The Australian Dollar

The Australian currency is the Australian Dollar ($1 = 100 cents). The Reserve Bank of Australia issues bank notes in Australian Dollars and the Royal Australian Mint issues the coins of the currency. The Reserve Bank notes and the Mint's coins are legal tender in all Australian states and territories, and should be accepted wherever cash payment is accepted.

Bank notes and coins

 Each bank note and coin demonination has a distinctive size, shape and design.

Bank notes

Bank notes are issued in five denominations: $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. It is common to find notes of any denomination being used in daily transactions, even the $100 note, but its use is less common and smaller stores might refuse to accept such a high denomination for small purchases. Each denomination is a different principal colour and each has special security features to limit counterfeiting.

All notes are sized according to their denomination for the visually impaired. They are the same height but different lengths, in order of their value ($5 being the smallest, $100 the largest).

Because of the aim to be cutting edge, counterfeits are rare and there are easy ways of checking. All Australian bank notes have a clear plastic "window" in the bottom right-hand corner of the note, and the larger denominations ($20, $50 and $100) have the value embossed on to this. Every note also has a seven-pointed star which has only half the printing on each side - hold it up to the light to see that it is genuine. There are other security features, but these should be more than enough.

Coins

Coins for circulation are issued in six denominations: 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1 and $2. All denominations are in  regular use. Some vending machines, other coin-operated machines and some other places (such as some toll booths) no longer accept 5c pieces as a method of payment.

Like bank notes, coins differ in size, shape and design. All coins have an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II and the words 'ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA [YEAR]' on the obverse side.

 There are no loger any wide-spread nick names for different coins; people now generally refer to 'pieces' - '5c piece ' and the like.

Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs)

The simplest way to obtain cash in Australia is to use an ATM. ATMs generally dispense only a mix of $20 and $50 notes and you can only withdraw a combination of these amounts, although some smaller ATMs, particularly in service (petrol/gas) stations dispense $10 notes but again only in combinations of $20 and $50, and some rare locations, particularly casinos, dispense $100 notes as well.

Thus, you can withdraw $20, $40 (2 x $20), $50, $60 (3 x $20), $70 (1 x $20 and 1x $50), $80 (4x $20) and every multiple of $10 past that.

ATMs are VERY reliable at dispensing their notes, but always check that you have taken them all. Some older ATMs dispense the notes in two lots, $20 and the $50, so always make sure you've got the right amount!

Location

ATMs are numerous in both city and country areas. ATMs in the walls of buildings on streets and inside the lobbies of banks, shopping centres and other buildings are numberous. At night, service stations and convenience stores are good places to look for ATMs away from the street. Pubs, especially in city areas, will usually have an ATM located on the premises.

Banks are normally only open weekdays 9.30-4pm Monday - Friday, some stay open until 5pm on Fridays. In larger metropolitan suburban centres major manks are increasingly opening on the weekend, too. Bank staff stick to these times rigorously, so don't be late/early

Cards accepted

ATMs in Australia will usually allow withdrawal using any Australian-issued bank card. For international visitors, most ATMs allow withdraw using a card issued from a member of one of the international card networks (such as Cirrus or Maestro). A sign next to the ATM sill usually indicate what cards are accepted. Some ATMs (usually non-bank ones) do not allow withdrawal from credit cards.

Charges

Australian banks are allowed to charge non-customers a fee for using their ATM machines (usually around $2 per transaction). This fee is charged regardless of whether your bank charges you for using another bank's ATM (although, now, in Australia it is less common for banks to charge you for using another bank's ATM). For tourists, this can mean that they are charged twice for an ATM transaction: once by the Australian instution and then once again by their own bank at home.

EFTPOS and Credit Cards

Australia has an almost universal acceptance of electronic payment - the EFTPOS (Electronic Funds Transfer at Point Of Service) network allows people access to their Savings and Cheque accounts, and most allow access to Credit purchases as well. Unlike credit purchases, Savings and Cheque purchases can be of any amount, although generally it is preferred to be over $10 per transaction as the shopkeeper pays fees for each transaction and may set limits on minimum amounts purchased. Some establishments also charge fees for use of their EFTPOS facilities - restaurants and taxis charge around 1.5% for Visa and MasterCard and up to 3% for American Express. They are required to notify you of this, but this can mean a tiny sign that you are supposed to mysteriously know about. It is not considered impolite to ask, however.

Travellers' Cheques

Traveler's Cheques are not generally accepted as an alternative to legal tender, except by prior arrangement, and generally only by major hotels. Tourist areas have Bureax de Change/Cambio money exchange points, but any bank should be able to change limited amounts of them. In the CBD areas of capital cities, the principal branches of the large Australian banks (the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, NAB, ANZ) should be able to exchange large amounts of travellers cheques.

If you are stuck with no cash and only traveler's cheques, and the banks are closed, you may be in for a tough time. People generally don't take IOUs and even then without some form of security - a mobile (cell) phone offered to the shopkeeper as security that you can come back for once the banks are open and you have the cash is probably the only way you can avoid an embarrassing situation.

Other Information

Here are a few links to some financial information for Perth, Western Australia. The great majority of the information is valid across Australia with some address changes. The links are Banks and Banking , Currency and Credit Cards.