Buying silver in Australian Capital Territory
Silver has one price in Australian dollars across Australia, and investment silver (silver of at least 99.9% fineness, in bars, wafers or bullion coins) carries no GST anywhere. What differs in the Australian Capital Territory is how second-hand silver buyers are licensed and how long they must hold what they buy, and the rules for fossicking.
Silver has one national spot price in Australian dollars: the prices on this page are the same as on the silver price in Australia page. What differs in Australian Capital Territory is how dealers are regulated and other local rules, explained below.
Selling silver or jewellery to a dealer in the Australian Capital Territory
- Licence: Anyone who deals in, buys or sells second-hand goods for profit (including as an agent or by auction), or lends money on pawned goods, needs a trader licence. Licences are issued by the Commissioner for Fair Trading through Access Canberra. Fees for 2026-27 are AUD 206 for one year, AUD 942 for five years, or AUD 93 for a second-hand dealer licence covering 10 days in a year. Applicants supply ID and a name-only police check. Trading without a licence carries a maximum of 50 penalty units. The licence only covers the premises named in it.
- Hold period: 5 days. A licensed second-hand dealer must keep goods it buys or receives unsold and in the condition received for 5 working days (Second-hand Dealers Act 1906, s 8). The regulations may set a shorter period or exempt dealers, but no such exemption appears in the current regulation. Pawnbrokers work differently: a pledge can be redeemed for at least 3 months and cannot be sold before the redemption period ends (Pawnbrokers Act 1902, ss 13-14). Forfeited pledges on loans over AUD 500 must be sold at public auction after notice.
- What the dealer records: For each purchase a dealer records the date and time, a description of the goods (including brand, serial number and any hallmark, inscription or engraving), the seller's verified name, home address, phone number and date of birth, ID details, the price paid and a stock number. Sales of goods worth more than AUD 50 are also recorded with the buyer's name and address. Records must be kept so they can be found by date and by type of goods, and shown to police on request. The regulation does not state a retention period. Pawnbrokers record the item, loan amount, interest rate, date and the pledgor's name and address, and give a signed copy as the pawn ticket.
- What sellers need: The seller's name counts as verified only if they show one current photo ID (such as an Australian driver licence, passport, proof of identity card or student card) or at least three non-photo documents in the same name, one showing the home address (such as a birth certificate, electoral roll extract, bank card or utility bill). Dealers must not buy from anyone they believe is under 14. Pawnbrokers must not deal with anyone they believe is under 14 or drunk.
- The law: Traders (Licensing) Act 2016 (licensing) and Traders (Licensing) Regulation 2017. Day-to-day rules sit in the 'operational Acts': the Second-hand Dealers Act 1906 with the Second-hand Dealers Regulation 2002, and the Pawnbrokers Act 1902.
Fossicking for gold in the Australian Capital Territory
Where: Nowhere. The ACT Government says you cannot get a licence to fossick in the ACT, mainly because the territory is ringed by nature reserves protected under the Nature Conservation Act 2014.
Rules: No fossicking licence is issued in the ACT, so there is no legal fossicking scheme or designated fossicking area.
Check the state's current rules and any land-access permission before you go: national parks and many reserves are closed to fossicking. Compare states: gold fossicking rules across Australia.
Silver in the Australian Capital Territory: history
The ACT's dealer laws are older than the territory. The Second-hand Dealers Act 1906 began as a New South Wales law, stayed in force when the territory was created and became an ACT law on self-government day, 11 May 1989. Licensing moved to the Traders (Licensing) Act 2016 on 22 August 2017. The Royal Australian Mint opened in Canberra in 1965, ahead of decimal currency in 1966. The Royal Australian Mint in Canberra is Australia's national mint and the only maker of the country's circulating coins. It opened on Monday 22 February 1965 to produce the new decimal coins introduced in 1966. It also makes collector and investment coins, medals and coins for other countries, and holds the National Coin Collection. It does not buy, refine or value gold or silver, and it does not buy back coins. Entry to its visitor gallery is free.
More: history of gold in Australia.
GST and tax on silver in Australia
For GST, 'precious metal' means gold of at least 99.5% fineness, silver of at least 99.9% or platinum of at least 99%, in investment form (bars, wafers or bullion coins with a recognised fineness mark, traded at prices linked to spot). Other supplies of precious metal are input taxed (s 40-100), so no GST is charged on resale of investment bullion. Jewellery, numismatic and proof coins, and unmarked granules are not 'precious metal' in investment form, so normal GST rules apply.
Collectables such as jewellery and coins or medallions are subject to CGT unless bought for AUD 500 or less; capital losses on collectables can only be offset against capital gains on collectables. Individuals who hold an asset for at least 12 months can generally reduce the capital gain by 50%.
AUSTRAC rules for silver dealers
From 1 July 2026, dealers who buy or sell precious metals, stones or products for AUD 10,000 or more in physical currency or virtual assets (including linked transactions that add up to AUD 10,000) are regulated under the AML/CTF Act reforms. Dealers that will accept or pay AUD 10,000 or more in cash or virtual assets had to enrol with AUSTRAC by 1 July 2026 and need an AML/CTF programme; a streamlined customer due diligence process is available for low or medium risk individuals paying cash. Dealers can stay outside regulation by not accepting cash or virtual assets at all, or by accepting them only below AUD 10,000 per transaction and watching for linked transactions.
Tax and duty information last reviewed October 2026. Rules change — confirm with your dealer or tax authority before a large purchase.