Reserve Bank announces major change to $5 note

A major decision has been made about the future of the $5 note amid confusion on whether King Charles would replace his mother on the banknote.

The Reserve Bank has made a sensational decision to dump King Charles III from the $5 note.

In a statement, the central bank said it was time to update the banknote to feature a “new design that honours the culture and history of First Australians.”

“This new design will replace the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The other side of the $5 banknote will continue to feature the Australian Parliament,” it said.

The call follows consultation with the federal government which the RBA says supports the major change.

But the RBA said the new note won’t be ready for a number of years, meaning the Queen will still be spotted on the $5 for some time.

“The Bank will consult with First Australians in designing the $5 banknote,” it said.

“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.”

The reigning monarch has traditionally appeared on the lowest denomination of Australian banknote. Since 1995, the $5 note bank note has been marked with a portrait of the Queen, aged 58.

Following the Queen’s death, Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh said it wasn’t a given that King Charles would automatically replace his mother on the note.

“As I understand it, the decision to include the Queen’s face on the $5 note was about her personally rather than about the status of the monarch, so that transition isn’t automatic,” he said at the time.

In September, Treasurer Jim Chalmers met with RBA governor Philip Lowe to discuss the possibility of replacing the monarch, insisting it should not be “beyond us” to consider the change.

But Peter Dutton blasted the move as “woke nonsense” and claimed it was a political attack by the government on Australian society and its institutions.

Queen Elizabeth has been featured on the note since 1995. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

The Liberal leader said ditching King Charles was akin to the movement to change the date of Australia Day, which he likened to “discrimination”.

“I know the silent majority don't agree with a lot of the woke nonsense that goes on but we’ve got to hear more from those people online,” he told 2GB Radio on Thursday.

Mr Dutton claimed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had been “central” to the change and suggested he hadn’t been upfront with Australians.

“If it's a decision they’ve made, own it, just be responsible and put your hand up and say this is the reason we’ve made it,” he said.

“I think it’s another attack on our power systems on our society and our institutions. There’ll be significant tax on Australia Day. People want to change that.

“There will be been an attack on the national anthem, that flag the name of Australia as we’re seeing in other parts of the world. So I just think you’ve got to stand up and in a lot more Australians have to be heard.”

More to come.

Originally published as Reserve Bank announces major change to $5 note