The government wants your help shaping new laws to protect First Nations art

An engagement session will be held at Design Tasmania on Tuesday, March 5, for the public to share their knowledge, views and experiences related to Indigenous cultural and intellectual property.

The event is one of 50 face-to-face sessions taking place at 38 locations across the country which hope to provide a platform for people to help shape the country's first stand-alone legislation to protect First Nations traditional knowledge and cultural expressions while addressing the harm caused by fake First Nations art, merchandise and souvenirs.

Fake Indigenous art has been a long-standing problem and a recent major discussion point for the government and artists, particularly in the face of artificial intelligence concerns.

"What we're talking about here is theft, and it has to stop. That's what these laws will do," the government's minister for the Arts Tony Burke said.

"Fake Indigenous art means artists get ripped off, consumers get ripped off and businesses get ripped off. It's important that we get this right, which means listening to the communities impacted."

Indigenous artists have welcomed the idea of a federal government crackdown on fake art, with potential moves in the form of labelling suggested or even total bans.

The proposed legislation is being backed by a Productivity Commission report from 2022 that found more than half of all purchased merchandise and souvenirs with First Nations art and designs are inauthentic or are made without permission from Traditional Owners.

The government hopes to address the fake art - which the report highlighted was a detriment to First Nations artists, communities and culture - through the legislation, which is a commitment under its five-year National Cultural Policy, 'Revive'.

Australia currently has no national licensing or production guidelines to protect Indigenous cultural and intellectual property within commercial design and digital spaces, which the Productivity Commission called for in its report.

The legislation will be developed through the engagement sessions and a First Nations-led process, which the government says will ensure any solution is informed by and addresses the needs of First Nations people.

All community members are welcome to attend, either by registering online or simply turning up on the day at the event which begins from 10am to 1pm at Design Tasmania.

To find out more, register to attend an event or share your views online, visit: www.arts.gov.au/ICIP.