pick - up in underlying inflation is expected to be more gradual. 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches since we appeared before this committee last september, the reserve bank board has kept the cash rate unchanged at 1. 5 per cent. at its recent meetings the board has been paying close attention to the outlook for inflation as well as two other issues : trends in household borrowing and in the labour market. one of the ways in which monetary policy works is to make it easier for people to borrow and spend. but there is a balance to be struck. too much borrowing today can create problems for tomorrow, because debt does have to be repaid. at the moment, most households with borrowings do seem to be coping pretty well. but the current high level of debt, combined with low nominal income growth, is affecting the appetite of households to spend, and we are seeing some evidence of this in the consumption figures. the balance that is required is to support spending in the economy today while avoiding creating fragilities in household balance sheets that could cause problems for the economy later on. this is also something we need to watch carefully. trends in the labour market are also important. as in the housing market, the picture in the labour market varies significantly around the country. overall, the unemployment rate has been steady now for a little over a year at around 5¾ per cent. in a historical context this would have been considered a good outcome, although, today, a sustainably lower unemployment rate should be possible in australia. the other aspect of the labour market that is worth noting is the continuing trend towards part - time employment. over the past year, all the growth in employment is accounted for by part - time jobs. there is a structural element to this, but it is also partly cyclical. we expect that the unemployment rate will remain around its current level for a while yet. the reserve bank board continues to balance these various issues within the framework of our flexible medium - term inflation target, which aims to achieve an average rate of inflation over time of 2 point something. our judgement is that the current setting of the cash rate is consistent with both this and achieving sustainable growth in our economy. we will continue to review that judgement at future meetings. i would like to turn to some other aspects of the work we do at the reserve bank. in the area of payments, the reserve bank is continuing to work with industry on the development of the new payments infrastructure that will allow us all to move money

around and make electronic payments more easily. the bank is building part of the infrastructure that stands at the centre of this new system that will allow funds to be exchanged instantaneously so that customers can have very quick access to their funds. our work is on schedule and is now being used in industry testing. financial institutions are also working hard on their internal systems so that customers can take advantage of the new system. developments look to be on track to allow the first payments to be made through this new system towards the end of the year. a related focus of the payments system board is the important role that new technologies can play in promoting efficiency and competition. in recent meetings the board has discussed the opportunities that distributed ledger technology could offer in the payments system and in financial market infrastructures. and it is also interested in the potential for fintech to deliver improved customer experiences. the board is therefore taking a keen interest in the work being done by the australian payments council on digital identity and customers ’ access to their banking and payments data. i hope that you have all come across the new $ 5 banknote, which was issued by the bank from early september last year. the note was well received by the community. you might also have noticed that last friday we released the design for the new $ 10 banknote. like the new $ 5, the new $ 10 will have world - leading security features, including the clear top - to - bottom window and a rolling colour effect that changes as the banknote is tilted. it will also have two raised bumps to assist people with vision impairment. just like the current $ 10 note, the new note will feature two 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches of australia ’ s most famous writers, dame mary gilmore and banjo paterson. the printing presses are busy printing the new notes and they will be issued from september this year. we are also finalising the design of the new $ 50 banknote, which we plan to issue next year. one other matter that i would like to bring to your attention is that we are in the process of commissioning an external review of the efficiency of our operations. we want to make sure that we are continuously improving as an organisation and we are seeking outside assistance to identify opportunities for improvement. the review will be focused primarily on operational and administrative matters and not on our policy frameworks. it will commence within the next month and i will be in a position to share the key conclusions with the committee when we meet later in the year.