Reserve Bank of Australia Annual Report – 2006 Note Printing Australia and Securency
Note Printing Australia
Note Printing Australia Limited (NPA), based at Craigieburn in Victoria, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank, which produces currency notes for Australia and export and was the first printer in the world to issue a complete circulating currency note series on polymer substrate. With Securency Pty Ltd, which supplies print‑ready polymer substrate, it has led the way in establishing the polymer technology as a viable alternative to paper.
During 2005/06, NPA produced 220 million notes for the Reserve Bank and 161 million export notes, continuing the high level of production established the previous year. Among the export deliveries were orders for Bank Negara Malaysia, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the Bank of Papua New Guinea and Nepal Rastra Bank. NPA produced its four billionth polymer note in April 2006, one measure of the success of the polymer technology. Another measure is that a number of other currency note printers have now taken up the polymer technology, in many cases assisted by technology transfer from NPA.
The outlook is for another strong year in 2006/07, with an order for 265 million notes from the Reserve Bank, and confirmed export orders of 188 million notes for countries in Asia, South America and the Pacific. Two export customers have recently entered long‑term supply agreements with NPA.
New investment in 2005/06 has tightened process controls, increased productivity and improved print quality. An additional note-sorting machine raised capacity in the finishing area. The control environment was improved by the implementation of new IT infrastructure and management systems.
As the Reserve Bank undertook a program to improve the quality of notes in circulation, the National Note Processing and Distribution Centre, operated by NPA under contract from the Reserve Bank to reissue or withdraw circulating Australian notes, processed a significantly higher volume of currency notes than in recent years, achieving higher rates of productivity in the process.
NPA continued to work closely with Securency in research and development, marketing and customer support for international business. The activities of the two companies in export markets complement each other. NPA has now printed 51 denominations for 18 countries, including Australia. Securency has supplied polymer to printers overseas for a further 18 denominations in six countries. In all, 23 countries, covering all continents, have issued polymer currency notes. Australia, New Zealand and Romania have converted all their denominations to polymer, while Vietnam, Brunei and Papua New Guinea are approaching full conversion.
In addition to currency notes, NPA prints other security documents, including Australia's passports. During 2005/06, 1.8 million Australian passports were printed and assembled for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Almost all of these were the new electronic-chip passports, which were officially launched in October 2005. NPA was awarded a gold medal for innovation at the 23rd National Print Awards for the electronic passport.
| First issue | Customer | Denomination | Issue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Singapore | 50 Dollar | Commemorative |
| 1991 | Western Samoa | 2 Tala | Circulating |
| 1991 | Papua New Guinea | 2 Kina | Special Issue Circulating |
| 1993 | Kuwait | 1 Dinar | Commemorative |
| 1994 | Indonesia | 50,000 Rupiah | Special Issue Circulating |
| 1995 | Papua New Guinea | 2 Kina | Special Issue Circulating |
| 1996 | Papua New Guinea(b) | 2 Kina | Circulating |
| 1996 | Brunei Darussalam | 1, 5, 10 Dollar | Circulating |
| 1996 | Thailand | 50 Baht | Special Issue Circulating |
| 500 Baht | Commemorative | ||
| 1997 | Thailand(b) | 50 Baht | Circulating |
| 1997 | Western Samoa | 2 Tala | Circulating |
| 1998 | Sri Lanka | 200 Rupee | Commemorative |
| 1998 | Malaysia | 50 Ringgit | Commemorative |
| 1999 | New Zealand | 5, 10, 20, 100 Dollar | Circulating |
| 1999 | Papua New Guinea | 50 Kina | Circulating |
| 1999 | Romania | 2,000 Lei | Commemorative/Circulating |
| 1999 | Indonesia(b) | 100,000 Rupiah | Circulating |
| 1999 | Northern Ireland(c) | 5 Pound | Commemorative/Circulating |
| 1999 | Taiwan(c) | 5 Dollar | Special Issue Circulating |
| 2000 | New Zealand | 10 Dollar Millennium Note | Commemorative |
| 50 Dollar | Circulating | ||
| 2000 | Romania(b) | 10,000 Lei | Circulating |
| 2000 | Romania(b) | 500,000 Lei | Circulating |
| 2000 | Papua New Guinea | 2, 10, 50 Kina | Special Issue Circulating |
| 2000 | Papua New Guinea | 10 Kina | Circulating |
| 2000 | Bangladesh | 10 Taka | Circulating |
| 2000 | Brazil(c) | 10 Reais | Commemorative/Circulating |
| 2001 | Kuwait | 1 Dinar | Commemorative |
| 2001 | Solomon Islands | 2 Dollar | Special Issue Circulating |
| 2001 | China(c) | 100 Yuan | Commemorative |
| 2001 | Vietnam(c) | 50 Dong | Commemorative |
| 2001 | Romania(c) | 50,000, 100,000 Lei | Circulating |
| 2002 | Mexico(b) | 20 Peso | Circulating |
| 2002 | Nepal | 10 Rupee | Circulating |
| 2003 | Papua New Guinea | 20 Kina | Commemorative |
| 2003 | Vietnam | 50,000 Dong | Circulating |
| 2003 | Vietnam(c) | 50,000, 500,000 Dong | Circulating |
| 2003 | Zambia(c) | 500, 1,000 Kwacha | Circulating |
| 2003 | Romania(c) | 1,000,000 Lei | Circulating |
| 2004 | Singapore | 10 Dollar | Commemorative/Circulating |
| 2004 | Brunei Darussalam | 50, 100 Dollar | Circulating |
| 2004 | Chile | 2,000 Pesos | Circulating |
| 2004 | Malaysia | 5 Ringgit | Circulating |
| 2004 | Vietnam(c) | 100,000 Dong | Circulating |
| 2005 | Romania(c) | 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 Lei | Circulating |
| 2005 | Papua New Guinea | 100 Kina | Circulating |
| 2006 | Singapore(c) | 2 Dollar | Circulating |
| 2006 | Vietnam(c) | 20,000 Dong | Circulating |
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(a) Excludes repeat orders Denominations shown were printed by Note Printing Australia, except for: (b) Printed by NPA and an overseas printer (c) Printed by an overseas printer For both (b) and (c), Securency exported polymer substrate for printing the denominations shown. Special issue circulating notes are printed for general circulation and often feature an overprint to commemorate a special event. Commemorative notes are designed and printed to commemorate a one-off occasion (and are usually manufactured in low volumes and not necessarily circulated widely). |
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In recent years, NPA has widened the range of security products it offers, based on the polymer note-printing technology, including by producing academic transcripts for a number of universities.
NPA's Board operates under a charter from the Reserve Bank Board and comprises Graeme Thompson, Chairman (a former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank), Richard Warburton AO (a former non-executive member of the Reserve Bank Board), Les Austin (a former Assistant Governor of the Reserve Bank), Mark Bethwaite (former Chief Executive of Australian Business Ltd) and Frank Campbell (an Assistant Governor of the Reserve Bank). The Chief Executive of NPA is Chris Ogilvy.
Securency
Securency Pty Ltd is a joint venture between the Reserve Bank and Innovia Films, a global supplier of polypropylene films. Securency sells to NPA, and other currency note printers overseas, high‑security polymer substrates that it produces by applying unique coatings and security features to the specialised films supplied by Innovia. It currently supplies three types of substrate: Guardian® to high‑security printers for currency notes; Sentinel® for other high‑security documents, such as land titles and academic transcripts; and Sentrii® for secure cards.
Securency achieved record output during 2005/06 and expects to achieve even stronger results in 2006/07. Repeat orders from several countries indicate increasing international acceptance of the polymer technology, which has combined lower long‑term cost with lower rates of counterfeit. All orders in recent years have been for circulating notes, as opposed to commemorative or special issue notes, which were quite common in the early years of the application of the technology.
In 2005/06, Securency produced substrate for a range of denominations in Australia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Singapore, Vietnam and Zambia. About 90 per cent of Securency's revenue comes from exports.
Nine new denominations were launched on Guardian® during the year, including a new redenominated series for the National Bank of Romania (NBR) (six denominations), Papua New Guinea's new 100 kina, Singapore's new $2 note and Vietnam's 20,000 dong. The Romanian series is significant as the first series to be fully redenominated on polymer; the NBR will issue an additional denomination, the 200 lei, on polymer later in 2006. Banco de Mexico has announced that it will issue its 50 peso and a new 20 peso note on polymer, while the State Bank of Vietnam announced that it will convert all its denominations to polymer. The Central Bank of Nigeria recently placed orders for its first polymer denomination – a redesigned 20 naira to be issued in 2007. An innovative optically variable security feature called G Switch® was launched on the new 100 kina for Papua New Guinea and will be on a number of other notes to be issued in 2006.
Securency is currently more than doubling its manufacturing capacity at Craigieburn, with a new facility to be commissioned later in 2006 to accommodate the rapid growth in demand for secure polymer substrate around the world. The new plant will enable Securency to improve its service to customers while also providing scope to expand its research and development program. It will also be the blueprint for further expansion internationally in the coming few years.
Securency has successfully marketed polymer substrate for Sentinel® secure documents and Sentrii® secure card substrate, receiving orders for substrate for Taiwan Land Titles and to produce the South Australian Driver's Licence.
Securency's Board comprises three directors appointed by the Reserve Bank, three appointed by its joint-venture partner, and the company's Managing Director, Myles Curtis, as a non-voting member. Securency's offices and plant are located at Craigieburn, on the same site as NPA and adjacent to the Innovia plant that supplies it.