The ACCC has completed its review of matters referred by the panel appointed by the South Australian Department of Premier and Cabinet concerning the operations of the APY Arts Centre Collective (APY ACC).
The referral followed media reports about alleged interference by non-Aboriginal APY ACC staff in the production of Anangu art, which the ACCC considered.
"We have reviewed the material provided by the South Australian Government panel, and others, and found nothing that we consider may have breached the Australian Consumer Law," ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.
"The ACCC acknowledges that the media coverage prompted important discussion on complex cultural and social issues around the different roles and contributions in the creation of Anangu artwork and management of community art studios. These broader cultural issues fall outside the provisions of the Australian Consumer Law and the ACCC's enforcement powers."
"The ACCC supports proposed federal legislation to protect Indigenous cultural and intellectual property. The proposed new legislation, which is being developed in partnership with First Nations representatives, may provide a more suitable approach to govern the issues around the production and management of First Nations art," Ms Lowe said.
The ACCC has an enduring priority around conduct impacting First Nations Australians and will continue to closely support the First Nations art industry, including through taking compliance and enforcement action where appropriate.
For example, in 2019, following action by the ACCC, Birubi Art Pty Ltd was ordered to pay $2.3 million for making false or misleading representations that products it sold were hand painted by Australian Aboriginal persons and made in Australia when that was not true.
Background
The APY ACC is a not-for-profit organisation, incorporated under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act and is First Nations owned and governed. The APY ACC markets and sells the artworks of over 500 Anangu artists via its online store and galleries located in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney.
Anangu artists are First Nations artists from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands of South Australia.
The allegations about the production of art first arose in media reports in April 2023, which were denied by the APY ACC.
In July 2023, the National Gallery of Australia published an independent report regarding the provenance of 28 paintings by Anangu artists that formed the Ngura Pulka - Epic Country exhibition. The independent panel determined that the artists exercised effective control over the creation of their paintings and that the paintings complied with the National Gallery's provenance policy.
In mid-December 2023, a panel appointed by the South Australian Department of Premier and Cabinet to review the operations of the APY ACC, referred certain matters to the ACCC. The panel provided supporting documents in April 2024.
Other related matters were referred by the panel to the Office of Registrar of Indigenous Corporations.
In January 2023, the Australian Government committed to introduce new stand-alone legislation to protect Indigenous cultural and intellectual property. The development of the new legislation will be First Nations-led, and is being facilitated by the Federal Office for the Arts.
