EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1987, NO. 300
Issued by the Authority of the Treasurer
CURRENCY REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Subsection 14(2)(b) of the Currency Act 1965 (the Act) provides that a coin to be made and issued by the Treasurer shall be of the standard weight, design and dimensions as prescribed (by regulation) in relation to that coin.
In the context of his releasing the design proposed for the new $2 coin planned for release in early 1988 (in place of the $2 note), the Treasurer announced on 7 September 1987 that the Government had also decided to incorporate a number of special designs on Australia’s circulating and numismatic coinage in 1988 to mark the Bicentenary. These designs are intended to be featured on the 50¢ and $1 circulating coins and the $10 silver and $200 gold numismatic/collector coins currently issued annually by the Royal Australian Mint. The Treasurer also announced that a special one-off $5 coin is to be issued next year to commemorate the opening of the new Parliament House.
The amendments now proposed to the Currency Regulations are intended to authorise the issue of the 50¢, $1, $2 and $5 coins, all of which are to be released in the first half of 1988. Further amendments authorising the issue of the $10 and $200 coins will be proposed once the designs of these coins are finalised.
As proposed, regulation 4 of the Currency Regulations will be amended to prescribe the the reverse side designs of the 1988 50¢, $1 and $5 coins and the $2 coin (the design of which is to be retained after 1988) broadly as follows:
• For the 50 cent coin, a representation of a sailing ship superimposed on an historical map of Australia embellished by a compass and the Southern Cross;
• For the $1 coin, a representation of an Australian Aboriginal drawing of a kangaroo superimposed on abstract Aboriginal art work;
• For the $5 coin, a representation of the New Parliament House; and.
As has already been announced, for the $2 coin a representation of the head and shoulders of a traditional Australian Aboriginal set against the Southern Cross and Australian flora.
It is intended that copies of the actual designs for the 50¢, $1 and $5 coins will be released by the Treasurer closer to the time the coins are issued.
As is also required in respect of the new $2 and $5 coins, regulations 4 and 7, together with the Schedules to the Act and Regulations, will be further amended to prescribe the edge, size and weight characteristics, as well as the metal content, of these coins. The obverse design intended for these coins (namely the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in common with all Australia’s coins) is already provided for in the Regulations.