New $50 banknote to aid the blind through updated features

Blind and low-vision people in Melbourne will be among the first in the nation to feel the new $50 banknote with an accessible tactile feature.

David Unaipon, an inventor and Australia's first published Aboriginal author, on the $50 bank note.

David Unaipon, an inventor and Australia's first published Aboriginal author, on the $50 bank note. Source: AAP

People who are blind or have low vision will be among the first in Australia to get their hands on the new $50 banknote with four raised dots along the edge.

The Reserve Bank of Australia will share the note, which has an accessible tactile feature, with Vision Australia clients in Melbourne on Monday morning before the cash goes into circulation on October 18.

The portraits on the note remain the same with Australia's first published Aboriginal author and inventor David Unaipon and the first female member of an Australian parliament Edith Cowan.

All new banknotes, released by the RBA, will have a series of raised dots along the long edge to help blind or low-vision people distinguish between denominations.

The launch of the new $50 note follows a new version of the $5 and $10 notes in 2016 and 2017 respectively. 


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Source: AAP


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New $50 banknote to aid the blind through updated features | SBS News