Buying gold in New South Wales
Gold has one price in Australian dollars across Australia, and investment gold (gold of at least 99.5% fineness, in bars, wafers or bullion coins) carries no GST anywhere. What differs in New South Wales is how second-hand gold buyers are licensed and how long they must hold what they buy, and the rules for fossicking.
Gold has one national spot price in Australian dollars: the prices on this page are the same as on the gold price in Australia page. What differs in New South Wales is how dealers are regulated and other local rules, explained below.
Selling gold or jewellery to a dealer in New South Wales
- Licence: Pawnbrokers and second-hand dealers need a licence from NSW Fair Trading and must display their name, licence number and category at each place of business.
- Hold period: 14 days. Second-hand dealers must hold regulated goods for 14 days after receipt and not alter them in that time (exceptions include consigned goods, auction purchases and goods bought from another licensee who already held them). Pawned goods have a redemption period of at least 3 months.
- What the dealer records: Electronic records using approved software, kept for three years; acquisition records made by the end of the day and sent to NSW Police (Weblink) within 3 days; buyer's name and address recorded for sales of AUD 100 or more.
- What sellers need: Check ID before taking goods (e.g. Australian driver licence or passport, or foreign passport plus proof of address), record date of birth, and have the seller sign an ownership statement.
- The law: Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Act 1996 (NSW); Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Regulation (the 2021 Regulation lists jewellery with gemstones or precious metals, watches, gemstones and precious metals as prescribed goods; NSW Government says licensing rules are now in a 2026 Regulation).
Fossicking for gold in New South Wales
You do not need a licence to fossick in designated areas of New South Wales. The official guide does not describe a general fossicking licence; instead you need the consents for the land you are on. State forests need a 12-month Forestry Corporation permit (maximum court penalty AUD 2,200 without one). Fines for breaking the fossicking rules are AUD 750 for individuals, with a maximum court penalty of AUD 5,500. Publicly owned gold or gemstones found while lawfully fossicking belong to the finder, and no royalty is payable.
Where: Private land with the landholder's consent; Crown land where the Mining Act gives a right of entry (check status with Crown Lands); designated Fossicking Districts, where you do not need the exploration licence holder's consent (maps on NSW MinView); many state forests with a permit. Generally not in national parks. You need consent from the holder of any mining title, mineral claim or opal prospecting licence, and from the registered native title body on native title land or water.
Rules: Hand tools (hammers, shovels, picks), sieves, pans, shakers, non-powered river sluices and metal detectors (if there is no surface disturbance). No explosives, powered or mechanical equipment, highbankers with powered pumps, dredges, water pumps or powered trommels. Limits per person per 48 hours: 1 cubic metre of material disturbed; 10 kg of gold- or gem-bearing material; 5 kg of other minerals; 5 nuggets of 10 g or more plus 50 g of other gold; 100 g of gemstones. Refill holes to restore the soil profile and do not take bushrock.
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.
Gold in New South Wales: history
The Beyers-Holtermann Specimen, about 93 kg of gold in quartz, is described as the largest single piece of gold ever mined, though it was reef gold rather than a nugget. Newmont's Cadia Valley operation near Orange (the Cadia East underground mine) is the state's largest gold mine, producing about 597,000 oz in FY2023. Evolution Mining's Cowal mine near Lake Cowal in Bland Shire is the other major producer. ABC Refinery in Marrickville, Sydney, part of the Pallion group, calls itself Australia's largest independent precious metal refiner, assayer and mint. It has been on the LBMA Good Delivery List for gold since 2015 and for silver since 4 November 2021. The historic Sydney Mint, Australia's first branch of the Royal Mint, opened in 1855.
- 1851 · Hargraves finds payable gold: Edward Hargraves, back from California, found gold near Bathurst, New South Wales. By 15 May about 300 diggers had reached Ophir, and he was later awarded £10,000.
- 1855 · Sydney Mint opens: A branch of the Royal Mint opened in Sydney to turn colonial gold into sovereigns with 'Australia' in the design. Mints in Melbourne and Perth followed.
- 1885 · BHP and Broken Hill: The Broken Hill Mining Company, later BHP, was founded and began mining silver, zinc and lead at Broken Hill, New South Wales.
More: history of gold in Australia.
GST and tax on gold 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 gold 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.