The Reserve Bank has decided to update the $5 banknote to feature a new design that honours the culture and history of the First Australians. This new design will replace the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The other side of the $5 banknote will continue to feature the Australian Parliament.
This decision by the Reserve Bank Board follows consultation with the Australian Government, which supports this change.
The Bank will consult with First Australians in designing the $5 banknote. The new banknote will take a number of years to be designed and printed. In the meantime, the current $5 banknote will continue to be issued. It will be able to be used even after the new banknote is issued.
Background
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are respectfully advised that the following includes the names of some people who are now deceased.
The first $1 banknote, issued in 1966, included imagery of Aboriginal rock paintings and carvings and designs based on a bark painting by David Malangi Daymirringu. Australia’s first polymer banknote, a $10 issued as a one-off in 1988, included examples of ancient and contemporary Aboriginal art, echoing the appreciation of the art’s significance, both nationally and internationally.
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The current $50 banknote features author, activist, inventor, musician and preacher, David Uniapon, a Ngarrindjeri man from South Australia. The $5 banknote showcases the Forecourt Mosaic, which is based on a Central Desert dot-style painting by Michael Nelson Jagamara titled ‘Possum and Wallaby Dreaming’.
