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The notes of the Australian dollar were first issued by the Reserve Bank of Australia on 14 February 1966, when Australia changed to decimal currency and replaced the pound with the dollar. [1] This currency was a lot easier for calculating compared to the previous Australian pound worth 20 shillings or 240 pence.
The $1 (10/-), $2 (£1), $10 (£5), and $20 (£10) had exact exchange rates with pounds and were a similar colour to the notes they replaced, but the $5 (worth £2 10s) did not, and was not introduced until May 1967 when the public had become more familiar with decimal currency. The original notes were designed by Gordon Andrews, who rejected traditional Australian clichés in favour of interesting and familiar subjects such as Aboriginal culture, women, the environment, architecture and aeronautics. [2]
Notes issued between 1966 and 1973 bore the title "Commonwealth of Australia". Starting from 1974, the title on the new notes only read "Australia" and the legal tender phrase was also changed from "Legal Tender throughout the Commonwealth of Australia and the territories of the Commonwealth" to "This Australian Note is legal tender throughout Australia and its territories".
The $50 note was introduced in 1973 and the $100 note in 1984, in response to inflation requiring larger denominations for transactions. [3] The $1 note was replaced by a $1 coin in 1984, while the $2 note was replaced by a smaller $2 coin in 1988. [3] Although no longer printed, all previous notes of the Australian dollar are still considered legal tender. [4]
| Image | Value | Dimensions | colours | Description | Date of circulation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | Front | Back | ||||||||
 |  | $1 | 140 × 70 mm | Brown and orange | Queen Elizabeth II | David Malangi (artwork) | 1966–1984 | ||||
 |  | $2 | 145 × 72.5 mm | Green and yellow | John Macarthur | William Farrer | 1966–1988 | ||||
 |  | $5 | 150 × 75 mm | Mauve | Sir Joseph Banks | Caroline Chisholm | 1967–1992 | ||||
 |  | $10 | 155 × 77.5 mm | Blue and orange | Francis Greenway | Henry Lawson | 1966–1993 | ||||
 |  | $20 | 160 × 80 mm | Red and yellow (orange backset) | Sir Charles Kingsford Smith | Lawrence Hargrave | 1966–1994 | ||||
 |  | $50 | 165 × 82.5 mm | Yellow, blue, brown and green | Howard Florey, Baron Florey | Sir Ian Clunies Ross | 1973–1995 | ||||
 |  | $100 | 172 × 82.5 mm | Light blue and grey | Sir Douglas Mawson | John Tebbutt | 1984–1996 | ||||
| These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table. | |||||||||||
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In 1988, the Reserve Bank of Australia issued $10 notes in plastic. The polypropylene polymer banknotes were produced by Note Printing Australia, to commemorate the bicentenary of European settlement in Australia. [7] These notes contained a transparent "window" with a diffractive optically variable device (DOVD) image of Captain James Cook as a security feature. Australian notes were the first in the world to use such features. [7] All current Australian notes also contain microprinting for further security. [8]
| Note | Obverse design | Reverse design | Dimensions (mm) | Weight (g) | Main colour | Window image | Embossing | Printed | Issued | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10 | HMS Supply anchored at Sydney Cove | Australian Aboriginal culture and peoples | 155 × 77.5 mm [9] | Green, orange and yellow [9] | Captain Cook [9] | 26 Jan 1988 [10] | |||||
| These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table. | |||||||||||
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There were initial difficulties with the first polymer note issued; the $10 note had problems with the holographic security feature detaching from the note itself. However, the Reserve Bank saw potential in the issue of plastic notes and commenced preparations for an entirely new series made from polymer, commencing with the $5 note in 1992. [11] Today all Australian notes are made of polymer.
In April 1995, the design of the $5 notes was updated [11] to match the rest of the New Banknote Series, with additional slight changes in 1996. In 2001, a special commemorative 'Federation' $5 note was produced, [12] but in 2002, the previous version's production commenced again. From 2002, the design of all notes (except for the $5 note picturing the Queen) was slightly changed to include the names of the people pictured on them under the portraits, and swapping the order of the signatures of officials on the notes.
| Note | Image | Obverse design | Reverse design | Dimensions4 (mm) | Weight4 (g) | Main colour | Window image | Embossing5 | Printed | Issued | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | ||||||||||||
| $5 original1 | Queen Elizabeth II | Parliament House, Old Parliament House | 130 × 65 × 0.1130 | 0.764 | Pale mauve [13] | Gum flower | — | 1992–1993 | 7 Jul 1992 | ||||
| $5 recoloured | Queen Elizabeth II | Parliament House, Old Parliament House | 130 × 65 × 0.1256 | 0.783 | Violet, pink | 1995–2015 | 24 April 1995 | ||||||
| $5 Federation2 [14] | Sir Henry Parkes | Catherine Helen Spence | 130 × 65 × 0.1259 | 0.815 | Leaf-shaped window | "5" | 2001 | 1 Jan 2001 | |||||
| $10 3 |  |  | Banjo Paterson | Dame Mary Gilmore | 137 × 65 × 0.1294 | 0.841 | Blue | Windmill | Wavy lines | 1993–2015 | 1 Nov 1993 | ||
| $20 |  |  | Mary Reibey | Reverend John Flynn | 144 × 65 × 0.1332 | 0.900 | Red/Orange | Compass | "20" | 1994–2013 | 31 Oct 1994 | ||
| $50 |  |  | David Unaipon | Edith Cowan | 151 × 65 × 0.1400 | 0.955 | Yellow | Southern Cross | "50" | 1995–2016 | 4 Oct 1995 | ||
| $100 |  | Dame Nellie Melba | Sir John Monash | 158 × 65 × 0.1408 | 1.006 | Green | Lyrebird | "100" | 1996–2017 | 15 May 1996 | |||
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On 13 February 2015 the Reserve Bank of Australia announced that the next series of Australia notes would have a tactile feature to help the visually impaired community to tell the value of the note after a successful campaign led by 15-year-old Connor McLeod, who is blind, to introduce the new feature. [15] [16] The notes retain the key aspects of the previous series' design such as the colour, size and people portrayed for ease of recognition and to minimise disruption to businesses.
The new $5 note includes the tactile feature and was issued on 1 September 2016, to coincide with Australia's National Wattle Day, [17] followed by the new $10 banknote on 20 September 2017. [18] The new $50 note was released for circulation on 18 October 2018, [19] followed by the new $20 note on 9 October 2019, [20] and the new $100 was released on the 29 October 2020. [21] [22] The Reserve Bank currently has no plans to release fourth series notes in denominations higher than $100, despite the amount of inflation that has occurred since the $100 note was introduced in 1984.
In May 2019 the Reserve Bank confirmed that the $50 note contained a misspelling of the word "responsibility" on the reverse design, a typo that would be corrected in future printings. [23]
It was announced on 2 February 2023 that the new $5 note would not feature Charles III, but rather an Indigenous design. This is seen as an attempt by the Albanese government to distance Australian currency from Australia's monarchy in the long term. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said, "The monarch will still be on the coins, but the $5 note will say more about our history and our heritage and our country, and I see that as a good thing." [24]
| Value | Image | Design | Dimensions1 (mm) | Weight1 (g) | Main colour | Window image | Embossing3 | Printed | Issued | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | Front | Back | ||||||||
| $5 |  |  | Queen Elizabeth II | Parliament House 4 | 130 × 65 | unknown | Purple | Top to Bottom window2 | Federation star | Currently printing | 1 September 2016 |
| $10 |  |  | Banjo Paterson | Dame Mary Gilmore | 137 × 65 | unknown | Blue | Top to bottom window | Pen nib | Currently printing | 20 September 2017 |
| $20 |  |  | Mary Reibey | Reverend John Flynn | 144 × 65 | 0.82g | Red | Top to bottom window | Compass | Currently printing | 9 October 2019 |
| $50 |  |  | David Unaipon | Edith Cowan | 151 × 65 | unknown | Yellow | Top to bottom window | Book | Currently printing | 18 October 2018 |
| $100 |  |  | Dame Nellie Melba | Sir John Monash | 158 × 65 | unknown | Green | Top to bottom window | Fan | Currently printing | 29 October 2020 |
| These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.Source: Reserve Bank of Australia. [11] [25] | |||||||||||
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The Australian dollar is the official currency and legal tender of Australia, including all of its external territories, and three independent sovereign Pacific Island states: Kiribati, Nauru, and Tuvalu. In April 2022, it was the sixth most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market and as of Q4 2023 the seventh most-held reserve currency in global reserves.
Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in payment of a debt extinguishes the debt. There is no obligation on the creditor to accept the tendered payment, but the act of tendering the payment in legal tender discharges the debt.
The Singapore dollar is the official currency of the Republic of Singapore. It is divided into 100 cents. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issues the banknotes and coins of the Singapore dollar.
The pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. Like other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.
The Kina is the currency of Papua New Guinea. It is divided into 100 toea. The name Kina is derived from Kuanua language of the Tolai region, referring to a callable pearl shell used widely for trading in both the Coastal and Highlands areas of the country.
The Fijian dollar has been the currency of Fiji since 1969 and was also the currency between 1867 and 1873. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively FJ$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents.
The Australian five-cent coin is the lowest-denomination circulating coin of the decimal Australian dollar introduced in 14 February 1966, replacing the pre-decimal sixpence. It has been the lowest-denomination coin in general circulation since the withdrawal of the one-cent and two-cent coins in 1992.
The Australian ten-cent coin is a coin of the decimal Australian dollar. When the dollar was introduced as half of an Australian pound on 14 February 1966, the coin inherited the specifications of the pre-decimal shilling; both coins were worth one twentieth of a pound and were called "bob". On introduction it was the fourth-lowest denomination coin. Since the withdrawal from circulation of the one and two cent coins in 1992, it has been the second-lowest denomination coin in circulation.
The Australian one-dollar coin is the second most valuable circulation denomination coin of the Australian dollar after the two-dollar coin; there are also non-circulating legal-tender coins of higher denominations.
The Australian two-dollar coin is the highest-denomination coin of the Australian dollar. It was first issued on 20 June 1988, having been in planning since the mid-1970s. It replaced the Australian two-dollar note due to having a longer circulatory life. The only "mint set only" year was 1991.
The Australian fifty-dollar note is an Australian banknote with a face value of fifty Australian dollars ($50). Since 1995 it has been a polymer banknote featuring portraits of Edith Cowan, first female member of an Australian parliament, and inventor and Australia's first published Aboriginal Australian author, David Unaipon. The $50 banknote is also called a "pineapple" given its bright yellow colour.
The Australian twenty-dollar note was issued when the currency was changed from the Australian pound to the Australian dollar on 14 February 1966. It replaced the £10 note which had similar orange colouration. There have been only three different issues of this denomination: a paper note which had a gradient of yellow and red, with a distinct orange background, and two designs of polymer note which can be recognised for their distinct red-orange colouration, and so it was nicknamed a "lobster". The first polymer note was issued on 31 October 1994 and the Next Generation polymer banknote was issued on 9 October 2019.
The Australian ten-dollar note was one of the four original decimal banknotes excluding the Australian five-dollar note, was issued when the currency was changed from the Australian pound to the Australian dollar on 14 February 1966. It replaced the Australian five-pound note, which included the same blue colouration. There have been four different issues of this denomination: a paper banknote; a commemorative hi-polymer note, to celebrate the bicentennial of Australian settlement ; the 1993–2017 polymer note; and from September 2017 a polymer note featuring a transparent window.
The Australian one-hundred-dollar note was first issued in 1984 as a paper note. There have been two different issues of this denomination: initially a very light turquoise-blue paper note, and from May 1996, a green polymer note. Since the start of issue there have been six signature combinations. Two other combinations were not issued.
The cent, formally the one-cent coin, was the lowest-denomination coin of the Australian dollar. It was introduced on 14 February 1966 in the decimalisation of Australian currency and was withdrawn from circulation in 1992. It is still minted as a non-circulating coin. A one-cent coin in 1966 would have a purchasing power equal to about 16c in 2023 values.
The Australian two-cent coin was introduced in 1966 and was the coin of the second-lowest denomination until it was withdrawn from circulation in 1992. It is still counted as legal tender, but is subject to some restrictions, and two-cent coins are legal tender only up to the sum of 20 cents.
The Australian five-dollar note was first issued on 29 May 1967, fifteen months after the currency was changed from the pound to the dollar on 14 February 1966. It was a new denomination with mauve colouration – the pre-decimal system had no denomination with a value of £21⁄2. The first polymer version of the note was introduced on 7 July 1992. A major design update was issued on 1 September 2016, with a minor update to the signatures in 2019.
New Zealand dollar banknotes are the banknotes in circulation in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Tokelau, Niue and the Pitcairn Islands, denominated in the New Zealand dollar. They are issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and since 1999 have been made of polymer.
Banknotes of the Australian pound were first issued by numerous private banks in Australia, starting with the Bank of New South Wales in 1817. Acceptance of private bank notes was not made compulsory by legal tender laws but they were widely used and accepted. The Queensland government issued treasury notes (1866–1869) and banknotes (1893–1910), which were legal tender in Queensland. The New South Wales government issued a limited series of Treasury Notes in 1893.
Prior to European colonization, early Aboriginal Australian communities traded using items such as tools, food, ochres, shells, raw materials and stories, although there is no evidence of the use of currencies.
All Australian banknotes, present and all past issues, are lawfully current in Australia.
The security features that can be used to check a banknote are: Polymer Substrate ... Clear Window ... See-through Registration Device ... Shadow Image ... Intaglio Print ... Background Print (Offset) ... Micro-printing ... Fluorescent Ink
