King Charles will not appear on new Australia $5 note

King Charles will not appear on Australia’s new five-dollar note, the country’s central bank announced. 

After the Queen’s death, Australia hinted the new monarch might not feature on their new notes. The new design will pay tribute to “the culture and history of the First Australians,” the RBA said. 

“This decision by the Reserve Bank Board follows consultation with the Australian government, which supports this change,” the bank said in a statement.

“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,” it added.

There is no date or design just yet, but the decision to change has been welcomed by Aboriginal politicians and community leaders. 

First Nations people lived in Australia for at least 65,000 years before British colonisation, according to recent estimates.

King Charles became monarch after the Queen died in September. As British monarch, he is also the head of New Zealand, Australia and 12 other Commonwealth realms outside the UK. The role is largely ceremonial. 

Much of Australia’s currency already features Indigenous Australian figures and artworks.

In a 1999 referendum, Australian voters chose to keep the British monarch as the country’s head of state.

In 2021, Australia officially changed its national anthem to remove reference to the country being “young and free”.