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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are advised that the article below includes the names of some people who are now deceased.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has just announced what will replace the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the new $5 banknote... and it's not going to be King Charles III. Following consultation with the Australian government, the RBA has confirmed that the next iteration of the banknote design will instead honour the culture and history of First Nations people.
The RBA will undertake a consultation process with First Nations people to design the banknote, which will then take a number of years to be fine-tuned and printed. So don't throw out your purple fivers just yet (or ever, actually – they will still be fit for use after the new banknote is issued).
The decision follows a number of other notable inclusions of First Nations people and culture on Australian banknotes. For example, in 1966, the first $1 note included a design based on the bark painting by David Malangi Daymirringu, depicting imagery of Indigenous rock paintings and carvings. And the $50 banknote in current circulation features David Unaipon, a proud Ngarrindjeri man from South Australia, known for being an activist, author, musician, preacher and inventor.
We can't wait to see the new design.