The second-series £5 banknote is blue. The main elements of the obverse side are the same as the 10-shilling and £5 notes (the watermark panel, the coat of arms and James Cook) but the border is different.

The reverse side of the note contains a fantail, the watermark panel and an engraving of Lake Pūkaki and Aoraki/Mt Cook. (Evelyn Hosken's 1964 memoir about living in this part of the country was entitled Life on a five pound note.) The note's borders comprise almost entirely Māori carvings and iconography. The bottom border is based on carvings from the Hotunui wharenui (meeting house), which was erected at Parawai marae, near Thames, in 1878, and is now held by the Auckland Museum. The border includes the bank’s legend and the note’s denomination, in numerals in the top two corners and in words along the bottom.