Staff will be seconded from the Australian Treasury to the four major banks as part of a wider policy on staff secondments, Martin Parkinson, Secretary to the Treasury said in a speech to the Institute of Public Administration Australia in Canberra yesterday. Treasury staff already work at the Australian Bankers Association and the Business Council of Australia. Australia's new series of bank notes will retain many characteristics of the current series, including the people portrayed on the banknotes, size, general colour palette and denominational structure, the Reserve Bank of Australia said in an article published in its quarterly Bulletin. The new banknotes will have "multiple windows with designs that are significantly more complex than those on the current series." No date has been set yet for the shift to the new notes, which are not yet in production. Two bankers will join six other experienced private and public sector leaders on the newly established Australian Treasury Advisory Council. Kevin McCann, chair of Macquarie Group, and Michael Vertigan, who chaired MyState Financial, will be on the council. ATAC will provide Treasury ministers with advice on major strategic, organisational and governance issues or on issues with reputational impact for the Treasury. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is preparing to launch an investigation into potential manipulation of foreign exchange benchmarks in Australia. ASIC's inquiry follows action taken by authorities in the US, Europe and Asia, led largely by Britain's Financial Conduct Authority, the SMH reported.