Under the Resale Royalty Scheme, visual artists and other right-holders are entitled to 5% of the sale price of eligible artworks resold commercially for $1,000 or more.
Who can participate?
You may be entitled to a royalty payment if you are the original artist, or you inherit the resale right from the artist, and if the resale is deemed eligible.
How do I participate?
You can register with the Scheme’s collecting society Copyright Agency at any time.
What income can I receive?
Artists and other right-holders are entitled to 5% of the sale price from eligible artworks resold commercially for $1,000 or more in Australia. From 31 March 2025, entitlements will also be collected from eligible resales in 26 reciprocal countries.
About the program
The resale royalty right provides visual artists with rights similar to other creators, such as songwriters or authors, who receive royalty payments from their work.
Under the Resale Royalty Right for Visual Artists Act 2009, auction houses and galleries are required to report resales to Copyright Agency, Australia’s collecting society for the Scheme. Copyright Agency then determines eligibility, collects the royalty, and pays it to the artist or other right holder/s.
Internationally, over 60 of 167 state parties to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, Article 14 also have a resale royalty right for visual artists.
From 31 March 2025, the resale royalty right includes nine countries that have entered into reciprocal arrangements with Australia. The countries are:
- Estonia
- Greece
- Lithuania
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Poland
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Uruguay
This follows the extension of resale royalty entitlements internationally in March 2024 to 17 countries. Australia has now entered into reciprocal arrangements with 26 countries.
The resale royalty entitlement for eligible works resold in these reciprocal countries will be based on the arrangements of each collecting society.
The 2013 post-implementation review of the Resale Royalty Right for Visual Artists Act 2009 and associated Scheme provides a snapshot of the Scheme's performance during its establishment phase.