You may need a permit to export fine or decorative art from Australia if it meets all of the following criteria:

  1. it is at least 30 years old
  2. the current Australian market value is at least the amount in the following table
  3. it is being exported by someone other than the person who created it, and
  4. it is an Australia-related object.

An Australia-related object is designed or made:

  • in or outside Australia by an Australian, or
  • in Australia by a foreign person who, at some time worked or lived in Australia, or
  • outside Australia by a foreign person, if the object incorporates Australian motifs or subject matter, or is otherwise relevant to Australia.
Item Object Amount
1 Watercolours, pastels, drawings, sketches and other similar works $40,000
2 Aboriginal desert paintings (including pre-1974 Aboriginal Papunya paintings), other than paintings that are secret/sacred objects $100,000
3 Aboriginal Kimberley paintings on canvas $100,000
4 Oil and acrylic paintings not covered by item 1, 2 or 3 of this table $350,000
5 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander ochre paintings that are on bark, composition board, wood, cardboard, stone or other similar supports $20,000
6 Prints, posters, photographs and similar works of art with potential for multiple production $10,000
7 Textiles, including tapestries, carpets and batiks $10,000
8 Sculptures $30,000
9 Furniture $30,000
10 Jewellery $40,000
11 Clocks and watches $40,000
12 Musical instruments $10,000
13 Architectural fittings and decoration and interior decoration $15,000
14 Objects made from precious metals $25,000
15 Any objects of fine or decorative art that are not covered by another item of this table $10,000

 

Some fine and decorative art cannot be exported. This includes:

Item Object Amount
1 Pre-1901 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artworks $25,000
2 Pre-1960 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander bark paintings or sculptures not covered by item 1 of this table $25,000

 

These criteria are set out in Schedule 1 of the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Regulations 2018, which incorporates the National Cultural Heritage Control List.