The currency of Australia
Australian
DollarAUD
The currency of Australia is the Australian dollar (AUD), divided into 100 cents and issued by the Reserve Bank of Australia. It has floated freely since December 1983: one Australian dollar costs ₹67.80 at our selling rate right now.
- Code
- AUD
- Symbol
- $A$
- Subunit
- 100 cents
- In use since
- 1966
What is the currency of Australia?
The currency of Australia is the Australian dollar, code AUD, written $, A$ or AU$. One dollar is divided into 100 cents. The Reserve Bank of Australia issues the banknotes and the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra makes the coins. The dollar replaced the Australian pound on 14 February 1966, at two dollars to the pound, and it has floated freely since December 1983, so against the rupee it moves with the market: on 5 Oct 2026, one Australian dollar was worth about ₹67.80 at our selling rate. Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu also use it as their official currency. New Zealand, Canada and Singapore have dollars of their own, and the US dollar is a separate currency too.
Australian Dollar at a glance
- Currency
- Australian dollarIts own dollar, separate from the US dollar
- Code
- AUDNumeric code 036
- Symbol
- $Also written A$ or AU$ to tell it apart from other dollars
- Subunit
- 1 Australian dollar = 100 cents
- Issuer
- Reserve Bank of AustraliaSince 1960; the Royal Australian Mint makes the coins
- Introduced
- 14 February 1966Replaced the Australian pound at 2 dollars to the pound
- Exchange rate
- FloatingThe market has set it since 12 December 1983
- Used in
- Australia, Kiribati, Nauru and TuvaluAlso Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island
- Banknotes
- $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100All polymer, the Next Generation series of 2016 to 2020
- Coins
- 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, and $1 and $2The 1 and 2 cent coins left circulation in 1992
Australia currency notes and coins
Australian money comes as five banknotes and six coins. All five notes are polymer and belong to the Next Generation series, issued between 2016 and 2020, and each carries a clear window, a native wattle and a native bird. Each note is shown with what it costs in rupees at our selling rate today.
- Reserve Bank of AustraliaFive dollars$5
Five dollars $5
≈ ₹339.00 today- Colour
- Purple
- Front
- Queen Elizabeth II
- Back
- New Parliament House in Canberra and its Forecourt Mosaic
- Reserve Bank of AustraliaTen dollars$10
Ten dollars $10
≈ ₹677.99 today- Colour
- Blue
- Front
- Dame Mary Gilmore and A.B. "Banjo" Paterson
- Back
- A homestead and a bush hut
- Reserve Bank of AustraliaTwenty dollars$20
Twenty dollars $20
≈ ₹1,355.98 today- Colour
- Red
- Front
- Mary Reibey and Reverend John Flynn
- Back
- A Port Jackson schooner in Sydney Cove and a George Street building in Sydney
- Reserve Bank of AustraliaFifty dollars$50
Fifty dollars $50
≈ ₹3,389.96 today- Colour
- Yellow
- Front
- David Unaipon and Edith Cowan
- Back
- King Edward Memorial Hospital and Edith Cowan's gumnut brooch
- Reserve Bank of AustraliaOne hundred dollars$100
One hundred dollars $100
≈ ₹6,779.92 today- Colour
- Green
- Front
- Dame Nellie Melba and Sir John Monash
- Back
- Melba's 1902 concert-tour programme
Coins, in cents
The $1 and $2 are gold-coloured, and the $2 is the smaller of the two. The 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins are silver-coloured. The backs show an echidna (5c), a lyrebird (10c), a platypus (20c), the coat of arms (50c), five kangaroos ($1) and an Aboriginal elder under the Southern Cross ($2).
- 55 cents
≈ ₹3.39 - 1010 cents
≈ ₹6.78 - 2020 cents
≈ ₹13.56 - 5050 cents
≈ ₹33.90 - 11 dollar
≈ ₹67.80 - 22 dollars
≈ ₹135.60
Sources: Reserve Bank of Australia, banknotes in circulation; Royal Australian Mint coin factsheet; colours as printed. On each note, Front lists the people and Back the scenes and objects. Rupee values at our selling rate, 10:25 AM IST, 5 Oct 2026.
The plastic banknote Australia invented
Australia issued the world's first polymer banknote in 1988, and by 1996 every Australian note was plastic. Polymer notes are now used in more than 50 countries.
The first polymer banknote
A commemorative $10 for the Bicentenary becomes the first banknote in the world printed on polymer. The Reserve Bank of Australia, CSIRO and the University of Melbourne developed it.
Every note goes polymer
The polymer $5 arrives in July 1992, and by 1996 polymer has replaced paper across the whole series.
The Next Generation notes
The $5 comes first, on 1 September 2016, and the $100 last, on 29 October 2020. Each has a clear window and raised bumps on the edges that help people who cannot see well to tell the notes apart.
A new $5
In March 2025 a panel chose "Connection to Country" as the theme of a redesigned $5 that will carry no portrait, replacing the note with Queen Elizabeth II. No issue date has been announced, and the Reserve Bank says the current $5 can still be used once the new one arrives.
Sources: Note Printing Australia, history; Reserve Bank of Australia Museum, new note series 1988 to 1996; Reserve Bank of Australia, banknote pages and media releases of 2016, 2023 and 2025; Swinburne University of Technology; ABC News, 17 March 2025; Wikipedia, "Polymer banknote".
A dollar that floats freely
The Australian dollar is not fixed to any other currency, so its rupee price changes with the market every day. Three facts explain where it stands.
Floating since 1983
The government decided on 9 December 1983 and the dollar began floating on Monday 12 December. Before that it had been tied to sterling, then the US dollar, then a basket of currencies and, from November 1976, a crawling peg.
The seventh most traded currency
The Bank for International Settlements' 2025 survey ranks the Australian dollar seventh in the world, down from sixth in 2022, with a share of global foreign-exchange turnover of about 6 percent.
India-born people top the list
The Australian Bureau of Statistics counted 971,020 people in Australia born in India at 30 June 2025, the largest overseas-born group for the first time on record.
One unit in rupees · our selling rate, 5 Oct 2026
The Australian dollar since 1966
The Australian dollar is just over sixty years old, and it gave the world its first plastic banknote. What changed along the way, in eight entries.
- EntryAustralia
A dollar, not a Royal
The government announces that decimal currency will arrive in 1966. The new unit is first to be called the Royal, but public backlash turns it into the dollar.
- EntryAustralia
Decimal Currency Day
On 14 February, known as C-Day, dollars and cents replace pounds, shillings and pence, at two dollars to the pound.
Launch - EntryAustralia
The dollar floats
The government decides on 9 December, and the dollar floats from Monday 12 December. The market has set its price ever since.
Float - EntryAustralia
A coin for a dollar
The $1 coin arrives in 1984, replacing a paper note that wore out fast. The $2 coin follows in 1988.
- EntryAustralia
The first polymer note
A commemorative $10 for the Bicentenary becomes the first polymer banknote in the world.
World first - EntryAustralia
Small change goes
The 1 and 2 cent coins leave circulation, and the first note of the all-polymer series, a $5, arrives in July.
- EntryAustralia
The Next Generation notes
The new $5 enters circulation on 1 September. The series ends with the $100 on 29 October 2020.
New notes - EntryAustralia
A new king and a new $5
On 2 February the Reserve Bank says the $5 will drop its portrait of Queen Elizabeth II for a First Nations design. In December the first coin with King Charles III, the $1, reaches banks.
Sources: Reserve Bank of Australia, history page, museum pages on the decimal revolution and the 1988 to 1996 polymer notes, banknote pages and media releases; Royal Australian Mint coin factsheet; Australian Treasury, 7 December 2023; Museum of Australian Democracy; Australian Geographic; The Conversation; Note Printing Australia; Wikipedia, "Australian dollar" and "Polymer banknote".
Australian dollars and rupees side by side
Worked out at our selling rate at 10:25 AM IST on 5 Oct 2026. For the live rate on any amount, use the AUD to INR or INR to AUD converter.
| You pay | You get |
|---|---|
| ₹5,000 | $ 73.75 |
| ₹10,000 | $ 147.49 |
| ₹25,000 | $ 368.74 |
| ₹50,000 | $ 737.47 |
| ₹1,00,000 | $ 1,474.94 |
| ₹2,00,000 | $ 2,949.89 |
| You buy | It costs |
|---|---|
| $ 10 | ₹677.99 |
| $ 50 | ₹3,389.96 |
| $ 100 | ₹6,779.92 |
| $ 500 | ₹33,899.60 |
| $ 1,000 | ₹67,799.20 |
| $ 5,000 | ₹3,38,996.00 |
Spending Australian dollars in Australia
Three things about Australian money that help on the first day.
Prices start with $
Prices are written with the $ sign before the amount, and shops must show one total price with the 10 percent GST already included. $12.50 is twelve dollars and fifty cents, about ₹847.49.
$12.50 = 12 dollars + 50 centsNo card surcharges from 1 October 2026
From 1 October 2026 shops can no longer add a surcharge to eftpos, Mastercard and Visa card payments, and the Reserve Bank of Australia says that includes cards issued abroad. It does not cover any foreign-currency fee your own bank adds.
eftpos · Visa · MastercardCash rounds to 5 cents
The 1 and 2 cent coins left circulation in 1992, so a cash total is rounded to the nearest 5 cents. The rounding applies to cash only, not to card payments. The smallest coin, the 5 cent piece, is worth about ₹3.39.
Cash: nearest 5c · Card: exactTaking Australian dollars from India
The Reserve Bank of India's rules apply to every currency, and the Australian dollar is no exception.
Up to the equivalent of USD 3,000 per trip can leave India as Australian dollar notes. The rest goes on a forex card or as a bank transfer.
Every resident can send up to USD 250,000 abroad each financial year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, travel included.
Tax collected at source applies once your foreign-exchange purchases in a financial year cross ₹10 lakh: nil when an education loan pays, 2% for self-funded education and medical treatment, and 20% for travel and everything else. It is credited against your income tax when you file.
Australian dollars are on our booking form. Send your amount and the desk confirms your exact rate before anything is booked.
Book Australian Dollars→Australian dollar questions
The questions people type about the Australian dollar, answered in full, in three groups.
The basics
8 questionsWhat is the currency of Australia?
The currency of Australia is the Australian dollar, code AUD, divided into 100 cents. The Reserve Bank of Australia issues the banknotes and the Royal Australian Mint makes the coins, and the same dollar is used from Canberra, the capital, to Sydney and Melbourne: there is no separate Sydney currency.
Which currency is used in Australia, and where else?
The Australian dollar is the currency used across Australia, including the external territories of Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island. Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu also use it as their official currency. For the Australia country currency the answer is always the same: the Australian dollar.
What is the full form of AUD?
AUD stands for Australian Dollar. AU is Australia's two-letter country code and D is for dollar, following the ISO 4217 standard, so the AUD full form is Australian Dollar and its numeric code is 036. It is also the Australian dollar short form, and "AUD currency" always means Australia's dollar, not the US dollar.
What is AUD?
AUD is the international currency code for the Australian dollar, the money of Australia. Banks and exchange boards write it as AUD, while prices in Australia use the $ sign, and both mean the same currency.
What is the Australian dollar symbol?
The Australian dollar symbol is $, written before the amount, as in $20. That single sign is the Australia currency symbol, also called the Australian currency symbol, and because other countries have dollars too, A$ or AU$ is the clear way to write it. Banks and exchange boards use the AUD currency symbol, which is simply the code AUD.
What is the Australia currency name?
The Australia currency name is the dollar, in full the Australian dollar, and that is also how the ISO list names it. The Australian currency name is sometimes typed as Australia dollar currency, australlian dollar or austrailian dollar, and all of them mean this dollar. Asked as the currency of Australia name, the answer is still the Australian dollar, not the Australian pound, which the dollar replaced in 1966.
What is Australian money called?
Australian money is called the dollar, in full the Australian dollar, and its small change is the cent. Australia money runs from the 5 cent coin, the smallest in use, to the $100 note, and all of it is the same Australian dollar.
How many cents make one Australian dollar?
One Australian dollar is 100 cents. Coins come in 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, plus the $1 and $2 coins, and the 1 and 2 cent coins left circulation in 1992, so the 5 cent coin is now the smallest.
Value and history
6 questionsIs the Australian dollar the same as the US dollar?
No. The two share a name and the $ sign, but the Australian dollar has its own central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and its own value against the rupee. Our US dollar, New Zealand dollar and Canadian dollar pages cover the others, each a separate currency.
Who issues the Australian dollar?
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) issues the banknotes, and Note Printing Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of the RBA, prints them. The Royal Australian Mint in Canberra makes the coins. The RBA began operating on 14 January 1960, when it took central banking over from the Commonwealth Bank.
When did Australia switch from the pound to the dollar?
Dollars and cents replaced pounds, shillings and pence on 14 February 1966, a day nicknamed C-Day, and one pound became two dollars. The government had planned to call the new unit the Royal, but public backlash in 1963 led to the name dollar.
Which Australian banknotes and coins are in use?
Five banknotes, all polymer: $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100, the Next Generation series issued from 1 September 2016 to 29 October 2020. The full list of AUD currency denominations also has six coins: 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, and $1 and $2. A redesigned $5 is planned, but no issue date has been announced.
Are old Australian notes still valid?
Yes. The Reserve Bank of Australia says all previous issues of Australian banknotes keep their legal tender status, and the RBA and most banks redeem old notes at face value, although shops may hesitate over unfamiliar designs. For pre-decimal notes the RBA doubles the face value, so a one-pound note is worth $2.
What is the India link to the Australian dollar?
India-born people are now Australia's largest overseas-born group, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It counted 971,020 people in Australia born in India at 30 June 2025, just ahead of 970,950 born in England, and it is the first time on record that India-born people lead. The figures were released on 29 April 2026.
Buying from India
2 questionsHow much Australian currency can I take out of India on a trip?
Up to the equivalent of USD 3,000 per trip in currency notes. Anything above that goes on a forex card or as a bank transfer, all within the USD 250,000 a year Liberalised Remittance Scheme limit.
How do I get Australian dollars for a trip to Australia?
Order them before you fly. Matrix Forex, an RBI-authorised Category-II dealer, has Australian dollars on its booking form: send your amount through the booking bar at the top of this page and the desk confirms your exact rate before anything is booked. For the live rate on any amount, see the AUD to INR converter.