One of the petition's creators told the BBC: "We started this petition because the newer generation barely knows who is representing our currency. We believed that having a childhood icon and conservationist like Steve would be a great idea."
Current Australian banknotes feature several poets, religious officials and politicians, most of whom were born in the 1800s and died in the mid-1900s.
As of Thursday morning, the petition had over 23,000 signatures. It has gotten the attention of the Royal Australian Mint, which produced a Steve Irwin commemorative coin in 2009.
The mint's chief executive told The Telegraph: "This petition has further highlighted the passion throughout a sub-section of the Australian community to recognize Mr Irwin, and we invite those who are leading the cause to ... submit a written proposal to us directly for consideration."
The petition was started just days after the 10th anniversary of Irwin's death. He was killed after a giant stringray stabbed him in the heart while he was filming an underwater documentary.
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