What's on the Australian $20, $50 and $100 Notes?

Genuine polymer notes carry security features that compliant prop money never replicates.

The $20 note

The genuine $20 note features Mary Reibey, a businesswoman who arrived in the colony as a convict and went on to build a shipping and trading empire, and Reverend John Flynn, founder of what became the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Both sides reflect a story of building something out of very little — commerce on one side, rural healthcare access on the other.

The $20 sits at an interesting point for props: high enough value to look meaningful in a stack, but common enough that it doesn't carry the "high-stakes" visual weight of a $50 or $100. That makes it a strong choice for close-up magic tricks, everyday transaction scenes, and photo props where scale isn't the point.

Design-wise, the $20 carries the same clear polymer window and tactile raised print as the rest of the current series — features that exist specifically so genuine currency can be verified quickly, and that a compliant novelty reproduction is built to avoid replicating.

Our $20 Prop Notes are sized to differ from the genuine note by at least 25%, carry no replicated security features, and are clearly marked NOT LEGAL TENDER — suitable for magic routines, content creation, and general photo props.

If your scene calls for a smaller, more "everyday" denomination rather than a dramatic reveal, the $20 is usually the right call over a $50 or $100 stack.

The $50 note

The genuine $50 note features David Unaipon, an inventor and the first Aboriginal Australian author to be published, and Edith Cowan, the first woman elected to any Australian parliament. It's a note built around two genuine "firsts" in Australian history.

The $50 is the most-printed and most-circulated Australian note by volume — the one you're most likely to get from an ATM — which is exactly why it's also the most requested denomination for film and theatre productions. It reads as substantial without being as rare-looking as a $100.

A minor but well-known design correction happened in the note's history: an early print run of the polymer $50 contained a typo in microprint text, later corrected in subsequent runs — a reminder that even official currency production isn't immune to small errors.

Our $50 Prop Notes follow the same compliance approach as every denomination we carry: sized to differ from genuine currency by at least 25%, no replicated security features, and clearly marked NOT LEGAL TENDER.

For most productions and content creators, a $50 stack is the practical middle ground — substantial enough to read as real money on camera, without the premium feel (or price) of a full $100 stack.

The $100 note

The genuine Australian $100 note features two significant Australians: Dame Nellie Melba, the opera singer who became one of the most famous performers of her era, and Sir John Monash, the military commander and civil engineer who led the Australian Corps in the First World War. Their portraits sit alongside imagery tied to their achievements — musical and theatrical motifs for Melba, engineering and military detail for Monash.

Like every Australian note since the 1990s switch to polymer, the $100 uses a clear window and raised print details as security measures against unauthorised reproduction — features genuine currency needs and that a compliant prop reproduction deliberately does not replicate.

It's the least commonly seen note in everyday transactions but the most requested in film and theatre work, because a stack of $100s reads as "significant money" on camera without needing an enormous pile of paper.

If you're sourcing a prop version for a shoot, gift, or novelty use, our $100 Prop Notes are reproduced to differ from the genuine note by at least 25% in size, carry no replicated security features, and are clearly marked NOT LEGAL TENDER.

For productions building toward a big reveal — a briefcase, a duffel bag, a vault scene — the $100 denomination is almost always the one to use, since it lets you hit a large face value without an unrealistically bulky prop.