Buying silver in Queensland
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 Queensland 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 Queensland is how dealers are regulated and other local rules, explained below.
Selling silver or jewellery to a dealer in Queensland
- Licence: Second-hand dealers and pawnbrokers need a licence from the Office of Fair Trading and must display it at the place of business; they may trade only from licensed locations.
- Hold period: 7 days. Nominated goods (including jewellery, precious metals, natural diamonds and gemstones) must be kept for 7 working days after receipt. No separate rule for melting precious metals is stated. New scrap metal laws were before Parliament in 2026.
- What the dealer records: A transaction register (electronic or book) at each place of business, filled in immediately before or after each deal and given to police on request; entries cannot be altered or removed.
- What sellers need: Dealers must view ID such as a driver licence to verify name and address, and record whether the seller owns the goods and how they got them. No goods may be accepted from anyone who is, or appears to be, under 17 or affected by drugs or alcohol.
- The law: Second-hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 2003 (Qld)
Fossicking for gold in Queensland
You need a licence or permit to fossick in Queensland.
Where: Government-designated fossicking areas where landholder permission is not needed: Central Queensland Gemfields, Central Gold District, South-eastern Queensland, Northern Queensland and the Western Opal Fields. Fossicking is not allowed in national parks or state forests.
Rules: Licence (individual, family, club, education or tour operator; 1 month or 12 months) bought online via MyMinesOnline. Hand tools only, including pans, sieves, sluices and metal detectors; no machinery, powered equipment or explosives. Do not dig deeper than 2 m on land or 0.5 m in a watercourse; refill holes. No licence is needed to use a metal detector to look for treasure or lost items, or at paid tourist mines.
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 Queensland: history
Queensland's first gold rush was at Canoona, near Rockhampton, in 1858. The 1867 find at Gympie helped pull the colony out of the 1866 depression. Gold was found at Charters Towers in 1872, and in 1873 James Mulligan's alluvial find on the Palmer River drew more than 20,000 people. Mount Morgan, discovered in 1882, was worked until the late 20th century. Queensland has Australia's two biggest silver producers: South32's Cannington mine, the largest silver mine in Australia (about 13.7 million oz in 2021), and Glencore's Mount Isa zinc-lead operation (about 4.7 million oz).
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.