The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has chosen to update the $5 banknote, but it will not feature the new King.
The RBA revealed the new $5 banknote would honour the culture and history of the First Australians on one side of the note, replacing the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The other side of the $5 banknote would continue to feature the Australian Parliament.
“This decision by the Reserve Bank Board follows consultation with the Australian Government, which supports this change,” the RBA states. “The Bank will consult with First Australians in designing the $5 banknote.”
The portrait of Queen Elizabeth II first appeared on the $5 banknote in July 1992 when the Queen celebrated the 40th anniversary of her accession. It was last updated in 2016, featuring the Prickly Moses wattle and the Eastern Spinebill (a native Australian bird).
But the new banknote would take a number of years to be designed and printed, the RBA says. In the meantime, the current $5 banknote would continue to be issued, and can still be used once the new banknote is issued.
First Australian author, activist, investor, musician and preacher, David Uniapon, a Ngarrindjeri man from South Australia, is currently featured on the $50 banknote.
