The banknote has a range of innovative new security features designed to keep the banknote secure from counterfeiting.
Each denomination in the new series of banknotes will feature a different species of Australian wattle and a native bird within a number of the security features. On the $5 banknote, these are the Prickly Moses wattle (Acacia verticillata subsp. ovoidea) and the Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris).
The new $5 banknote retains the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, which is drawn from the same source photograph represented on the first polymer $5 banknote. The banknote also depicts New Parliament House and the Forecourt Mosaic, which is based on a Central Desert dot-style painting by Michael Nelson Jagamara titled ‘Possum and Wallaby Dreaming’ and a schematic plan of the New Parliament House. This was based on the Design Development Landscape Plan, which was provided by the Parliament House Construction Authority.
Date of first issueThe new $5 polymer banknote was issued on 1 September 2016.
Did you know?This is the first denomination in the new banknote series, and the fourth polymer $5 banknote issued since 1992.
The building depicted in the top-to-bottom window is Federation Pilion, which was the site of the official ceremony that marked the proclamation of the Commonwealth of Australia.
What's on the $5 banknoteA portrait of Queen Elizabeth II is shown on the front of the $5 banknote together with a sprig of eucalyptus. The portrait is drawn from photographs commissioned by the Reserve Bank in 1984. The Queen ge approval to use this portrait on an Australian banknote in 1988, and it appeared on the first $5 polymer banknote on 7 July 1992.
The back of the banknote features the Old and New Parliament Houses, which were opened in 1927 and 1988, respectively. The images are the designer's interpretation of various architectural drawings and photographs.
Above the images of the Old and New Parliament Houses is a plan of the New Parliament House. This was based on the Design Development Landscape Plan, which was provided by the Parliament House Construction Authority.
Date of first issueThe first $5 polymer banknote was issued on 7 July 1992.
Did you know?Four $5 polymer banknote designs he been issued since 1992. The first was considered too pale and some people found it difficult to distinguish from the $10 banknote so a brighter version was issued in 1995.
A commemorative $5 banknote celebrating the Centenary of Federation was issued in 2001. It featured Sir Henry Parkes and Catherine Helen Spence.
The geometric patterns on the back of the $5 banknote are based on architectural features of the New Parliament House. The patterns represent the entrance to the ministerial wing, the skylight in the Members Hall and the skylight in the Main Committee Room.