Last updated: July 2026
SMSF Term Deposit Rates Australia
Term deposit rates for SMSF trustees — all Australian banks, all terms, sorted by rate. SMSFs use standard retail term deposits; the comparison below covers every available product.
- ✓ All banks — Big 4, challengers, and credit unions
- ✓ All terms — 3 months to 5 years
- ✓ Sorted by rate — best first
- ✓ Updated daily from bank data
What SMSF trustees should consider
- → FCS limit: The Australian Government Financial Claims Scheme protects deposits up to $250,000 per institution. SMSFs with large cash allocations typically spread across multiple banks to stay within this limit.
- → Liquidity: Match term lengths to your fund's expected cash flow needs — pension payments, rebalancing windows, and contribution timing all affect which terms make sense.
- → Laddering: Splitting a cash allocation across 3, 6, and 12-month terms (or longer) gives regular maturity events without locking everything away at once.
- → Documentation: Ensure the account is opened in the fund's name and trustee structure, not personally. Your bank will ask for the trust deed and trustee details.
All Term Deposit Rates
Sorted by rate — highest first. Click a lender name to see their full rate history and product details.
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Placing SMSF cash in term deposits
SMSFs use standard retail term deposits — the same products available to any individual saver. There are no separate SMSF-specific term deposit products in Australia. What differs is the strategy behind the placement: how much to lock away, for how long, and across how many institutions.
The most important practical consideration for trustees with large cash allocations is the Financial Claims Scheme (FCS) limit of $250,000 per account holder per authorised deposit-taking institution. For a fund holding $500,000 or more in cash, spreading deposits across multiple banks is the standard approach to ensuring full government protection. The comparison table above covers every major ADI offering retail term deposits, making it easier to identify which banks offer the best rates for each tranche.
Laddering — splitting the cash allocation across multiple terms — is a common strategy that balances yield with liquidity. A typical approach might place one-third in a 6-month term, one-third in 12 months, and one-third in 24 months. As each tranche matures, it can be rolled over at whatever rates are available, or redirected to meet fund obligations. Longer terms (24 and 36 months) tend to offer the best rates when the yield curve is steep; shorter terms preserve flexibility if rates are expected to move.
When opening a term deposit in an SMSF, the account must be in the name of the fund's trustee(s) in their capacity as trustee — not in personal names. Banks will typically require a certified copy of the trust deed, trustee identification, and the fund's ABN. Individual trustee and corporate trustee funds have slightly different documentation requirements — check with your bank before applying.