[3] All the notes of this series had Queen Elizabeth II on the front, and a watermark of Captain James Cook.

[3] In late 1981 the Reserve Bank switched to a New Zealand-based printer which meant that new printing plates had to be made.

[3] The New Zealand Parliament Buildings were featured next to the Queen, while the back of the note had a New Zealand alpine scene, containing a kārearea falcon, Marlborough rock daisy, flowering red tussock and Mount Tapuaenuku, the highest peak on the South Island's Inland Kaikoura range.

[2] Another feature is the tukutuku patterning on the front, called "Poutama", taken from the Te-Hau-ki-Tūranga meeting house at Te Papa Museum.

The change increased the life of the banknotes and also allowed new and improved security features to prevent counterfeiting.

The note was brighter in colour and featured the Māori translation of Reserve Bank (Te Putea Matua), and "New Zealand, Aotearoa" on the back.

The Series 6 security features include that, when the note is shown to the light, a shadow image of Elizabeth II is displayed.

There is an image of a fern located above the see-through window, and the two sides should match perfectly when held up to the light.