Australian currency is denominated in dollars and cents. The coins include 5, 10, 20, and 50 cent pieces, as well as $1 and $2 coins. Banknotes come in $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 denominations. Each coin and banknote features an image that represents an important aspect of Australian culture, history or wildlife. The coins depict native animals like echidnas, lyrebirds, and platypuses. The banknotes feature influential Australians and national symbols.

1. Australian
Money
by 2KM and 2KJ

2. Facts
• Our currency is called dollars and cents.
• 100 cents = one dollar.
• This decimal currency replaced pounds, shillings
and pence in 1966.
• We have a five cent coin, ten cent coin, twenty
cent coin, fifty cent coin, one dollar coin, two
dollar coin, five dollar note, ten dollar note,
twenty dollar note, fifty dollar note and one
hundred dollar note.
• We were the first country in the world to have
polymer (plastic) banknotes which came out in
1988.

3. THE FIVE CENT COIN
Queen Elizabeth II and echidna

4. FACT
The echidna (sometimes called
spiny anteater) is one of two of
the world’s only egg-laying
mammals.

5. THE TEN CENT COIN
Queen Elizabeth II and lyrebird

6. FACT
A clever mimic, the lyrebird
lives the dense, damp forests of
Australia’s eastern coast.

7. THE TWENTY CENT COIN
Queen Elizabeth II and platypus

8. FACT
A platypus is one of only two egg-
laying mammals in the world. It has
webbed feet and a duck-like bill
that it uses to hunt for food along
the bottom of streams and rivers.

9. THE FIFTY CENT COIN
Queen Elizabeth II and Coat of Arms

10. FACT
Australia’s coat of arms: the six
state badges on a central shield
supported by a kangaroo and an
emu, with a background of Mitchell
grass.

11. THE ONE DOLLAR COIN
Queen Elizabeth II and kangaroos

12. FACT
The $1 coin replaced the one dollar
note in 1984.
There are five kangaroos on the $1
coin.

13. THE TWO DOLLAR COIN
Queen Elizabeth II and Aboriginal elder

14. FACT
The $2 coin replaced the two dollar
note in 1988. The coin has an
image of an Aboriginal tribal elder
set against a background of the
Southern Cross (star constellation)
and native grasstrees.

15. THE FIVE DOLLAR NOTE
Queen Elizabeth II and Parliament House

16. FACT
Parliament House is in Canberra –
Australia’s capital city.

17. THE TEN DOLLAR NOTE
Queen Elizabeth II and poets AB ‘Banjo’
Paterson and Dame Mary Gilmore

18. FACT
The ten dollar note includes micro-
printed excerpts of Paterson’s and
Gilmore’s work.

19. THE TWENTY DOLLAR NOTE
Queen Elizabeth II, Reverend John Flynn
and Mary Reibey

20. FACT
The Reverend John Flynn (1880–1951)
founded the world’s first flying medical
service (the Royal Flying Doctor Service).
Mary Reibey (1777–1855) arrived in
Australia as a convict in 1792 and went on
to become a successful businesswoman.

21. THE FIFTY DOLLAR NOTE
Queen Elizabeth II, David Unaipon and
Edith Cowan.

22. FACT
David Unaipon (1872–1967) was an
Aboriginal writer and inventor.
Edith Cowan (1861–1932) was the first
female member of parliament in
Australia.

23. THE ONE HUNDRED DOLLAR NOTE
Queen Elizabeth II, Dame Nellie Melba and
Sir John Monash.

24. FACT
Dame Nellie Melba (1861–1931)
was a world famous opera singer.
General Sir John Monash (1865–
1931) was a soldier and engineer.