Australia won't put King Charles on new $5 bill, instead opting for a design honoring Indigenous people

• Australia won't feature King Charles on the country's new $5 bill, the Reserve Bank announced Thursday.
• The new bill will instead feature a design honoring Australia's Indigenous people.

Australia's new $5 bill won't feature King Charles, the country's Reserve Bank announced Thursday.

Australia is part of the Commonwealth, which refers to the 54 countries that are under the umbrella of the British monarchy, as the royal family's website states. The organization is voluntary, but most member states were previously part of the British Empire under colonialism.

Many countries that are part of the Commonwealth have traditionally featured the United Kingdom's monarch's face on it, including Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, according to CNBC. For over 70 years, the face of the monarchy was Queen Elizabeth II.

But following her death on September 8, 2022, King Charles III became the reigning monarch, which also meant it was time for his face to appear on currencies for member states as well.

However, the Reserve Bank announced Australia decided to forgo the UK monarch's face on its paper money all together, replacing the $5 bill's picture of Queen Elizabeth with "the culture and history of the First Australians," the island nation's Indigenous people.

The Reserve Bank said it will consult Indigenous groups to help create the design in its statement released Thursday. The new bill will take "a number of years to be designed and printed," the Bank said.

The $5 bill was the only remaining Australian bank note to feature an image of the British monarch, though King Charles will still be featured on the country's coins, according to BBC.

The decision was made with the support of the current Australian government, which has been under the leadership of the Labor Party and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese since May 2022.

Australia's decision to no longer include the British monarch on its money is the latest sign the country may be considering leaving the Commonwealth completely, as Albanese already developed the role of assistant minister for the republic, according to the Associated Press.

Australia would not be the first nation to leave the association. Barbados removed the Queen as its head of state in 2021, and many believe her death may be a catalyst for other Commonwealth nations to do the same.

However, other nations will continue to support the Commonwealth under King Charles' reign, and British money is already in the process of being switched to feature the new monarch, but the process will likely take years.