Guest Work Agency Contributes to Comparative Study on Anti-Money Laundering in the Art Market
Image: Anti-Money Laundering Regulation and the Art Market Comparative Study. Source: Center for Art Law.
Guest Work Agency is proud to have contributed to the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations and the Art Market Comparative Study, an international initiative led by the Center for Art Law. This study provides a comparative analysis of anti-money laundering obligations imposed on art market entities and explains duties of monitoring and reporting suspicious activities across jurisdictions.
As part of the project, GWA provided commentary on the current Australian legal framework, situating in within broader global context.
Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering Framework
The framework is provided for in the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (AML/CTF Act) and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules Instrument 2007 (No.1) (AML/CTF Rules). These laws are designed to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing by imposing compliance obligations on ‘reporting entities’. These include financial institutions, gambling services, remittance providers, digital currency exchanges, bullion dealers, and other businesses that offer ‘designated services’.
From 2026, the scope of ‘designated services’ will expand to include:
Dealers in precious metals and stones
Certain professional service providers who hold sale proceeds or purchase funds for a customer on escrow, or operate a trust account with customers’ funds
Those who exchange or facilitate the exchange of virtual assets (including NFTs) for either fiat currency or other virtual assets of the same or different kind.
Entities providing ‘designated services’ are required to enrol with AUSTRAC (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre), verify certain information about a customer, as well as monitor and manage risks that may arise throughout the customer relationship.
For those providing designated services who fail to comply with the AML/CTF Act and Rules, various enforcement actions can be taken, such as civil penalty orders, enforceable undertakings, infringement notices, and remedial directions.
Application to the Art Market
Currently, artworks are neither referred to nor defined under the AML/CTF Act or Rules.
While the legislation does not address art market participants directly, any individual or entity providing the above-mentioned designated services may fall within the scope of the AML/CTF regime.
Final Thoughts
The lack of precise regulation of art market participants in Australia is a starkly different regulatory approach to other jurisdictions like the U.S. and the U.K. where stricter AML rules are being introduced specifically for art market participants. This may increase the risk of money laundering activity in the Australian art market.
Read the full AML study here.
Need advice on how the AML regulations may apply to you? Contact us at info@guestworkagency.art.
Guest Work Agency is a boutique art law and advisory firm based in Melbourne, but is international in reach. It is the first dedicated art law practice in Australia, working with artists, collectors, galleries, arts organisations, art fairs and art tech start-ups.
For more information contact us at info@guestworkagency.art.