Good News: Exporting Australian Indigenous Art
18 December, 2018.
This week the new Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Regulations 2018 were announced. I want to update you because this will be positive news for sellers and for overseas buyers of Australian Indigenous Art. The legislative changes will support the continued growth of Aboriginal Art collecting overseas and its recognition on a world stage.
These new Regulations include elements of the model proposed by the independent review of the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986 undertaken by Mr Shane Simpson AM in 2015 (Simpson Review). The new regulations are now available online along with the explanatory statement that outlines full details of all changes.
However, I’m summarising these changes for you to make it easier to understand.
Under the old regulations outlined in Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986 ‘fine art objects of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage’ required export permits if they were valued at AUD$10,000 or more and were of 20 years of age or more.
Today, while the new regulations are extensive, they are a lot less restrictive across the board. (Please note this is a brief summary and should this legislation potentially affect you, there is a lot more detail to be considered in the links above).
In general, ‘a fine art object of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage’ may require an export permit if the art object is at least 30 years old, and not adequately represented in Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community collections, or public collections in Australia.
More specifically:
Aboriginal desert paintings (including pre-1974 Aboriginal Papunya paintings), that do not include sacred and secret imagery will require a permit if they are 30 years of age or more and valued at AUD$100,000 or more (sacred secret imagery will be denied export);
Aboriginal Kimberley paintings on canvas will require a permit if they are 30 years of age or more and valued at AUD$100,000 or more;
Aboriginal watercolours, pastels, drawings, sketches and other similar works will require a permit if they are 30 years of age or more and valued at AUD$40,000 or more;
Aboriginal acrylic paintings not covered in 1, 2 and 3 above will require a permit if they are 30 years of age or more and valued at AUD$350,000 or more;
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander ochre paintings that are on bark, composition board, wood, cardboard, stone or other similar supports will require a permit if they are 30 years of age or more and valued at AUD$20,000 or more;
Aboriginal Sculptures will require a permit if they are 30 years of age or more and valued at AUD$30,000 or more;
Pre-1901 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artworks valued at AUD$25,000 or more cannot be exported out of Australia.
Pre-1960 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander bark paintings or sculptures valued at AUD$25,000 or more cannot be exported out of Australia.
For further information contact https://www.arts.gov.au/what-we-do/cultural-heritage/movable-cultural-heritage