Australia Cheque Writing — AUD Amount
Write Australian cheques with confidence. Convert AUD amounts into the cheque amount in words used by CommBank, Westpac, ANZ and NAB — “Nine hundred eighty and 25/100 dollars” — follow AusPayNet crossing rules, and copy banking-standard wording onto the legal line.
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How to Write a Cheque in Australia
Australian cheque writing requires the date in DD/MM/YYYY, the payee's full legal name, the numeric amount in AUD, and the cheque amount in words on the legal line in dollars. Cents are written as a fraction — AUD 980.25 becomes “Nine hundred eighty and 25/100 dollars” — and the word “dollars” must close the legal line so the amount cannot be extended. Under the Australian Payments Network (AusPayNet) rules and the cheque writing conventions every licensed bank follows, the written amount in words controls over the numeric box when the two differ, so spelling the amount correctly is the single most important step in how to write a cheque in Australia. Major banks including Commonwealth Bank (CommBank), Westpac, ANZ and NAB all clear cheques against the same conventions, and the bulk-electronic clearing window is typically one to two business days for a bank cheque presented within the same state. Crossing a cheque with two parallel lines and writing “Not Negotiable” or “Account Payee Only” between them restricts payment to the named payee's account and is standard practice for business cheques, because it prevents the cheque being cashed over the counter by anyone else. A cheque is generally treated as stale and may be refused if presented more than 15 months after its date — a longer window than most countries. Common reasons for dishonour include a missing or mismatched signature, a date in the wrong format, the words and figures disagreeing, an unauthenticated alteration, and a stop payment placed by the drawer — the bank will return it marked “refer to drawer.” Our Australia cheque tool automates the AUD wording on the legal line so you can focus on signing, crossing and dating the cheque correctly.
Australian Payments Network guidelines
How to fill in an Australian cheque
- 1
Date and payee
Write the date in DD/MM/YYYY format — the standard every Australian bank uses — and the payee's full legal name exactly as registered with their bank. Avoid abbreviations or nicknames, because a mismatch between the payee name and the account holder's record is a leading cause of cheque rejection at CommBank, Westpac, ANZ and NAB. A cheque may be refused as stale if presented more than 15 months after its date.
- 2
Numeric amount
Enter the figure in the amount box in AUD, using a decimal point for cents (for example 980.25). Draw a line after the last digit or begin close to the dollar sign so the figure cannot be extended — a common fraud precaution every Australian bank expects. Avoid overwriting; if you make a mistake, void and rewrite the cheque.
- 3
Amount in words
Use the tool for the legal line: AUD 980.25 becomes “Nine hundred eighty and 25/100 dollars.” Cents are written as a fraction over 100, and the word “dollars” must close the line. The written amount controls over the numeric box if the two differ, so spelling it correctly is the most important step.
- 4
Sign
Sign exactly as per the specimen signature your bank holds on file. Any alteration to the date, payee or amount must be confirmed with a full signature, otherwise the cheque will be rejected at clearing and returned marked “refer to drawer.” A stop payment placed by the drawer will also cause dishonour.
Common Australian cheque errors
Why use the Australian cheque tool
Cheque Writing FAQ