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Yes, exactly, Bilbo. And yes, I believe it's a convention rather than a rule, but generally it's not considered acceptable to have a living person other than a head of state on currency. Fortunately an exception was made for the much-loved Sir Ed.
He was an obliging man, and was often asked to sign $5 notes that had his likeness. Many of those are still around, though not generally in circulation.
For those interested, on the notes we have:
$5 - Sir Edmund Hillary
$10 - Kate Sheppard (suffragist)
$20 - Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand
$50 - Sir Apirana Ngata (Maori leader)
$100- Lord Rutherford of Nelson
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