About The Company

Indigenous Art Code Limited (IartC) was established to provide a governance and legal structure for the administration of the Indigenous Art Code. As a voluntary code of conduct, it was important that a structure be established for industry to manage the Code. The public company structure was chosen for several reasons:

  • The model allows for the industry to manage the Code, independent from government.
  • The liability of Members is able to be quantified up front (in this case $50) which provides protection to members.
  • IartC is governed by the Corporations Act 2001 which contains details on the obligations of Companies, Directors and Secretaries. This provides a clear legal framework for the Code’s administration.

IartC’s objectives, rules and processes are set out in the Constitution of Indigenous Art Code Limited.

To become a signatory to the Code, Dealers must be a Member of IartC.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of Indigenous Art Code Limited is the body with the authority to deal with complaints and issue sanctions under the Code. The Board will:

  • implement and oversee the application of the Code;
  • maintain an online register of Company Members;
  • investigate complaints that a signatory has breached the Code; and
  • issue sanctions for non-compliance by Code signatories.

The Board is supported by the Australian Government through the Office for the Arts (OFTA) which is part of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. OFTA provides secretariat services, administrative support and operational funding.

Board Structure

The structure of the Board allows for:

  • up to 4 commercial Dealers who are Code Members and are elected by Code Members;
  • up to 3 Indigenous Artists who are appointed by the Board;
  • up to 2 artists resource organisation representatives who are appointed by the Board; and
  • up to 4 non-arts representatives with legal and/or business and/or art consumer knowledge and experience who are appointed by the Board.

The structure of the Board has been developed in consultation with the Industry Alliance Group which was formed to provide guidance on the development of the Code and has been designed to achieve participation across the breadth of the Indigenous visual arts industry.

To ensure all major Code member groups are represented, the four elected Dealer positions include:

  • 1 Member who is also a member of the Australian Commercial Galleries Association (ACGA);
  • 1 Member who is also a member of the Australian Indigenous Art Trade Association (Art Trade);
  • 1 Member who represents an Indigenous Art Centre; and
  • 1 Member who is a non-affiliated dealer.

Terms for Board members will be staggered to ensure that the Board remains dynamic and that new and fresh ideas and perspectives are introduced regularly.

The current Board of Indigenous Art Code Limited

Elected Dealer Directors

Appointed Positions

Indigenous Artists

Artists Resource Organisations

Legal/Business Expertise

  • Ron Merkel
    Queens Counsel (Chair)
  • Richard England
    Professional non-executive director and Chartered Accountant
    (Deputy Chair)

Last updated: 22 June 2011, 2:18pm