From LawFront.com
On 3 October, Australian Arts Minister Peter Garrett announced that the Australian Federal Government plans to introduce a resale royalty right for works of visual art by 1 July 2009. This right will ensure that visual artists receive a portion of the proceeds from resales of their works. The legislation establishing the resale royalty right scheme has not yet been introduced in Parliament, but is expected bythe end of 2008.
The Government has issued a fact sheet on how the right would be structured. In short, the resale royalty scheme would involve a mandatory five per cent artist &s royalty on resales of artworks, when works are sold for $1,000 or more. The right will apply to works by living artists and for a period of 70 years after the artist &s death.
The definition of artistic works covered will include original works of graphic or plastic art, such as paintings, collages, drawings, limited edition prints, sculptures, a ceramics, glassware, and photographs.
The royalty will be payable to artists who are Australian citizens or permanent residents, or to their heirs.
Notably, the right itself will be inalienable (it cannot be transferred) or waived.