Australia's currency has been through more redesigns than most people realise. Before decimal currency arrived in 1966, Australia used pounds, shillings, and pence — a system replaced almost overnight by the dollars and cents structure still in use today.
The first decimal notes were paper, printed from 1966 onward. Australia later became a genuine world leader in currency technology: in 1988, it introduced the first polymer banknote globally, a $10 commemorative note marking the bicentenary, developed jointly by the CSIRO, the Reserve Bank, and the University of Melbourne to resist unauthorised reproduction far more effectively than paper ever could.
By 1996, Australia had fully transitioned every denomination to polymer — the first country in the world to do so. Polymer notes last significantly longer than paper, stay cleaner, and support security features like the clear window that paper notes can't.
The most recent major redesign rolled out progressively from 2016, introducing the tactile raised-print feature specifically to help people who are blind or have low vision identify denominations by touch — a genuinely significant accessibility upgrade that most sighted Australians barely notice.
For prop and novelty purposes, this design history matters because it's exactly why our Vintage & Legacy Series exists alongside the current-series notes: a production set in an earlier decade needs a note design that actually matches its era, not the current polymer look.
Frequently asked
Was Australia really first in the world with polymer currency?
Yes — the 1988 commemorative $10 note was the world's first polymer banknote, and Australia fully converted to polymer by 1996.
Why do current notes have raised print?
It was introduced to help people who are blind or have low vision identify denominations by touch.