It is currently not illegal to sell fake Aboriginal style souvenirs as long as the product says where it was made. Recent research conducted by the Indigenous Art Code found that 80% of Indigenous souvenirs in tourist shops are fakes.
Above: The House of Representatives Indigenous Affairs Committee Chair Ms Melissa Price MP discusses the new inquiry into inauthentic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 'style' art and craft products and merchandise for sale across Australia.
The Arts Law Centre of Australia, the Indigenous Art Code and Copyright Agency launched their Fake Art Harms Culture campaign in August 2016. The campaign calls for the Government to tackle the problem of fake ‘Indigenous’ arts and craft being sold in Australia, harming Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and incomes.
On 10 August 2017 the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs announced an inquiry into the growing presence of inauthentic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 'style' art and craft products and merchandise for sale across Australia. The inquiry was referred by Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Senator the Hon Nigel Scullion.
NAVA's Executive Director, Esther Anatolitis, appeared before the parliamentary inquiry in Sydney on Tuesday 6 March 2018. Click here to read the transcript of the hearing from the Parliament of Australia.
NAVA welcomes the announcement by Minister for Communications and the Arts Mitch Fifield that the Australian Government will support a digital labelling pilot to support clear identification of authentic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artworks.
Gina Fairley Government invests $150,000 into digital labeling to combat fake Aboriginal art ArtsHub 21 June 18
Nakari Thorpe Katter 'serves notice' on parties over fake Aboriginal art, NITV, 18 June 18
Liz Little Bali’s fake 'Made in Australia' boomerangs and didgeridoos robbing artists of a living 18 June 18
Peter Devlin 'It's not their culture to sell': The didgeridoo scam conning Australians out of their hard-earned cash and infuriating Aboriginal communities Daily Mail 15 June 2018
Stephen Stockwell 'A bloody lot' of fake Indigenous art is being sold. Here's how you can spot it 31 May 2018
Calls to combat fake Aboriginal artSBS News 1 May 2018
Karen Michelmore Calls to ban 'hurtful' sale of fake Indigenous art ABC 10 April 2018
Kelsey Munro Consumer watchdog cracks down on sale of 18,000 fake Indigenous objects The Guardian 22 March 2018
The ACCC takes 'fake' Aboriginal art to Court ArtsHub 23 March 18
Jessica Hobbs The $200m industry of cheap fakes ripping off Indigenous artists 24 March 18
Frank Robson Dead heart: the booming trade in fake Indigenous art Sydney Morning Herald 8 Dec 2017
Stephanie Peatling Indigenous art groups call for crackdown on 'fake art' 25 Nov 2017
Janet Howie, Albury conference learns value of Indigenous Art Code, The Border Mail, 14 Sept 17
Fake Aboriginal art Bill boomerangs back into Parliament, NITV, 12 Sept 17
James Elton-Pym, Calls for a crackdown on ‘knockoff’ Aboriginal souvenirs made in China and Bali, NITV, 22 Aug 17
Helen Davidson, Misappropriation of Aboriginal art, The Guardian, 14 Aug 17
Angela Heathcote, Fake Indigenous art and the Commonwealth Games, Australian Geographic, 14 Jul 17
Louise Allingham, Inquiry into fake Indigenous art, The West Australian, 11 Aug 17
Corporate ‘fake art’ profiting off Aboriginal art, GreenLeft Weekly, 11 Aug 17
Helen Davidson, Australia's fake art and tourist tack: Indigenous artists fight back, The Guardian, 9 Aug Neda Vanovac, Indigenous artists battle mass-produced fakes, call for protection for their intellectual property, ABC New, 9 Aug 17
UN Uses Social Media to Raise Awareness of Indigenous Struggles, Telesur, 9 Aug 17
Corporate 'Fake Art' Profits off Australia's Indigenous Culture, Telesur, 9 Aug 17
Gina Fairley, War declared on fake Indigenous art, ArtsHub, 8 Aug 17
Jens Korff, Aboriginal art authenticity, Creative Spirit, 11 Jul 17
Francis Tapim, Call for tough penalties for fake Aboriginal-style souvenirs during Commonwealth Games, ABC News, 9 Jul 17
Tom Lodewyke, Lawyers call for legislative protection for Indigenous artists, Lawyers Weekly, 23 Jun 17
Eliza Buzacott-Speer, Chanel boomerang prompts Bob Katter to renew calls for protection of Aboriginal artists, ABC News, 18 May 17
Andreas Illmer, Ridicule and condemnation for Chanel's $1,500 boomerang, BBC News, 16 May 17
Johnny Lieu, Chanel's $1,930 boomerang rip-off is wrong on so many levels, Mashable, 16 May 17
Abigail Dawson, ‘Boomerangs that can go back to Bali’: Behaviour Change Partners creates campaign to protect authentic Indigenous art, Mumbrella, 9 May 17
Jeremy Eccles, Katter’s Law, Aboriginal Art Directory, 14 Feb 17
MP plans to curb fake Aboriginal art sales, SBS News, 13 Feb 17
Casey Briggs, Bob Katter plans legislation to stop sale of fake Indigenous art, ABC News, 22 Jan 17
Daniel Bateman, Bob Katter declares war on “fake” indigenous artwork, The Cairns Post, 20 Jan 17
Allan Clarke, Bob Katter Declares War On Asian Boomerangs And Fake Aboriginal Art, BuzzFeed News, 20 Jan 17
Karen Michelmore, Indigenous arts community lobby Government to make it illegal to sell fake Aboriginal-style souvenirs, ANC News, 17 Jan 17
Rico Adjrun, Indigenous art: How fake works disrupt the market and disempower local artists, AWAYE ABC RN, 5 Oct 16
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