The next $5 note will honour First Australians, the RBA says, relegating King Charles III to coins

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that the following mentions deceased persons.

Australia’s $5 banknote will be redesigned to celebrate Indigenous Australian culture and history, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) says, confirming a visual overhaul expected since the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year. 

On Thursday, the RBA announced the federal government has approved the development of new imagery for the $5 note, which will replace a portrait of the former monarch.

While tradition would have held that her image would be replaced by one of her heir, King Charles III, public figures including Treasurer Jim Chalmers had suggested the note feature an Australian instead. 

The precise make-up of the new imagery is yet to be determined, the RBA says, but it plans to consult with Indigenous Australians ahead of its rollout.

“The new banknote will take a number of years to be designed and printed,” it said.

“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.”

More than 200 million $5 notes were in circulation as of 2019, the RBA states.

Indigenous Australia has long been represented on legal tender.

In its statement, the RBA reflected on the first $1 banknote, issued in 1966, which featured the work of Arnhem Land artist David ‘Dollar Dave’ Malangi Daymirringu — initially without his permission. 

The current $50 note features the image of Ngarrindjeri man David Unaipon, a preacher, inventor, and the first Indigenous Australian author to be published in print.

News of the central bank’s $5 decision has been celebrated by The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, which represents Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the pursuit of a formal Treaty.

Taking to social media, the Assembly suggested a portrait of Bunurong and Wiradjuri actor, musician, and elder Uncle Jack Charles, who died in 2022.

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The move has also been welcomed by the Australian Republican Movement.

“To think that an unelected king should be on our currency in place of First Nations leaders and elders and eminent Australians is no longer justifiable at a time of truth-telling, reconciliation and ultimately formal, cultural and intellectual independence,” said Craig Foster, chair of the Movement.

While the central bank considers its new $5 note, only minor changes are expected for other forms of tender, with coins featuring the portrait of King Charles III expected to enter circulation this year.