Reserve Bank takes biggest step so far in increasing transparency
Thursday, 30 April 2026
Finance Minister Nicola Willis and the Reserve Bank have agreed the central bank will shed more light on how it arrives at its interest-rate decisions in future.
The Reserve Bank usually reaches decisions on the level of the Official Cash Rate unanimously, through consensus.
But from now on, the bank will reveal how different members of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted on the occasions when they are unable to agree.
Willis said a new charter for the bank, which comes into effect immediately, would also make it easier for members of the committee to speak publicly about their views.
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“The MPC will also begin attributing material differences in views in its records of meetings,” she said.
“The committee will review these changes, along with its wider decision-making processes, in 12 months and report back to me on their effectiveness and whether they support clear communication and transparency.”
Willis said the changes would “strengthen transparency, support accountability, and help build public understanding of the MPC’s decision making”.
Reserve Bank governor Anna Breman said the changes would bring the bank “in line with some of the most transparent central banks in the world”.
The argument against greater transparency has commonly been that when central banks air their linen in public, as happens in the United States, that can complicate and potentially dilute their messaging, or hinder frank discussions that would otherwise take place behind closed doors.
But Breman voiced a desire to increase the transparency of monetary policy decisions when she was appointed to the role last year, making clear she believed the benefits outweighed the detriments.
Other steps have included the bank holding media conferences after its thrice-yearly reviews of the OCR, in addition to the conferences it already held four times a year when it issues its more detailed monetary policy statements.