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Ten things worth knowing about the Aussie dollar before you convert

Few currencies come with as much personality as the Australian dollar. It has a nickname, a short history full of stubborn debates, banknotes that pioneered a technology the whole world later copied, and a reputation among traders as the barometer of global appetite for risk. If you have euros and plan to spend, receive or compare something in Australian dollars, you will want a reliable way to Convert EUR to AUD and a little background on what the number means. This page does the first at the European Central Bank's reference rate and shows the date of that rate; the text below does the second, in ten short chapters.

1. It almost had a royal name

When Australia abandoned pounds, shillings and pence for decimal money on 14 February 1966, prime minister Robert Menzies favoured calling the new unit the royal. The public was unimpressed, newspapers mocked the idea, and the government settled on the dollar. The old pound had been worth two dollars, and the changeover was announced with a catchy jingle so that nobody would be confused.

The episode is a reminder that currencies are national symbols as much as tools. It explains why Australians are fond of their dollar and why so many have a nickname for it: the Aussie, the Pacific peso, the buck.

2. Its notes were the first of their kind

In 1988 Australia issued a ten-dollar commemorative note, the first banknote in the world printed on polymer, to mark the bicentenary of European settlement. Polymer notes last far longer than paper, resist dirt and moisture, and carry a transparent window that is hard to forge. By 1996 every Australian note was polymer, and the technology has since spread to dozens of countries.

The current series, introduced from 2016, adds tactile marks for blind users and bright colours: blue for the five, red for the ten, orange for the twenty, yellow for the fifty and green for the hundred. You will quickly learn to tell them apart.

3. There are no one-cent or two-cent coins

The smallest Australian coin is the five-cent piece. One- and two-cent coins were withdrawn in 1992, and cash totals are rounded to the nearest five cents. The dollar and two-dollar coins are gold-coloured, the fifty-cent coin is a twelve-sided giant with a kangaroo and an emu, and it has become a favourite of collectors.

Rounding applies to cash only. A card payment is charged to the cent, which means that, in a shop, paying by card is sometimes a few cents cheaper or dearer than paying in coins. It is a small matter, but it is typical of how the system works.

4. It is a commodity currency

That is why anyone who wants to Convert EUR to AUD for a bill due next quarter should look at the price of iron ore as well as the calendar.

Australia sells iron ore, coal, natural gas, gold, wheat, beef and wine to the world, and a large share goes to China. The Australian dollar therefore tends to rise when raw-material prices rise and when China's economy is strong, and to fall when they weaken. Traders watch it as an indicator of the world's appetite for risk.

For a European, the practical consequence is that the euro-Aussie rate can move several per cent in a quarter, and often in the direction of the markets' mood. If you need to Convert EUR to AUD for a payment due in some months, treat the figure as valid only for the day on which you see it.

5. It is quoted against two partners at once

The Reserve Bank of Australia, which began operations in 1960, floated the dollar in December 1983, and since then its value has been set by the market. The rate against the US dollar is the headline, but the pair with the euro is derived from it. The European Central Bank publishes a direct reference rate for the Australian dollar every working day at about 16:00 in Frankfurt, which is the figure this page uses.

If you hold dollars rather than euros, the pair with the American currency is on Convert USD to EUR, and the Australian counterpart in the opposite direction is Convert AUD to EUR.

6. Prices are shown with GST, and tipping is not expected

Australian shop prices include the goods and services tax of ten per cent, so the price on the shelf is the price you pay. Tipping is not customary: wages are higher than in many countries, and service staff do not rely on tips. A traveller from North America or from the euro area will find the bill refreshingly simple.

Visitors can claim back the tax on goods bought in Australia and taken out of the country, provided they spend at least three hundred dollars in a single shop within sixty days of departure. The refund is in Australian dollars, and its value in euros depends on the rate that day.

7. Everything is far away

When you Convert EUR to AUD for a road trip, add fuel, accommodation along the way and an allowance for the drive back.

Australia is nearly as large as the whole of Europe, and distances between cities are enormous. Sydney to Perth is a five-hour flight; Melbourne to Sydney by road is nine hours. Domestic flights are often the practical choice, and their prices are in Australian dollars. Road signs show kilometres, and the speed limit on most highways is 110 kilometres an hour.

If you plan to drive, remember that fuel is sold by the litre, that kangaroos are a real hazard at dusk, and that hire cars come with unlimited kilometres on some routes and restrictions on others. For an American friend, Convert KM to MI turns the highway distances into miles.

8. Three time zones, and daylight saving in some of them

The mainland spans three time zones, and some states observe daylight saving while others do not. Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory stay on standard time all year. For Europeans the gap with Sydney is eight to ten hours depending on the season, which makes calls awkward. A quick check with Convert CET to IST shows the same principle with another far-off country.

The practical advice is to schedule calls early in the European morning or in the evening, and to write the time zone on every invitation.

9. Working holidays and migration

Travellers who Convert EUR to AUD at the start of a working holiday often keep a small reserve in euros for emergencies at home.

Young people from several European countries can obtain a working-holiday visa for Australia, work up to a year or longer, and earn Australian dollars. Wages are high by European standards, and the minimum wage is one of the highest in the world. Travellers often save part of their earnings and convert them back to euros when they return home.

Skilled workers can apply for permanent residence, and the financial planning for such a move starts with a conversion of savings into Australian dollars. The amounts required for visas and settlement are stated in Australian dollars, so the rate on the day of application matters.

10. How to pay without losing money

Cards are accepted almost everywhere, including contactless payments for small sums, and cash is rarely necessary. Bank-owned cash machines give the best rate; independent machines in tourist areas often add fixed fees. When a terminal offers to charge you in euros, choose Australian dollars, because the operator's conversion is usually three to six per cent worse than your bank's.

The cost of changing money varies a great deal with the channel. A bank transfer is the cheapest for large sums, a card for everyday spending, and a counter at an airport the dearest of all. Whatever you use, divide what arrives by what you sent and set the result beside the reference rate here; the gap is what you paid.

Using the converter

Type euros, read Australian dollars

Every time you Convert EUR to AUD here, the date beside the answer shows how old the rate is.

Enter the amount in euros. The page multiplies it by the published rate, which states how many Australian dollars one euro buys, and shows the result with the date. At weekends and on holidays you see the last published rate, and the page says so rather than presenting an old figure as fresh.

The table and the line

A table of common amounts, from one euro to five thousand, helps you read off a price without retyping, and a line shows the last thirty days of rates. Anyone who has to Convert EUR to AUD more than once will find the line a quick way to see whether the week has been calm.

What a euro buys in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth

Coffee culture and the price of a flat white

Before a Convert EUR to AUD for a daily allowance, remember that coffee alone can cost ten dollars a day.

Australia takes its coffee seriously, and a flat white in a city café costs between four and five Australian dollars, roughly two and a half to three euros. A lunch in a decent café costs fifteen to twenty-five dollars, a dinner for two in a mid-range restaurant eighty to a hundred and twenty. If you Convert EUR to AUD for these figures before you travel, the menus will stop feeling surprising within a day.

Beds, trains and beaches

A Convert EUR to AUD for a week of hotel nights is easier if you work with a round nightly figure.

A mid-range hotel room in Sydney or Melbourne costs a hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty Australian dollars a night, more during New Year's Eve and the Grand Prix. Tickets on public transport are charged by card, with daily and weekly caps, and the beaches, from Bondi to Cottesloe, are free. The most expensive thing in a typical itinerary is almost always the flight.

The cost of the Great Barrier Reef

A day boat trip to the reef from Cairns or Port Douglas costs between two and three hundred Australian dollars, including snorkelling gear and lunch. Diving adds another hundred or more. Book with an operator that holds an environmental accreditation, and ask whether the price includes the reef tax.

Into the outback

Uluru and Alice Springs are reached by plane, and a three-day tour from Alice Springs costs from six hundred dollars upwards. Distances are large and nights in the desert can be cold, even when the days are hot. Prices in the middle of the country are higher than on the coast, because everything has to be transported.

Wine, beef and exports

Wine regions and their bottles

Australia is one of the largest wine exporters in the world, with famous regions such as Barossa, Hunter Valley, Margaret River and Yarra Valley. A good bottle at the cellar door costs between twenty and fifty dollars, and tastings are often free if you buy. Wine is sold by the bottle of 750 millilitres and by the case, and an American importer might Convert L to GAL to compare shipments.

A currency that follows the beef and the iron

Australian beef, lamb, wheat, iron ore and coal are sold in dollars on world markets, and so are most of the contracts that the country signs with Asian customers. The Australian dollar, however, is the unit in which wages, rents and local taxes are paid, so exporters carry a currency risk in the gap between the two. Large mining companies usually hedge it with derivatives, while small farmers rely on the diversity of their markets.

Why European importers care

A European supermarket that buys Australian wine or lamb pays in euros or dollars depending on the contract. A fall of the Australian dollar makes Australian goods cheaper for the importer and, if shelf prices do not move, widens the margin. The reverse is true when the Australian dollar rises.

Students, workers and families

University fees

Parents who Convert EUR to AUD for tuition often fix a day of the month for each instalment.

Australian universities, among the highest ranked in the world, attract hundreds of thousands of international students. Annual fees run from twenty to fifty thousand Australian dollars, depending on the course, and living costs add twenty to thirty thousand. A family paying from a euro account is exposed to the rate on each instalment date, and many convert a part of the fees in advance.

Proof of funds and visas

Whenever you Convert EUR to AUD for a visa file, keep the screenshot with the date visible.

Visa applications require proof of financial capacity, stated in Australian dollars. Convert EUR to AUD on a date close to your application, keep a printout showing the date of the rate, and remember that officials may use their own source. A margin of five to ten per cent is prudent.

Medical insurance

Overseas students and visitors need health cover, and the premiums are in Australian dollars, payable annually or monthly. The cost does not depend on the exchange rate but looks different in euros each time.

Moving with a family

Families that settle in Australia sometimes find housing costs a shock. A three-bedroom house in Sydney costs well over a million dollars to buy, and rents are high in all major cities. Outside the big cities, prices fall quickly, and many newcomers choose Adelaide, Brisbane or Perth for that reason. Plots are listed in hectares in Australia, and Convert HA to ACRES gives the figure in acres for readers who think that way.

Neighbours of the pair

Other dollars

Canada, another resource economy, has its own dollar: Convert EUR to CAD deals with it. The big one is the American dollar, at Convert EUR to USD, and the pound sterling pairs with the euro on Convert EUR to GBP.

Japan, Australia's main Asian partner

For trade with Japan, one of Australia's biggest customers for coal and gas, Convert AUD to JPY is the page for the Australian side, while a European exporter will use Convert EUR to JPY.

Four slips that cost visitors money

Reading a dollar sign as a euro-style price

Before you Convert EUR to AUD for a price you copied from a website, check whether the site means Australian dollars. Global shops often show US dollars, and the difference between the two is large enough to change a decision.

Planning a map-sized trip on a day-sized budget

Distances in Australia are so long that the cost of moving around can exceed the cost of staying. A domestic flight between two state capitals can cost as much as a short-haul flight in Europe.

Changing money at both ends

Buying Australian dollars before you leave and selling the leftovers when you come back means paying the spread twice. A card with no foreign-transaction fee avoids both, and a small amount drawn from a bank machine covers the rest.

Trusting a figure without a date

An exchange rate is only as good as its timestamp. The page prints the date beside every result so that you never rely on a figure that is weeks old.

Quick questions

How do I use this page to Convert EUR to AUD?

Write the euros in the first field; the Australian dollars appear below with the date of the rate that produced them.

What happens on a Sunday?

The central bank publishes nothing, so the page repeats Friday's rate and says so.

Do you keep what I type?

No. Only the table of rates is downloaded; your number never leaves the browser.

Private by design

There is no account to make and nothing to erase afterwards. When you Convert EUR to AUD here, the only thing that travels over the network is the public table of rates, which is the same for everyone.

The takeaway

To Convert EUR to AUD, enter the euros and read the Australian dollars at the European Central Bank's latest reference rate, with its date beside it. Treat the number as the middle of the market and measure every offer against it: pay in local money, leave out the tip, expect tax to be in the price and remember that the rate can drift several per cent in a few months.