Australian dollar
Australia’s dollar, introduced on 14 February 1966 at two dollars to one Australian pound, belongs to the sterling lineage.
- Dates in use
- 14 February 1966–present
- Where
- Australia; also adopted elsewhere
- Immediate predecessor
- Australian pound
- Conversion
- 2 Australian dollars = 1 Australian pound
- Currency code
- AUD
- Ancestry branch
- Sterling
Sources for the facts [1] [2] [3]
Its place in the family
Trace ancestors and descendants ↗Select a name for its history or a dated connection for its evidence.
The story
The ancestry runs from pound sterling through the Australian pound to the Australian dollar. Australia’s pound emerged as a distinct unit during the interwar breakup of common sterling arrangements. The dollar’s immediate predecessor was that Australian pound. [4] [1]
Decimal currency began on 14 February 1966. Each new dollar represented ten old Australian shillings, making two dollars equal to one Australian pound. Dollar notes entered circulation as pound notes were retired. [1] [2] [3]
Sources and evidence
- Reserve Bank of Australia · Annual Report 1966: Introduction C184 ↗
- Reserve Bank of Australia · Annual Report 1966: Other Activities C185 ↗
- Commonwealth of Australia · Currency Act 1965, No. 95 — as made C434 ↗
- Frank Decker · The Monetary Union of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom – Its Operation, Fragmentation and Break-up, Economic History Yearbook63(2),2022,375–407; Australian Attorney-General’s Department · Opinion 1564, Australian currency and money of account; Reserve Bank of Australia, Bulletin September 2018 · Money in the Australian Economy C1645 ↗
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Cite this page
“Australian dollar.” The Family Tree of Money. © Field Technologies, Inc. Reader edition 2026-10-13; research dataset v43. https://family-tree-money-atlas.bob123444.chatgpt.site/currency/T-FTM000507.html