2016 Australia Five Dollars Next Generation First and Last Prefix AA-EJ -2

History

The new series will showcase native Australian plants and birds as prominent themes, along with the existing portrait subjects from the first polymer series and their related images. A number of subject-matter experts (SMEs) were involved from an early stage to ensure that the representations were appropriate. SMEs were engaged to provide advice on ornithology, acacia and Australian history, particularly the areas and eras related to the portrait subjects.

The acacia and ornithology SMEs made recommendations on the species that could be featured. They provided information about the important characteristics of each species to the NPA banknote designers and reviewed the various design iterations. The challenge in this process was to produce a representation that fitted into the limited space on the banknote, was printable and did not impede the efficacy of any security features. The most technically accurate representation, for example, might exceed the printing capability for a banknote. The aim of the SME consultation was, therefore, to produce a design that was an appropriate representation of the species while still meeting the requirements of the banknote printing process.

SMEs on the portrait subjects and Australian history were also involved from the start of the design process. They helped to source images and artworks that shaped the stories about the subjects of the portraits. These were usually images representative of a significant aspect of the portrait subject’s life or their contribution to Australian society. The process of selecting the images was also iterative: some images, for example, did not fit the available space and others could not be printed effectively.

Taken from Reserve Bank of Australia Publications Bulletin 1st September 2016 for educational purposes only.