this post was submitted on 31 Mar 2026
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For example, travel destinations where Australian tourists are heading to (apart from Indonesia, specifically Bali) where their currency shows higher purchasing power are: NZ, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand or Turkey to list a few examples.

I mean, it always has a LOWER exchange rate when compared to stronger currencies such as the Pound Sterling, Euro or US Dollars since the rate via AUD is crap in comparison when taking into account of PPP abroad:

Country (Currency) GBP (£) EUR (€) USD ($) AUD ($)
Indonesia (Rp) 22430 19490 16896 11722
Vietnam (₫) 34956 30114 26263 17990
South Korea (₩) 2000 1738 1516 1038
Japan (¥) 210 183 159 109
Turkey (₺) 58 51 44 30
Thailand (฿) 43 37 32 22
Malaysia (RM) 5.31 4.61 4.02 2.75
New Zealand ($) 2.30 2.00 1.74 1.19

Like WTF is going on with the AUD, why is it in the bottom? Numbers on their own don't mean anything but the true measure is purchasing power (how many units of foreign currency you can receive in that country is determined by the exchange rate).

I mean, with a lower exchange rate you receive less foreign currency (pay more to receive the equivalent amounts from the greenback), like if 1000 USD gets you 16.8m Rupiah in Bali, you have to exchange 1500 AUD since 1000 AUD is only 11.7m Rupiah.

However, even the highest valued currencies (like those from Kuwait or Oman for instance) are worth more than the Aussie Dollar or other major currencies mentioned below just because it's "oil" money, but the drawback is that they both aren't common outside their region (the Middle East: Gulf) making it hard to exchange abroad.

If you break down each denomination from the Kuwaiti Dinar converting how much each one it's worth:

Denomination GBP (£) EUR (€) USD ($) AUD ($)
20 KD 49.05 56.45 64.70 94.50
10 KD 24.55 28.20 32.35 47.25
5 KD 12.25 14.10 16.20 23.60
1 KD 2.45 2.80 3.25 4.75
^1/2^ KD 1.25 1.40 1.60 2.35
^1/4^ KD 0.60 0.70 0.80 1.20

If you break down each denomination from the Omani Rial converting how much each one it's worth:

Denomination GBP (£) EUR (€) USD ($) AUD ($)
RO 50 98.70 113.55 130.20 190.10
RO 20 39.50 45.40 52.10 76.05
RO 10 19.75 22.70 26.05 38.00
RO 5 9.90 11.35 13.00 19.00
RO 1 1.95 2.25 2.60 3.75
RO ^1/2^ 1.00 1.15 1.30 1.90
100 Baisa 0.20 0.25 0.25 0.40

But, having a high value currency has it's cons despite the value: it makes exports expensive for people who want to buy from that country and the lack of it circulating outside it's region makes it niche within the forex market despite it being a real currency a country actually uses.

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[–] Seagoon_@aussie.zone 1 points 7 hours ago
[–] Evil_Incarnate@sopuli.xyz 8 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Australian dollar is weak. The government likes it like that because it's cheaper for other countries to buy Australian goods, so more exports, and the government can say they're doing well. Downside is it gets expensive to leave the country (which encourages travel within Australia and keeps the money on the country, that otherwise would have gone abroad).

[–] Sn1perBuffin@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Don't even ask about their passport prices, it's a joke! My Aussie friend told me they had to pay 422 AUD for an (10 year) adult PASSPORT! Like, are you serious?! An adult passport in my country is only 100€ and it's stronger than the Australian one.

[–] SaneMartigan@aussie.zone 2 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Mate, it's so fucked. My passport expired during covid so I thought fuck it and left it. Now its $420 dollarydoos and a few weeks processing if I want to go anywhere. I'm not a big holidays guy but adding that to the cost of any trip further puts it out of reach.

[–] Sn1perBuffin@lemmy.world 2 points 17 hours ago

It's your government being like: "traveling is for the rich" (like an extra tax) basically making it harder for 'peasants' by paying more.

[–] Evil_Incarnate@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yeah, passports here are under 50€ but only five years, last time I got the Australian one it was a PITA and expensive. Lucky the dollar is so crap tho.

[–] Sn1perBuffin@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

I've heard the Australian passport has gotten crappier in terms of durability, as there are stories of travelers having the book warped despite them taking care of it, and the excuse is "lightweight & more security features" at the cost of ruining durability. I speculate the reason as to why the AU passport is a rip off may be due to their government flexing "traveling is for the elite".

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Same deal with Canada. Low dollar is good for exports.

[–] IrateAnteater@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Canada was going to be my comparison too. The current exchange rate is about 0.96 AUD to 1 CAD.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 hours ago

AUD and CAD are closely matched for similar reasons, two countries with dwindling industrial base relying on raw materials exports.

[–] itsathursday@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Not really sure what you are getting at but AUD cross rate against the GBP, USD, EUR will explain why they are better numbers against the countries you do show the AUD against. You can’t have AUD performing better compared to them unless it is actually calculated at a better rate of forex. Have a read of why historically we have been expected to be behind them and then where it’s at now https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2018/dec/understanding-exchange-rates-and-why-they-are-important.html#box-a there are other good articles on the RBA site too.

Essentially though average wages are higher in AUS so we get more bananas to spend, but in the UK and US they get less bananas but they are bigger.

[–] kingofras@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

AUD is a risk ON currency, i.e. it thrives during periods of recovery and bullish outlooks, like post GFC, or post pandemic. When the markets are in crisis, AUD becomes weaker (so you need less of pretty much any other currency to afford 1 AUD, and conversely more AUD to buy anything else).

Right now we nose dived into risk OFF territory and even if the war stops tomorrow or even stops escalating, the AUD will take months to regain some strength.

[–] Ilandar@lemmy.today 1 points 1 day ago

It's actually very good for South Korea at the moment, especially considering daily travel expenses like food are cheaper there. It used to be about 850 won for a dollar.