Key Highlights

  • The Chart Pack is published on 4 November, and Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser delivers the Sir Leslie Melville Lecture at ANU on 5 November.
  • Sarah Hunter speaks at the UBS Australasia Conference on 9 November and Marnie Baker AM at the ARCA Credit Summit on 12 November.
  • Governor Bullock appears on a panel at the ASIC Annual Forum on 17 November, when the November minutes are released.

Once the Reserve Bank's 3 November decision is out of the way, a busy run of speeches and panels begins, giving markets and the public several chances to hear from RBA leaders and Board members.

The first Tuesday in November is famous for a horse race. This year it also carries the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy decision. The RBA calendar shows that 3 November 2026 is Melbourne Cup Day, and that the Monetary Policy Board's decision statement and the November Statement on Monetary Policy, containing new forecasts, are both due at 2.30 pm AEDT, followed by Governor Michele Bullock's media conference at 3.30 pm.

What happens next is less widely discussed. In the weeks after Cup Day, the calendar fills with appearances by senior RBA officials and members of the Monetary Policy Board. For anyone trying to understand the reasoning behind the November decision, whatever it turns out to be, these events may offer additional context.

The decision itself has not been made. The Board's most recent statement, in September, said it would be "increasing the cash rate target further if needed" and that "the Board will be attentive to the data and the evolving assessment of the outlook and risks". Nothing in the speaking schedule indicates which way the Board will go.

The first week: Chart Pack and the Melville Lecture

The day after the decision, 4 November, the RBA is scheduled to publish its Chart Pack, a regular collection of charts on the economy and financial markets.

On 5 November, Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser is scheduled to deliver the Sir Leslie Melville Lecture at the Australian National University. A named lecture of this kind is often an occasion for a considered address rather than a quick commentary, and coming two days after the decision and the new Statement on Monetary Policy, its timing gives it potential interest. The calendar does not state his topic, and this article does not speculate on it.

The following week: Hunter at UBS, Baker at ARCA

Sarah Hunter, 9 November. Assistant Governor (Economic) Sarah Hunter is scheduled to speak at the UBS Australasia Conference. Ms Hunter has been one of the RBA's more visible communicators recently. In an interview on 60 Minutes broadcast on 25 October 2026, she said "We know that higher interest rates will bring inflation down" and noted that "the Board have put through four rate hikes this year". She described the challenge as twofold: an overseas oil shock and excess domestic demand relative to sustainable supply. She also said oil-driven price pressure was still coming through and that things would get "a little bit" worse before they improve, while declining to signal the next decision. Her UBS appearance will come after the November decision and forecasts are public.

Marnie Baker AM, 12 November. Monetary Policy Board member Marnie Baker AM is scheduled to speak at the ARCA Credit Summit. For anyone interested in how the Board as a whole approaches its task, a speech by one of its members, rather than by an RBA executive, may be worth noting, as it offers a perspective from around the decision-making table itself. The calendar does not specify her subject.

The rest of November and into December

The schedule remains crowded through the rest of the month. According to the RBA calendar:

  • 17 November: Governor Michele Bullock appears on a panel at the ASIC Annual Forum. The minutes of the November Monetary Policy Board meeting are also released.
  • 19 November: Payments System Board meeting.
  • 20 November: Monetary Policy Board member Renée Fry-McKibbin speaks at CAMA.
  • 25 November: David Jacobs speaks at the Australian Securitisation conference.
  • 26 November: RBA Bulletin published.
  • 30 November: Clare Noone speech.
  • 1 December: Governor Bullock takes part in a fireside chat at the ABE Annual Dinner.

That run then leads into the final Monetary Policy Board meeting of the year, on 7–8 December, with the decision due at 2.30 pm on 8 December.

The 17 November date is a notable one. The minutes of the November meeting typically provide more detail on the Board's deliberations than the decision statement does, and the Governor's ASIC panel appearance falls on the same day.

Why the line-up matters

For households and businesses, the most important RBA communication is the decision statement itself, along with the Governor's media conference. But the speeches that follow can help explain how individual officials and Board members are thinking about the economy.

The backdrop is a difficult one. The cash rate target is 4.60 per cent, effective 30 September 2026, after four increases this year totalling 100 basis points. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on 28 October 2026 that headline CPI rose 4.3 per cent over the year to September, while trimmed mean (underlying) inflation was 3.6 per cent, both above the RBA's 2–3 per cent target range.

In her Senate opening statement on the same day, Governor Bullock said "Inflation will therefore likely be higher than was our base case in August," referring to the effect of higher global energy prices. The November Statement on Monetary Policy will contain the RBA's updated forecasts, and the post-Cup Day speeches will be the first opportunities for officials to discuss them in more depth.

It is worth bearing in mind that RBA officials tend to be careful about forward guidance. At her 29 September media conference, the Governor said plainly: "I'm not going to give you forward guidance." Speeches in November and December may help explain how the Board reached its decision, but they should not be assumed to signal what comes next.

The bottom line

Melbourne Cup Day brings the RBA's November decision and new forecasts. The days that follow bring a full calendar: the Chart Pack on 4 November, Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser's Sir Leslie Melville Lecture at ANU on 5 November, Assistant Governor Sarah Hunter at the UBS Australasia Conference on 9 November, and Board member Marnie Baker AM at the ARCA Credit Summit on 12 November, followed by the November minutes and further appearances through to early December.

None of these events tells us what the Board will decide on 3 November. But for anyone following the RBA closely, they form a useful sequence of opportunities to hear the reasoning behind whatever it does decide.