Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan

The Australian Government’s Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Act 2013 (the Act) provides legal protection for cultural objects (also referred to as items) on loan from overseas lenders to approved borrowers for temporary public exhibition in Australia

Under the Act most types of legal action relating to the ownership of these sorts of items, including seizure, legal proceedings brought to a court of law, and the enforcement of judgements and orders, are prevented from the date an item is imported into Australia until it is exported. This means the Australian Government guarantees that an item imported in compliance with the Act by an approved borrowing institution, such as Museums Victoria, will be returned to the overseas lender even if a claim for ownership is made by a third party while the item is in Australia.

More information about the Act, and the Scheme which administers it, can be found on the Commonwealth Office for the Arts website.

Inquiries and claims

Museums Victoria is committed to evaluating and considering all ethical and legal risks for every item that it acquires, proposes for deaccession, lends for research or borrows or lends for temporary public exhibition. We lend or borrow items in accordance with the Museums Victoria Collection Care and Use Policy and will only lend or borrow items where due diligence provenance investigation has established that we have the legal and ethical right to lend the item or the lender has the legal and ethical right to lend it to us.

As part of this commitment, the Museum invites people to contact us if they have an inquiry or claim in relation to custodianship or ownership, restitution, return, incorrect provenance or authenticity of an item that the Museum is proposing to borrow or already has on loan from overseas under the Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Scheme.

Information about these items is published on the Museums Victoria website. This information is published a minimum of four weeks prior to the importation of the items into Australia and is removed once the items leave Australia. Current information can be found at the bottom of this page.

Please contact Museums Victoria about items listed on this page if:

you wish to make a claim (such as an ownership claim) over any of these items;
you have any questions about any of these items or
you want further information about any of these items’ ownership or provenance.

When Museums Victoria receives an ownership claim against an item we are proposing to borrow or have on loan from overseas under the Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Scheme, we will notify the Minister for the Arts as required by the Act. Museums Victoria may also notify the lender that a claim has been received.

What information do I need to provide if I am making an inquiry or claim?

To make an inquiry or claim, or to request additional information about an item Museums Victoria is proposing to borrow or already has on loan from overseas, you will need to provide us with the following information in writing:

your name, address and contact details;
if you are making an inquiry or legal title claim on behalf of someone else, that person’s name, contact details and their relationship to you;
a short summary of the inquiry or claim to the item;
copies of any documents or other evidence that may be relevant to the inquiry or legal title claim and
a statement confirming that you are aware that Museums Victoria may inform the lender of the request and supply them with information on the inquiry or legal title claim.

Who do I contact at Museums Victoria if I want to make an inquiry or claim?

If you want to make an inquiry or claim in relation to an item that Museums Victoria intends to borrow, or already has on loan from overseas, please write to us:

Via email at [email protected]
Contact us online
By post:
Protection of Cultural Objects On Loan
Museums Victoria
GPO Box 666
Melbourne Victoria 3001

Inquiries or claims about other items

Please note that the information on this page relates to inquiries and claims concerning the ownership or provenance of items borrowed from overseas for temporary public exhibition under the Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Scheme. For inquiries about all other items, including those in the State collections or on loan from Australian lenders, please refer to Collection Access Requests.

How will Museums Victoria consider my inquiry or claim?

Museums Victoria will consider each inquiry and claim we receive in accordance with the due diligence and provenance standards set out in the Museums Victoria Collection Care and Use Policy and associated Collection Provenance and Legal Title Inquires and Claims Procedure.

In determining whether a claim is justified, Museums Victoria will consider:

the documentation and evidence you provide;
if you are known to Museums Victoria and whether you have already made the same or a similar claim in another country, and
in the case of Australian cultural material (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander material), a close examination of the work’s known provenance and history, including how the work left the custody of any relevant individual or community and the circumstances in which it was exported from Australia.

Museums Victoria will endeavour to resolve any concerns in a consistent, sensitive, transparent and timely manner. Where a dispute cannot be resolved directly, or through loan agreements, the Museum’s Collection Provenance and Legal Title Inquiries and Claims Procedure will be followed.

How long will it take for Museums Victoria to respond to my inquiry or claim?

Museums Victoria will respond to you within 28 days of receiving your inquiry or claim. To assist with a prompt response, please make sure you provide all the details outlined above, as Museums Victoria will need it to assess your claim and to accurately identify any information you have requested.

What response should I expect to get back from Museum Victoria?

Museums Victoria will provide you with information resulting from the provenance and due diligence procedures we followed in our original assessment.

Museums Victoria will also allow the lender an opportunity to respond to an inquiry or claim made in relation to an item and will provide you with an outline of the lender’s response to your claim or inquiry.

We will also direct you to any additional information about an item available either on our own website, or elsewhere.

Please note that as allowed by the Act, Museums Victoria retains the right not to disclose any of the above if we determine that it is not appropriate to do so.

What will happen if Museums Victoria determines that a claim I make is justified?

If Museums Victoria determines that you have a legitimate claim in relation to an item before it is imported into Australia, Museums Victoria will assess whether it is appropriate to continue with the loan.

Once an item has been imported into Australia on loan from overseas, your ability to take legal action in relation to that work in Australia is limited by the provisions of the Act. Museums Victoria is required to return the item to the overseas lender.

Exhibitions

Galloway Hoard 981.0KB .pdf file

Privacy Collection Notice

When you make an inquiry or claim, Museums Victoria will collect the following personal information: your name, address, email address and phone number and details of your inquiry or claim. If you do not provide this information, we may not be in a position to respond to your inquiry or claim. Museums Victoria will store the personal information securely and will not share this information with any other party, except as required or authorised by law. The Australian Government’s Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Act 2013 (the Act) requires that we report your claim to the Minister for the Arts, and it will be treated confidentially. Museums Victoria may report your inquiry or claim to the lender. Museums Victoria will obtain your consent to share your personal information with the lender.

You are entitled to gain access to the personal information which Museums Victoria holds about you by contacting Museums Victoria on [email protected].

For further details about how we collect, hold and use personal information including how to access and correct your personal information, please refer to our Privacy Policy, available at https://museumsvictoria.com.au/legals/#privacy