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Credit Card Payoff Calculator: Australia

See how long a credit card takes to pay off at your APR, the interest it costs, what minimums really cost, and the payment to be debt-free by a date.

Reviewed by CentExactRates effective 1 sourceCalculated in your browser. Shared links include inputs.

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. For help interpreting a result or comparing it with a quote or statement, read the questions and answers.

Data sources

Australian consumer finance conventionsServices AustraliaWithin its effective period

Every document each dataset was read from, its notes and how the figures were checked are listed in the guide's data sources.

This calculator in other countries

Each country has its own rates, thresholds and rules, and its own page that runs the calculator on them and cites the official sources they came from.

CentExactCalculator publisher

CentExact publishes the calculation method, worked examples and available data sources. Automated checks cover reference calculations; they do not certify a result for your circumstances or imply approval by a lender or tax authority.

How we build and test our calculators

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.