Currency (Australian Coins) Amendment (2026 Royal Australian Mint No. 6) Determination 2026

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by authority of the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

Currency Act 1965

Currency (Australian Coins) Amendment (2026 Royal Australian Mint No. 6) Determination 2026

Subsection 13(2) and section 13A of the Currency Act 1965 (the Act) provide that the Treasurer may, by legislative instrument, determine details of Australian coin characteristics including denomination, standard composition, standard weight, allowable variation from standard weight, design and dimensions.

The purpose of this legislative instrument is to determine the characteristics of 2 new circulating and 6 new non-circulating coins proposed to be issued by the Royal Australian Mint.

The Treasurer may authorise the making and issuing of coins specified, or taken to be specified, in the Schedule to the Currency Act 1965. A payment of money is a legal tender if it is made in coins that are made and issued under the Currency Act 1965.  Through the issue of a currency determination, the Treasurer can add, remove and alter the coin characteristics specified, or taken to be specified, in the Schedule to the Currency Act 1965.

In accordance with section 19 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, any Minister in the Treasury portfolio may, by legislative instrument, determine details of Australian coin characteristics.

Details of the legislative instrument are set out in the Attachment.

The legislative instrument commenced on the day after it was registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

The legislative instrument is subject to disallowance under section 42 of the Legislation Act 2003.

The Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003. The Determination is not subject to sunsetting under the Legislation Act 2003 on the grounds that the instrument ensures economic certainty (see item 20 of the table in section 12 of the Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015). The instrument’s operation is integral in ensuring that the currency produced by the Mints becomes, and remains, legal tender unless or until returned to a mint to be taken out of circulation in accordance with the Currency Act 1965.

Consultation

No public consultation was undertaken in relation to this legislative instrument. The effect of this instrument is to determine details of new Australian coin characteristics which will enable the Royal Australian Mint to continue its production of circulating and numismatic coins.

Members of the public have the opportunity to contact the Royal Australian Mint to present any themes they would like to see commemorated on Australian legal tender. These concepts are then researched and assessed in accordance with the Royal Australian Mint’s coin design policies. The Royal Australian Mint also uses market-based tools to identify interested parties and gauge interest in coin themes.

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Currency (Australian Coins) Amendment (2026 Royal Australian Mint No. 6) Determination 2026

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the Legislative Instrument

The purpose of this legislative instrument is to determine the characteristics of 2 new circulating and 6 new non-circulating coins proposed to be issued by the Royal Australian Mint.

Human rights implications

This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

Conclusion

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

ATTACHMENT

Details of the Currency (Australian Coins) Amendment (2026 Royal Australian Mint No. 6) Determination 2026

This Attachment sets out further details of the Currency (Australian Coins) Amendment (2026 Royal Australian Mint No. 6) Determination 2026 (the Determination).

Section 1 – Name

This section provides that the name of the Determination is the Currency (Australian Coins) Amendment (2026 Royal Australian Mint No. 6) Determination 2026.

Section 2 – Commencement

This section prescribes that the Determination commences the day after the Determination is registered.

Section 3 – Authority

This section provides that the Determination is made under the Currency Act 1965.

Section 4 – Schedule

This section provides that each instrument specified in a Schedule to the Determination is amended or repealed as set out in the Schedule.

Schedule 1 – Amendments

Schedule 1 amends the Currency (Australian Coins) Determination 2019 by adding the details of new coin characteristics. The newly determined coin characteristics are set out below.

New circulating coins

2027 $2 Coloured Circulating Coin – Anzac Biscuit

The design on the 2027 $2 coloured circulating coin – Anzac biscuit consists of, in the centre of the coin, a representation of a biscuit on a scallop-edged plate. On the rim of the plate, there is a blue and white printed ornamental border including the following: oat plant, rosemary sprigs, rising sun, setting sun and larks. Partially surrounding the plate, there is a doily pattern. The design includes the following inscriptions: “ANZAC BISCUIT”; a representation of the designer’s initials “NF” (being the initials of the designer Neve Foxcroft) stylised as a fox; and the denomination of the coin in words, followed by “DOLLARS”, “DOLLAR” or “CENTS” as the case requires.

Consistent with the tradition of an effigy of the reigning monarch appearing on the obverse side of all Australian legal tender coinage, an effigy of His Majesty King Charles III will appear on the obverse side of the coin together with the inscriptions “CHARLES III”, “AUSTRALIA” and the inscription, in Arabic numerals, of a year. The obverse design includes the initials of the designer Dan Thorne “DT”.

2026 50c Circulating Coin – Wave Hill Walk Off & Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976

The design on the 2026 50c circulating coin – Wave Hill Walk Off & Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 consists of, inside the rim of the coin, a circular border. Partially obscuring the circular border, there is a line of fifteen Indigenous people and a dog, viewed from behind, walking across a dirt plain and casting representations of shadows, which form the word ‘UNITY’. In the background, there are the following sections of Indigenous activist Vincent Lingiari’s speech at the Wave Hill Station Handover Ceremony, partially obscured by the circular border:

1.             “LET US LIVE HAPPILY TOGETHER AS MATES, LET US NOT MAKE IT HARD FOR EACH OTHER”; and
2.             “WE WANT TO LIVE IN A BETTER WAY TOGETHER, ABORIGINALS AND WHITE MEN, LET US NOT FIGHT OVER ANYTHING, LET US BE MATES”; and
3.             “NGUMPIN, KARTIYA KARRU-LA JINTAKU-LA” (in Gurindji language), “BLACKFELLA, WHITEFELLA UNITE AS ONE” (in English).

Partially obscuring the sections of speech, there is a stylised representation of a landscape consisting of rolling hills, and a stylised hand (representing the hand of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam) pouring dirt into an open hand (representing the hand of Indigenous activist Vincent Lingiari). The design includes the following inscriptions: “GURINDJI WAVE HILL WALK OFF 1966”; and “BIRTHPLACE OF ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS ACT 1976”.

Consistent with the tradition of an effigy of the reigning monarch appearing on the obverse side of all Australian legal tender coinage, an effigy of His Majesty King Charles III will appear on the obverse side of the coin together with the inscriptions “CHARLES III”, “AUSTRALIA”, the inscription, in Arabic numerals, of a year and Arabic numerals for the amount, in dollars or cents, of the denomination of the coin, followed by “DOLLARS”, “DOLLAR” or “CENTS” as the case requires. The obverse design includes the initials of the designer Dan Thorne “DT”.

New non-circulating coins

2027 $2 ‘C’ Mintmark Coloured Uncirculated Coin – Anzac Biscuit

2027 $2 ‘C’ Mintmark Coloured Silver Proof Coin – Anzac Biscuit

The design on the 2027 $2 ‘C’ mintmark coloured coins – Anzac biscuit consists of, in the centre of the coin, a representation of a biscuit on a scallop-edged plate. On the rim of the plate, there is a blue and white printed ornamental border including the following: oat plant, rosemary sprigs, rising sun, setting sun and larks. Partially surrounding the plate, there is a doily pattern. The design includes the following inscriptions: “ANZAC BISCUIT”; a representation of the designer’s initials “NF” (being the initials of the designer Neve Foxcroft) stylised as a fox; the denomination of the coin in words, followed by “DOLLARS”, “DOLLAR” or “CENTS” as the case requires; and “C”.

Consistent with the tradition of an effigy of the reigning monarch appearing on the obverse side of all Australian legal tender coinage, an effigy of His Majesty King Charles III will appear on the obverse side of the coins together with the inscriptions “CHARLES III”, “AUSTRALIA” and the inscription, in Arabic numerals, of a year. The obverse design includes the initials of the designer Dan Thorne “DT”.

2026 50c Uncirculated Coin – Wave Hill Walk Off & Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976

2026 50c Silver Proof Coin – Wave Hill Walk Off & Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976

The design on the 2026 50c coins – Wave Hill Walk Off & Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 consists of, inside the rim of the coin, a circular border. Partially obscuring the circular border, there is a line of fifteen Indigenous people and a dog, viewed from behind, walking across a dirt plain and casting representations of shadows, which form the word ‘UNITY’. In the background, there are the following sections of Indigenous activist Vincent Lingiari’s speech at the Wave Hill Station Handover Ceremony, partially obscured by the circular border:

1.             “LET US LIVE HAPPILY TOGETHER AS MATES, LET US NOT MAKE IT HARD FOR EACH OTHER”; and
2.             “WE WANT TO LIVE IN A BETTER WAY TOGETHER, ABORIGINALS AND WHITE MEN, LET US NOT FIGHT OVER ANYTHING, LET US BE MATES”; and
3.             “NGUMPIN, KARTIYA KARRU-LA JINTAKU-LA” (in Gurindji language), “BLACKFELLA, WHITEFELLA UNITE AS ONE” (in English).

Partially obscuring the sections of speech, there is a stylised representation of a landscape consisting of rolling hills, and a stylised hand (representing the hand of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam) pouring dirt into an open hand (representing the hand of Indigenous activist Vincent Lingiari). The design includes the following inscriptions: “GURINDJI WAVE HILL WALK OFF 1966”; and “BIRTHPLACE OF ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS ACT 1976”.

Consistent with the tradition of an effigy of the reigning monarch appearing on the obverse side of all Australian legal tender coinage, an effigy of His Majesty King Charles III will appear on the obverse side of the coins together with the inscriptions “CHARLES III”, “AUSTRALIA”, the inscription, in Arabic numerals, of a year and Arabic numerals for the amount, in dollars or cents, of the denomination of the coin, followed by “DOLLARS”, “DOLLAR” or “CENTS” as the case requires. The obverse design includes the initials of the designer Dan Thorne “DT”.

2026 50c Coloured Uncirculated Coin – First Australian Television Broadcast 70th Anniversary

2026 50c Coloured Silver Proof Coin – First Australian Television Broadcast 70th Anniversary

The design on the 2026 50c coloured coins – first Australian television broadcast 70th anniversary consists of stylised representations of the following elements (each of which is partially obscuring another):

1.             stars; and
2.             musical notes; and
3.             curved lines; and
4.             a satellite; and
5.             clouds; and
6.             the sun; and
7.             raindrops; and
8.             the cartoon character Dollar Bill from the Decimal Currency Conversion Jingle (1965), as created by Monty Wedd and drawn by Laurie Sharpe; and
9.             figures participating in different sports; and
10.             a first prize medal containing the inscription “1”, with two ribbon tails with the inscriptions “MELBOURNE” and “1956”; and
11.             different sports balls; and
12.             scattered cricket stumps and bails; and
13.             three toy racing cars; and
14.             a painter’s palette and two paintbrushes; and
15.             a kangaroo; and
16.             an astronaut in a spacesuit standing on the moon, staking a flag; and
17.             a lunar module; and
18.             a bolt of lightning; and
19.             two theatrical masks (Thalia and Melpomene); and
20.             a pair of handcuffs, one locked, and one unlocked; and
21.             a spoon, fork, knife and a fish; and
22.             a hand casting a ballot into a voting ballot box containing the inscription “VOTE”; and
23.             two dollar signs; and
24.             two trees; and
25.             an Akubra hat; and
26.             a transmission tower with a stylised signal radiating out, forming an arc; and
27.             a van; and
28.             a wedding ring and engagement ring overlapping; and
29.             a television set and screen from the 1950s; and
30.             a television camera; and
31.             a radio microphone; and
32.             a crocodile standing on its hindlegs; and
33.             a house with the roof detached, a hammer and a saw; and
34.             a crown; and
35.             a sign displaying the inscription “QUIZ”; and
36.             five playing cards, two of which display question marks; and
37.             a car; and
38.             a bar of soap surrounded by bubbles; and
39.             two toy teddy bears; and
40.             three figures dancing, one of which is holding a guitar.

Partially obscuring the rest of the elements, there are light blue, yellow, green, white, black, dark blue, pink and red coloured shapes. The design includes the following inscriptions: “AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING”; “1956-2026”; “50”; and “AB” (being the initials of the designer Aaron Baggio) in a stylised form.

Consistent with the tradition of an effigy of the reigning monarch appearing on the obverse side of all Australian legal tender coinage, an effigy of His Majesty King Charles III will appear on the obverse side of the coins together with the inscriptions “CHARLES III”, “AUSTRALIA” and the inscription, in Arabic numerals, of a year. The obverse design includes the initials of the designer Dan Thorne “DT”.