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Australia: the greater of 2% or a flat amount, and the warning on your statement

Australian issuers set the minimum at the greater of 2% to 2.5% of the closing balance or a flat amount of about $20. The month's interest is taken from within that percentage, not added to it, so on a card at 20% a 2% minimum puts only about 0.33% of the balance towards the debt in the first month. That is the mechanism behind the very long payoff times the calculator reports here.

The closing balance matters too. The percentage is struck on the balance at the end of the statement period, so a purchase made the day before the statement closes raises next month's minimum, while the same purchase a day later does not.

Australia is unusual in requiring the arithmetic to be printed. Where the balance would take more than two years to clear, the National Credit Code obliges the statement to carry a minimum repayment warning: how long the balance would take to clear on minimum payments alone, what you would have to pay instead to clear it within two years, and the interest that faster plan would save. Those boxes routinely quote payoff figures in the decades, which is the same calculation this tool performs and a good check on the numbers above.

There is no statutory cap on Australian credit-card rates.

For how the calculation works, the formula behind it and what it leaves out, see the full guide.

Data sources

  • Australian consumer finance conventions

    Effective 2023-07-01 onward · retrieved 2026-08-30

    Superannuation preservation age is separate from and lower than the Age Pension age.

    How we checked these figures

    The Age Pension age has been 67 for everyone born on or after 1 January 1957 since 1 July 2023.

    Current

This calculator in other countries

Each country has its own rates, thresholds and rules, and its own page with the official sources they came from.

CentExact Editorial · Research & verification

Every CentExact calculator is built from the published finance formula, tested against spreadsheet, lender and tax-authority figures, and reviewed when the underlying rates or rules change.

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This calculator is for general information only and is not financial advice. Results are estimates based on the figures you enter and the stated formula; lenders and providers may round or calculate differently. Check any decision with the institution involved or a qualified adviser.