The Evolution of Exchange Rate Policy and Capital Controls in Australia

Abstract

After the end of the Bretton Woods system in the early 1970s, exchange rate policy in Australia moved through several regimes over an extended period. The overarching theme was to increase flexibility and efficiency in the Australian currency market and the financial system more generally. This paper documents Australia's gradual move from a fixed to a floating exchange rate and the abolition of capital controls, with an emphasis on the thinking behind various reforms and the practical difficulties encountered during the reform process. Policy reform was often in response to external forces exposing deficiencies in the prevailing system, rather than through a carefully planned path to greater flexibility. Ultimately, a combination of domestic and international factors rendered the move to a flexible exchange rate largely inevitable.