Queen Out, First Nations Culture In: Where the $5 Redesign Stands

Sonal Goyal

28 October 2026 07:01 PM AEDT

Queen Out, First Nations Culture In: Where the $5 Redesign Stands

Image Source: Shutterstock

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Key Highlights

The new design will honour First Nations cultures and history and replace the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
The reverse of the note continues to feature the Australian Parliament.
Public consultation ran from 1 March to 30 April 2024, and no release date has been confirmed.

The Reserve Bank's plan to reimagine the $5 note replaces the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with a design honouring First Nations cultures and history, but no release date has been confirmed.

The $5 note is the smallest denomination in Australia's banknote series, and for many people the one most likely to be handed over at a school canteen or a weekend market. It is also the note at the centre of one of the Reserve Bank of Australia's most symbolically significant design projects in years.

In a media release on 1 March 2024, the RBA launched a process to "Reimagine the $5". The new design will replace the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with a theme of First Nations cultures and history, while the reverse of the note will continue to feature the Australian Parliament.

More than two and a half years on, many Australians may be wondering where the project has reached. This explainer sets out what the RBA has confirmed, what remains open, and how the redesign fits with the RBA's wider approach to cash.

What the RBA announced

The key elements of the March 2024 announcement were:

Theme. The new design will honour First Nations cultures and history.
Portrait replaced. The design replaces the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
Reverse unchanged in theme. The reverse of the note continues to feature the Australian Parliament.
Public consultation. Consultation ran from 1 March to 30 April 2024.
Expert panel. The process involves an expert panel that includes First Nations representatives.
Artists invited. First Nations artists were invited to submit designs.

The RBA framed public involvement as central to the project. Assistant Governor Michelle McPhee said at the time: "Involving the public in this process is vital."

The $5 note was last updated in 2016. A redesign of this kind is therefore not a routine refresh but a substantive change in what the note depicts.

How the design process works

The structure the RBA described in 2024 moves in stages. First came public consultation, giving Australians the opportunity to share their views on how First Nations cultures and history might be represented. Then, First Nations artists were invited to submit designs, with an expert panel, including First Nations representatives, involved in the process.

That approach reflects the significance of the theme. Representing the cultures and history of First Nations peoples on national currency involves questions of meaning, authenticity and respect, and the RBA's process was designed to involve both the public and First Nations voices rather than relying solely on internal design work.

Beyond design itself, any new banknote has to go through further stages before reaching wallets, such as production and the distribution of new notes into circulation. No timetable for those stages is set out in the RBA material cited here.

What is not yet known

The single most common question about the new $5 is when it will appear. On that point, there is no verified release date. Readers should treat any specific date they encounter with caution unless it comes directly from the RBA.

Similarly, this article does not describe the final artwork, because no final design is described in the RBA material cited here. The theme is confirmed; the details of how it will be expressed are a matter for the RBA's process.

In the meantime, the current $5 note remains in circulation. A change in design does not, of itself, affect the value of existing notes.

Why the redesign matters in a changing payments world

It is fair to ask why a central bank would invest in redesigning a banknote at a time when card and phone payments are so common. The RBA's recent statements suggest it continues to see cash as essential.

In her opening statement to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee on 28 October 2026, Governor Michele Bullock said: "Cash remains a critical part of an inclusive and resilient payments system."

She also described the infrastructure that sits behind notes like the $5. The RBA supplies banknotes to the major banks, which distribute them. And the Cash Distribution Framework Act 2026 has passed, giving the RBA crisis-readiness and resolution powers in cash distribution, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission overseeing pricing, access and service standards. Linfox Armaguard Pty Ltd has been designated under the framework, though the Governor noted that "Designation does not mean that the RBA will exercise crisis-readiness or resolution powers".

These developments point in the same direction as the $5 redesign. Even as the RBA reshapes electronic payments, removing card surcharging from 1 October 2026 and reviewing how payments regulation should handle mobile wallets and other newer methods, it is also investing in the future of physical currency.

Banknotes are also among the most widely seen expressions of national identity. They pass through millions of hands and are recognised instantly. Changing the image on a note is therefore more than a technical exercise.

The decision to replace the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with a design honouring First Nations cultures and history gives the $5 a new symbolic role. Retaining the Australian Parliament on the reverse provides continuity with the existing note. Together, the two sides will place First Nations cultures and history alongside the nation's democratic institutions.

The RBA's emphasis on consultation reflects that significance. Assistant Governor Michelle McPhee's comment about public involvement, quoted above, helps explain why the project was structured around public input, an expert panel and invitations to First Nations artists rather than a closed design exercise.

The bottom line

The RBA's redesign of the $5 note will replace the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with a design honouring First Nations cultures and history, while keeping the Australian Parliament on the reverse. Public consultation ran from 1 March to 30 April 2024, First Nations artists were invited to submit designs, and an expert panel including First Nations representatives is part of the process.

What remains unconfirmed is the release date. Until the RBA announces one, the existing $5 continues to circulate as before. For anyone keen to see the new note, the RBA's own announcements will be the reliable guide to when it arrives.

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