Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens inspecting Australia’s latest incarnation of the five dollar note! Image: Reserve Bank of Australia.
When plastic banknotes became saturated in Australia in the 1990s and replaced the crinkly old paper notes, it didn’t take long for Australians to take them for granted.
But whenever an existing banknote gets a design overhaul, like the latest release of the new five dollar note, it’s sure to turn some heads and open some wallets.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has rolled out its new five dollar note, which has entered circulation today, with issuance being supported by an information campaign to ensure that the Australian public is able to identify the new note and its security features.
And no, it doesn’t feature Dame Edna Everage in place of Queen Elizabeth II, which was designed by Melbourne artist Aaron Tyler, who assembled some convincing and funny variations of Australia’s currency last year that reflected some of the country’s more prominent pop cultural hallmarks.
The actual new five dollar note released into circulation today generally looks similar to its purple predecessor, but with a new and modernised look, as well as a range of security features that have not previously been used on an Australian banknote.
RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said this will help to keep Australia’s banknotes secure against counterfeiting into the future.
“New features include a world-first clear top-to-bottom window and a number of dynamic features that change as the banknote is tilted,” Mr Stevens said.
The new banknotes are the culmination of many years of research and trial and extensive consultation with subject-matter experts and the cash-handling industry, as well as qualitative research involving focus groups.’
According to the RBA, the new five dollar note is the first in a new series and other denominations will be upgraded over coming years.
Each banknote in the series will incorporate the same security features, the RBA said.
“Additionally, they will each feature a different species of Australian wattle and a native bird within a number of distinctive elements. The new $5 banknote features the Prickly Moses wattle and the Eastern Spinebill,” a release from the RBA said.
One of the new innovative but simple features of the new five dollar note, as well as the new series of currency notes, is a ‘tactile’ feature to help the vision impaired community distinguish between different banknote denominations.
On the five dollar note, this comes in the form of a raised bump on each of the long edges of the banknote next to the top-to-bottom window.
According to the RBA, the existing $5 banknote will be progressively withdrawn from circulation but can continue to be used as usual.
And people concerned about the purchasing power of their old notes need not be troubled, as the RBA said that all previously issued banknotes remain legal tender.
“It will take some time for the new banknotes to be widely circulated,” the RBA said.
That said, GovNews decided to check out if local banks in North Sydney had yet received any new five dollar notes.
Although we won’t identify which banks we inquired, only one out of three had the notes in their possession on the first day upon inquiry, and we managed to acquire some.
We can confirm in an early mini-review that they’re even snazzier in real life than in sample images provided online!
