter. The target is 2–3 per cent.
  • The August minutes forecast underlying inflation above 3 per cent until mid-2027 and around 2½ per cent in late 2027, with unemployment rising gradually to 4.8 per cent by the end of 2028.

What is not known:

  • The outcome of the November meeting, and therefore the cash rate going into December.
  • The contents of the September minutes, due 13 October, and of the November forecast update.
  • What Kent, Connolly or Hauser will say at their October appearances.
  • What the Board will decide in December.

Bullock was direct on this at her 29 September media conference: "I'm not going to give you forward guidance." Hauser, on ABC's 7.30 on 8 September, said the Board has nine voting members and would not pre-commit.

The forces the Board will be weighing

Whatever the timing, the issues on the table are those the Board has already identified. Its 29 September statement said inflation remains elevated, capacity pressures remain and some upside risks have materialised, including further disruption to global oil supply from the Middle East conflict and strong AI-related demand pushing up technology-goods prices. It also noted that output growth has slowed, consumer spending is easing gradually and labour market conditions have eased broadly as expected.

The balance of risks is another input. The August minutes judged risks to the inflation outlook as skewed to the upside, and Assistant Governor (Economic) Sarah Hunter said on 14 September: "we do think the risks to inflation right now are skewed to the upside". On bond markets, Bullock said on 29 September: "So at this stage, I'd say not alarmed, but we are alert to it."

On the lag in policy, Bullock told the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics on 18 September that monetary policy works with a lag and the full effects of recent rises were not yet visible. By December, more of the September increase will have had time to flow through, and the November forecasts will have been published. How those inputs will look is unknown today.

The bottom line

The 7–8 December meeting is the last chance for the Board to adjust policy in 2026, and it precedes a roughly two-month break before the 8–9 February 2027 meeting. Before it come the September minutes, the Annual Report, a cluster of RBA speeches, the September CPI, the November forecast update and the 3 November decision. The RBA has offered no forward guidance on any of these meetings, and the December outcome, like November's, will depend on data not yet released.