Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan

The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is an approved borrowing institution under the Australian Government’s Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Scheme. TMAG’s policies on international loans are covered by its Loans Policy.

TMAG publishes information about its international loans as part of the requirements of the scheme. Information about the scheme and the Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Act 2013 can be found at the Australian Government Office of the Arts website.

 

International loans

 

Please download the below document for details of objects intended to be loaned for the exhibition taypani milaythina-tu: Return to Country, on show at TMAG from 30 September 2022 until 7 May 2023. Under the requirements of the scheme, this information has been published on 22 July 2022.

Intended International Loans to TMAG for taypani 2022 – PDF (375.8 KB)

 

Enquiries and claims for objects on loan

 

TMAG is committed to exhibiting objects and artworks only in accordance with the highest standards of due diligence (including ethical and professional practice, and in accordance with applicable law).

As part of this commitment, TMAG invites people to contact us if they have a concern about a work that TMAG has borrowed or is about to borrow from overseas. For example, please contact TMAG if:

  • you wish to make a claim (such as an ownership claim) over such an item;
  • if you have any questions about such an item; or
  • if you want further information about such an item’s ownership or provenance.

Set out below is information about our enquiry and claims handling procedures in relation to works borrowed by TMAG from overseas. These works will usually be subject to the provisions of the Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Act 2013 (Cth) (“the Act”) which usually prevents an item from being seized or forfeited while it is in Australia.

Items that TMAG is borrowing or has borrowed from overseas and that are subject to the Act are published on TMAG’s website. Images and information about such works will be uploaded at least four weeks before the work is imported into Australia and only removed once the work leaves Australia.

If you would like to enquire about, or make a claim on, an object on loan to TMAG under the Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Scheme, please contact us on curatorenquiries@tmag.tas.gov.au or (03) 6165 7001.

Information to provide when making an enquiry or claim

To progress a request for information or a claim on an object, or to request additional information about a work TMAG has borrowed or is borrowing from overseas, please provide the following:

  • your name, address and contact details
  • if you are making a claim or enquiry on behalf of someone else, that person’s name, contact details and their relationship to you
  • a short summary of your enquiry or your claim to the object, including copies of any documents or other evidence that may be relevant to the enquiry or claim
  • a statement confirming that you (or the claimant) are aware that TMAG may inform the lender of the request and supply them with information on the enquiry or claim.

How TMAG will consider the enquiry or claim

TMAG will give serious consideration to each enquiry and claim it receives in relation to a work borrowed from overseas, based on the nature and circumstances of each enquiry or claim.

In determining whether an enquiry or claim in relation to a work borrowed from overseas and subject to the Act is justified, TMAG may consider (without limitation):

  • if the party making the enquiry or claim is known to TMAG
  • whether the claim has been made in another jurisdiction
  • the documentation or evidence provided by the person making the enquiry or claim
  • in the case of Australian cultural material, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander material, close examination of the object’s provenance and history, including how the object left the custody of the individual or communities and the circumstances in which it was exported from Australia.

Feedback from TMAG

If TMAG is satisfied about the nature and circumstances of the request for information or that claim, TMAG will provide you with information on the provenance and due diligence procedures it followed. Such research will have been in accordance with the policies and procedures of TMAG and is required under the Act.

Where the additional information is information that has already been published on TMAG’s website, we will direct you to the exact website address for that information.

Please note that TMAG retains the right not to disclose any of the above if TMAG determines that it is not, in the circumstances, appropriate for it to do so.

Expected time frame for feedback

TMAG will respond to you within 28 days of receiving your enquiry or claim. To assist in a prompt response, please make sure you provide all the details that TMAG will likely need to assess your claim and to accurately identify any information you have requested.

TMAG will advise you if it intends to contact the lender about your enquiry or claim.

Legitimate claims

If TMAG determines that you have a legitimate claim in relation to a work before that work is imported into Australia, TMAG will assess whether or not it is appropriate, in all the circumstances, to continue with the loan. In making that assessment, TMAG will have full regard to its due diligence and provenance standards, as set out in TMAG Inward Loans Policy, available on our website here.

Please note, however, that once a work has been imported into Australia on loan from overseas, your ability to take legal action in relation to that work in Australia may be limited by the provisions of the Act. For information on the Act, see Australian Government Office of the Arts website.