Gold Price for Jewellers in Australia

Making charges and pricing

Australian retail jewellery is usually priced as a finished item. Where a price is quoted to consumers in parts, the total must also be shown as a single figure that includes GST. Bespoke work and repairs are quoted per job. In the trade, gold is bought and sold per gram by carat. Refiners and scrap buyers typically pay a percentage of the value of the fine gold content.

Hallmarking and purity marks

Australia has no compulsory hallmarking and no government assay office. Purity marks such as 375 or 9ct, 585, 750 and 916 are applied by manufacturers and importers. Under the Australian Consumer Law, a false purity mark or description is a false or misleading representation.

Tax on sales and scrap

Jewellery carries 10% GST when sold by a GST-registered business. Gold of at least 99.5% fineness in investment form, such as bars, wafers and bullion coins, counts as precious metal. A refiner's first sale of it after refining can be GST-free, and other sales are input-taxed. Jewellery is not precious metal. Since 1 April 2017 a mandatory reverse charge has applied when one GST-registered business makes a taxable sale to another of goods containing gold, silver or platinum that are not precious metal, such as scrap or old jewellery. The buyer, not the seller, then accounts for the GST. It does not apply if the price is more than 10% above the value of the metal content.

No GST is involved when you buy old gold from a private individual who is not registered. Since 1 April 2017, goods containing gold, silver or platinum are generally not "second-hand goods", so no second-hand goods credit can be claimed on them. The exceptions are finished goods worth at least 10% more than their metal content and genuine collectables or antiques.

Customer checks and reporting

Since 1 July 2026, under the AML/CTF Amendment Act 2024 ("tranche 2"), dealers in precious metals, stones and products are regulated by AUSTRAC when they buy or sell for A$10,000 or more paid in physical currency, virtual assets or both. This includes transactions that appear to be linked, such as split payments, several payments under one invoice, or lay-by instalments. Payments made only by card or bank transfer do not count. Covered dealers must enrol with AUSTRAC and have an AML/CTF programme. They must also complete customer due diligence before providing the service, report cash transactions of A$10,000 or more (within 10 business days) and suspicious matters, and keep records.

Buying second-hand goods from the public is also regulated by state and territory second-hand dealer and pawnbroker laws. These typically require a licence or registration, the seller's ID, transaction records and, in some states, a holding period.