What is on the money in Australia?
Australia issued the world's first polymer banknote in 1988, a commemorative $10 for the bicentenary, and had converted the whole currency by 1996 — every other polymer currency in the world descends from that research. The notes have a transparent window that is genuinely difficult to counterfeit and they survive a washing machine. Every denomination features a man on one side and a woman on the other, a rule adopted deliberately.
Who and what is on each note
| Note | Who or what is on it |
|---|---|
| $5 | A design honouring the connection of First Australians to Country, replacing the monarch |
| $10 | Banjo Paterson and Dame Mary Gilmore, poets |
| $20 | Mary Reibey and John Flynn |
| $50 | David Unaipon and Edith Cowan |
| $100 | Dame Nellie Melba and Sir John Monash |
The unusual part
The Reserve Bank announced in 2023 that the monarch would not appear on the new $5, ending the practice without replacing one head of state with another — the note carries an Indigenous design instead.
The practical facts
- Currency
- Australian dollar — ISO code AUD, symbol $
- Printed on
- Polymer
- Survives a wash?
- Yes. Polymer notes come out of a washing machine intact.
- Can a blind person tell them apart?
- Yes — the denominations differ in size, which is the simplest and most reliable tactile cue there is.
- Highest note in issue
- $100 — Dame Nellie Melba and Sir John Monash
This page describes the notes rather than showing them. Reproducing a banknote image is restricted in most jurisdictions, and the restrictions differ between them.
Common questions
- Who is on the money in Australia?
- $5: A design honouring the connection of First Australians to Country, replacing the monarch. $10: Banjo Paterson and Dame Mary Gilmore, poets. $20: Mary Reibey and John Flynn. $50: David Unaipon and Edith Cowan. $100: Dame Nellie Melba and Sir John Monash.
- Are Australia's banknotes polymer or paper?
- Polymer. Polymer notes last two to three times as long as paper ones and survive a washing machine.
Related pages
- Australia Capital, area, population and currency
- The flag of Australia Colours, symbols and lookalikes
- The money in United States US dollar
- The money in Eurozone Euro
- The money in United Kingdom Pound sterling
- The money in India Indian rupee
- The money in Japan Japanese yen
- The money in Zimbabwe Zimbabwean dollar
- The money in Canada Canadian dollar
- The money in China Renminbi
- The money in Switzerland Swiss franc
- The money in South Africa South African rand
Sources
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place