Skip to content

RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Deliberately Damaging Banknotes

Section 16 of the Crimes (Currency) Act 1981 ("the Act") prohibits the deliberate defacing or destroying of Australian coin or banknotes unless consent has been given by either the Reserve Bank or Treasury. As a general rule, such consent is not given on the grounds that banknotes or coin should not be destroyed or defaced. The legislation covers all Australian banknotes, both present and past. See the relevant extract from the Act below.

Extract from Crimes (Currency) Act 1981

Defacing or destroying current coins or current paper money

  1. A person shall not, without the consent, in writing, of an authorised person, wilfully deface, disfigure, mutilate or destroy any coin or paper money that is lawfully current in Australia.

    Penalty:

    1. in the case of a person, not being a body corporate - $5,000 or imprisonment for 2 years, or both; or
    2. in the case of a person, being a body corporate - $10,000.

Note: "Paper money" means money comprising a note written, printed or otherwise made on paper or any other material.

Paper money shall be taken to be current paper money if it is lawfully current in Australia or in a country other than Australia by virtue of a law in force in Australia or in that country, as the case may be.

All Australian banknotes, of both present and all past issues, are lawfully current in Australia.