Typo On 46 Million Australian $50 Notes

9 May 2019, 11:19

Around $2.3 billion dollars worth of Australian cash has been printed with a spelling mistake by the country's Reserve Bank.

The new high tech polymer version of the $50 banknote misspells the word “responsibility” on 46 million notes.

The note features David Unaipon, indigenous writer and inventor as well as Edith Cowan, Australia’s first female member of parliament.

The spelling error can be found in “micro-text” of Cowan’s first speech to parliament which the RBA printed on one side of the note.

In the phrase “it is a great responsibility to be the only woman here, and I want to emphasise the necessity which exists for other women being here," the word “responsibility” is misspelt three times. The typo incorrectly spells "responsibilty" - without the third "i".

The Reserve Bank of Australia has confirmed the misspelling on the notes which entered circulation last year.

A spokesperson for the bank said the error would be corrected at the next print run.

"This does not affect the legal tender status of the banknotes. We have reviewed our processes to remove the likelihood of such an error occurring in the future," an RBA spokeswoman said.