Accessing Test Material

An integral part of our industry engagement program is providing material for banknote equipment manufacturers to support machine testing and thereby ensure banknote processing equipment can transport, authenticate, count and process Australia’s banknotes.

During the Next Generation Banknote (NGB) program we provided test banknotes to banknote equipment manufacturers prior to issuance to ensure machines were ready for the new banknotes. With completion of this major upgrade program most machines should now be able to transport, authenticate, count and process these new banknotes.

While the NGB program is now finished, we will continue to make test material available to machine manufacturers and owners for future machine testing. The test material currently consists of a range of counterfeits across all denominations and quality levels, which have been retained for the purpose of testing. Other test material will be made available, as required.

We will let the industry know when material is available for testing. We will also work closely with the cash handling industry in the development of any new design or security feature, although no new banknote developments are planned in the foreseeable future.

Secure material test pack

While counterfeiting rates in Australia are very low, it is important for machines to be tested on a regular basis to ensure they are able to authenticate banknotes, protecting the public and their business.

We provide a secure material test pack to assist banknote equipment manufacturers and users to check their machine's authentication models. The pack contains a range of counterfeits across all denominations and quality levels that have been retained for the purpose of testing. New counterfeits are retained and added to the test pack as they become available.

Test material is accessed under the Banknote Materials Agreement – Loans for Testing/Research Purposes. To access the test material please contact the Industry Engagement team who will guide you through the process.