Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan
PCOL and immunity from suit and seizure
The Australian Government’s Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Scheme (PCOL Scheme) administers the Commonwealth Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Act 2013 (the Act). The Act was established to encourage international lenders to lend works for temporary public exhibition in Australia.
The Act limits the circumstances in which the lender, exhibiting institution, exhibition facilitator and people working for them can lose ownership, possession, custody or control of an object through legal proceedings or seizure while the object is in Australia. The PCOL Scheme protects all types of cultural objects on loan, including archaeological, artistic, ethnological, historical, literary, scientific and technological objects.
To be eligible for protection under the PCOL Scheme, the objects must be loaned by a lender ordinarily resident or incorporated in a country outside Australia or the government of another country, and the works must be imported into Australia for the primary purpose of temporary public display. The works will be protected from the date of import until they are exported from Australia. Further information about the Act and PCOL Scheme can be found on the Commonwealth Office for the Arts website.
PCOL and Powerhouse
Powerhouse is an approved borrowing institution under the Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Act and is responsible for upholding the integrity of the PCOL Scheme to ensure best practice procedures are followed on each borrowing occasion.
Before entering into a loan arrangement, Powerhouse will conduct due diligence investigations into the provenance of objects to be borrowed. We also undertake due diligence for works acquired into the Powerhouse Collection.
In compliance with the Act and to ensure transparency regarding protected loans, Powerhouse will publish information about all objects to be protected under the Act prior to their import and until they have been exported from the country. Information about currently protected loans is provided on this page.
Enquiries and Claims
Powerhouse welcomes enquiries regarding an object that will be, or has been, imported into Australia for temporary exhibition.