Australia replacing Queen Elizabeth with Indigenous design on $5 bill

King Charles III won't feature on Australia's new $5 bill, the nation's central bank announced Thursday, signaling a phasing out of the British monarchy from Australian bank notes, although the new monarchis still expected to feature on coins.

A new Indigenous design will replace the previous portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth, Australia's Reserve Bank said, a move which honours "the culture and history of the First Australians."

"The other side of the $5 banknote will continue to feature the Australian parliament," the bank said in a statement.

The $5 bill is Australia's only remaining bank note to feature the monarch.

The bank said the decision followed consultation with the centre-left Labour Party government, which supported the change. Opponents say the move is politically motivated.

The British monarch remains Australia's head of state, although these days that role is largely symbolic. Like many former British colonies, Australia is debating to what extent it should retain its constitutional ties to Britain.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers weighed in on the decision, saying the change was an "opportunity to strike a good balance."

"The monarch will still be on the coins, but the $5 note will say more about our history and our heritage and our country, and I see that as a good thing," he told reporters in Melbourne.

'Woke nonsense': Opposition leader

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton likened the move to changing the date of Australia Day, a national holiday.

"I know the silent majority don't agree with a lot of the woke nonsense that goes on, but we've got to hear more from those people online," he told 2GB Radio.

Dutton said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was central to the decision for the king not to appear on the note, urging him to "own up to it."

After taking office last year, Albanese started laying the groundwork for an Australian republic by creating a new position of assistant minister for the republic, but holding a referendum to sever constitutional ties with Britain has not been a first-order priority for his government.

The bank plans to consult with Indigenous groups in designing the $5 note and expects it to be years before it goes public.

The current $5 bill will continue to be issued until the new design is introduced and will remain legal tender.

British currency began transitioning to the new monarch with the release of the 50 pence coin in December. It has Charles on the front of the coin while the back commemorates his mother.

Australians voted in a 1999 referendum proposed by a Labour government to maintain the British monarch as Australia's head of state.

When the Queen died, the government had already committed to holding a referendum this year to acknowledge Indigenous people in the constitution.

The government has dismissed adding a republic question to that referendum as an unwanted distraction from its Indigenous priority. At one time, Queen Elizabeth II appeared on at least 33 different currencies around the world.