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Time Out
4 days ago
- General
- Time Out
The best place to raise a family in Australia lies just outside our nation's youngest capital city
Having grown up in Australia, I can confirm it's a pretty epic place to be a kid. I was lucky to have countless green spaces to burn off energy, playgrounds to live out my Tarzan dreams and top-notch educational institutions that made learning actually fun. It's no wonder so many Aussie expats move back home to have kids. But which spots offer the best family-friendly lifestyle? To find the answer, we've turned to iSelect's recent study on the best places to start a family in Australia. The health insurance experts analysed government data to compare more than 300 of Australia's largest regions across five key factors, including child development, childcare availability and cost, healthcare and fertility rates. Located just a five-to-ten minute drive from the city centre, South Canberra came out on top as the best place to raise a family in Australia. This leafy locale is surrounded by many of the capital's best nature reserves, from the mountain bike wonderland of Stromlo Forest Park to the wild beauty of Namadgi National Park. But it's not all about greenery – many of the capital's top cultural attractions are just around the corner too, like the Embassy Trail and Royal Australian Mint. Plus, who could forget the Weston Park Railway at Yarralumla Play Station? In terms of actual data, South Canberra ranks second in Australia for both childcare affordability (averaging 20.5 per cent of household income) and childcare availability (with almost three centres per child). The region also scores well on healthcare (6.8 out of ten), and although its child development rate isn't the highest (76.4 per cent), the overall balance puts it in the top spot. Overall, Sydney is home to five of the ten best places in the country to raise kids. The semi-rural suburb of Dural-Wisemans Ferry in Sydney's northwest ranked second, outperforming South Canberra on both healthcare and average child development rates. However, it fell slightly behind in terms of affordability and access to childcare, with higher costs (27.5 per cent of income) and fewer centres (1.74 per child). Leichhardt in Sydney's vibrant Inner West came in third, followed by the seaside city of Bayside in Victoria in fourth, and Ku-ring-gai, another leafy Sydney gem, in fifth. You can check out the full study here or see our round-up below. These are the 10 best places to raise a family in Australia: South Canberra, ACT Dural-Wisemans Ferry, NSW Leichhardt, NSW Bayside, VIC Ku-ring-gai, NSW Kenmore-Brookfield-Moggill, QLD Chatswood-Lane Cove, NSW Cottesloe-Claremont, WA Stonnington-East, VIC Manly, NSW
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rare Aussie coin worth nearly 40 times more: 'Hold onto them'
Aussies are being urged to 'hold onto' these interesting looking 50 cent coins if they come across them in their change. In 1991, the Royal Australian Mint released the Ram's Head 50 cent coin and it is now worth much more than its face value. Victorian coin expert Michel McCauley said the coins had recently sold for between $4 to $19, making them worth nearly 40 times more than their 50 cent face value. The coins feature an image of a ram on one side and Queen Elizabeth on the other. 'It commemorates 25 years since Australia changed from pre-decimal currency over to decimal currency, like pounds and shillings over to cents and dollars,' McCauley said in a TikTok video. 'It's called a Ram's Head and the reason they've got that on there is because that design, or very similar to that, was on the shilling coins of Australia prior to 1966.' RELATED Rare $2 coin worth $300 due to key difference: 'Still out there' Major bank warning after ANZ customer left 'dumfounded' by cash issue Inheritance warning as 'disgruntled' Aussies left out of wills in growing trend: 'Inevitable' The Mint released 4.7 million of the coins, which makes them scarce for a circulating coin. 'They were produced to put out there into circulation so people can use them for buying and selling, so you can come across them on the odd occasion,' McCauley said. 'They are a really cool design, and people like to hold onto them when they see them. 'And I like to hold onto them when I find them, too.' There have been a few coins made to commemorate Australia's transition to decimal currency. Another popular one is the 2016 $1 Changeover Coin, which honours the 50th anniversary of the changeover to decimal currency. The coin features the Australian Florin design on one side, which was minted from 1910 to 1966, while the other side has the standard Mob of Roos design. The coins are now worth between $20 and $50. Australia switched from pre-decimal to decimal currency on February 14, 1966. This is known as Changeover Day or 'C Day'. According to the National Museum of Australia, the decision was a "pragmatic, economic one'. Australia created its own currency, the Australian pound, in 1910. Like its British counterpart, the Australian pound was divided into 20 shillings of 12 pence each, making financial transactions 'unnecessarily difficult'. Research found that decimalisation would save the Australian economy more than £11 million a year, which would quickly offset the £30 million cost of while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Small detail reveals cashless reality hidden on Aussie $10 note: 'Not using them'
While millions of new coins are pumped out by the Royal Australian Mint every year, notes are a different story. Interestingly, there hasn't been a new $10 note printed since the huge facelift it received back in 2017. The new-look tenner was upgraded with new security features nearly eight years ago to stop it from being counterfeited. But that's the last time they were printed en masse, and The History of Money's Joel Kandiah has pointed out how you can check. "Look at the first two digits of the serial number on the back of a new $10 note. That's the year your note was printed," he said. Cashless warning as bank chief predicts huge change for Australia: 'Massive implications' Aussie couple loses $170,000 house deposit over to two-letter error: 'Changed everyone's lives' Rare $2 coin worth $300 due to key difference: 'Still out there' Australian notes have a serial number system that helps keep track of certain details. Each banknote on a given sheet, which can contain as many as 54 notes each, will be given a different letter prefix like AA or AB. The first two numbers of the prefix will indicate what year the banknote was new banknotes on a singular sheet will also have the same seven-digit suffix, which decreases by one from one sheet to the next. Anytime you get a tenner, check the serial number and it will likely show a 17 or lower, which indicates it was printed in 2017. But interestingly, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) latest data, the humble $10 had the largest amount of growth in circulation compared to all the other denominations recently: The $5 had a 1.2 per cent lift in circulation in the 2023-2024 financial year 2.8 per cent lift for $10 notes 0.6 per cent reduction for $20 notes 2.1 per cent reduction for $50 notes 0.9 per cent lift for $100 notes The $10 note's 2.8 per cent lift is just above the 10-year average of 2.5 per cent. It's also a huge turnaround from the 0.2 per cent reduction recorded in the prior financial year. That's despite the RBA data showing every denomination has had new notes printed since 2018 except for the tenner. The RBA said banknote circulation increased "sharply" due to COVID, with $7.7 billion in $50 and $100 notes purchased by banks to meet "public demand". The central bank added that the pandemic caused a seismic shift in the way Aussies use cash. "The strong demand for high-denomination banknotes suggests an increased desire in the community to hold banknotes as a precaution or store of wealth during the pandemic," the RBA noted. "It also highlights the changing role of cash, with cash increasingly being used for such purposes rather than for transactions. "The demand for the lower denominations partially recovered during 2021-22 as pandemic-related impacts on in-person transactions reduced somewhat. "Nevertheless, it is expected that the pandemic will have had a lasting effect on cash usage." The two financial years spanning 2022-24 marked the lowest number of banknote issuance from the RBA in recent years. The last financial year saw around $3.6 billion banknotes issued, which is about 40 per cent of a typical year's gross issuance. Kandiah believes the reason why notes aren't being printed is "because people aren't using them anymore". He highlighted RBA figures that showed cash usage has dropped from around 70 per cent in 2007 to just 13 per cent in 2022. That's predicted to fall to just 4 per cent by 2030. This is because people overwhelmingly prefer to use digital methods to pay for things like a card or a smart device like your phone or in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rare $2 coin worth $300 due to key difference: ‘Still out there'
A $2 coin can fetch you up to $300 thanks to one key detail. While they are very rare, one coin expert said there's still a chance you could find one in your change. In 2012, the Royal Australian Mint released two $2 coins to commemorate Remembrance Day. The $2 Gold Poppy coin was the uncoloured version with the iconic flower, while the $2 Red Poppy coin featured a vibrant coloured flower at the centre. Nova Coins owner Janelle Hulme told Yahoo Finance the $2 Red Poppy coins were the first coloured coins made by the Mint and were still extremely popular among collectors. RELATED Rare Aussie banknotes worth up to $19,500 ATO's $24,097 tax blow for every Aussie worker Centrelink's blunt warning over $1,200 'one-off' cost-of-living payment: 'Be mindful' 'There is interest in red poppies all the time,' she said. 'There's always interest. I can't keep them. If I put them up for sale, they sell instantly, they're very popular.' Hulme said the $2 Red Poppy coins usually sold for $300, but values could range from $250 to $350 depending on supply and demand. The Gold Poppy coins, in comparison, can go for between $40 and $60, but that's for ones that haven't been in circulation. Hulme noted the paint on the Red Poppy coins can come off, so it could be 'quite hard' to find a nice coin with all the paint intact. But even Red Poppy coins with the paint chipped off can be worth a decent amount. 'If you find a 2012 Red Poppy and the paint has completely come off it and there's no poppy there at all, they can go for $80 to $100,' Hulme told Yahoo Finance. Only 500,000 of the Red Poppy coins were minted, with the coins released to the public through the RSL Red Poppy Appeal. The Mint also created C Mintmark versions of the coins, which is where the Mint put a letter C on the coin for Canberra. Only 40,902 of the mintmark coins in the official folders were released. 'C mint $2 coins are worth more, they are the next level up from the standard strikes,' Hulme said. "They were going for about $800 to $1,000. I think they've dropped down to about the $600 mark." There were 5.8 million of the Gold Poppy coins minted. Hulme said she knew of lots of people who had found the $2 Red Poppy coins, with one customer finding one in his change from a bottleshop. But she said it was becoming harder to find them. 'I've been looking for a red poppy for ages,' she said. 'I know a lot of people that have found red poppies, but they are going through a lot of coins to find them. 'It's becoming rarer and rarer that people will find it but they're still out there.' The Mint also released a 10-year anniversary version of the $2 Red Poppy coin for collectors, which are currently worth around $ in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Small detail makes rare Aussie coin worth 80 times more: 'Keep your eyes out'
There are 50 cent coins that could be lurking in your small change that could end up buying you a pub meal and a drink. While regular 50 cent coins might not even get you a ramekin of tomato sauce these days, a coin containing a special error from decades ago can fetch a fairly decent price. Coin collector Michael McCauley called out the 1979 50 cent coin that has a 'double bar' on it. He explained that this is a minting error that many would never notice. "Two little lines of metal behind the emus keep your eye out for them," he said. 'Exceptionally rare' $1 coin worth up to $3,000: 'Crazy errors' Pensioner's Centrelink plea after 50-year career paying taxes: '25 cents a day' ATO responds to controversial tax deduction Aussies try to claim every year: 'Be very careful' The 50 cent coin has been in production since the mid-1960s. While it started out as a circular coin, the dodecagonal design was introduced in 1969. Fast forward a decade and 24.9 million of the coins were produced by the Royal Australian Mint. Out of those millions of 50 cent pieces produced that year, McCauley said it's not known how many Double Bars were minted. The two lines of metal reportedly formed the original design, however, were removed because they caused a weakness in the die. Some Double Bars were also minted in 1980 and a few subsequent Currency reports the Double Bar die was "unintentionally deployed" in 1979 and 1980 when no others were available. McCauley revealed that, depending on condition, you could sell a 1979 Double Bar 50 cent piece for between $3 to $40. However, prices can vary wildly if you look online. One auction site is selling a Double Bar 50 cent coin with a grading of MS66 for $106.25. That's more than double what Coins And Australia suggests should be offered for the error coin in that condition, which is around the $48.20 in to access your portfolio
