Fake seller who claimed didgeridoos and boomerangs were hand-painted by Aboriginal people when they were actually made in Indonesia is fined $2.3MILLION
- Birubi Art Pty Ltd sold over 18,000 counterfeit Aboriginal-made products
- The ACCC sought penalties in the Federal Court being busted of the fraud
- The mass-produced items had labels such as 'Aboriginal Art' and 'genuine'
A wholesaler who pretended didgeridoos and boomerangs were hand-painted by Aboriginal people when they were made in Indonesia has been fined $2.3million.
Birubi Art Pty Ltd sold over 18,000 counterfeit products in Australia, which passed off as hand-crafted items by Indigenous artists from the country.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission sought penalties in the Federal Court after a breach of consumer law was found in October 2018.
The Indonesian-produced items had labels such as 'Aboriginal Art', 'genuine' and 'Australia'.
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A wholesaler who pretended didgeridoos and boomerangs were hand-painted by Aboriginal people when they were made in Indonesia has been fined $2.3million (pictured: Balinese factory mass-producing fake Australian-made products)
'I consider that penalties totalling $2.3 million are appropriate and just for Birubi's conduct,' Justice Melissa Perry ordered on Wednesday.
She noted at least 244 retail outlets stocked the fake products between 2010 and 2017.
The bust comes after workers at several Balinese factories were caught mass-producing misleading 'Aboriginal' products to be shipped to countries around the world, including Australia.
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60 Minutes exposed the dodgy operation in six factories suspected of creating the fake items, while undercover.
'We put sticker, made from Australia, made in Australia,' one worker told one of the covert crew members.
'Maybe your customer don't know, made in Bali.
'We also send to Sydney. Sydney, many, many containers to Sydney.'
Birubi Art Pty Ltd sold over 18,000 counterfeit products in Australia, which passed off as hand-crafted items by Indigenous artists from the country (pictured: counterfeit Australian-made product)
Judge Perry further ordered the ACCC was not to take steps against Birubi Art to enforce the monetary penalty or pay its legal costs without further leave of the court, to reflect the fact the wholesaler was in liquidation.
The ACCC launched legal action as a means to preserve the reputation of the Indigenous Australian art industry.
'The artwork, images and statements used by Birubi suggested a relationship between Australian Aboriginal people and the production of the products which did not exist,' ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.
'The ACCC is particularly concerned about any conduct that has the potential to undermine the integrity and value of genuine Indigenous Australian art, and consequently, the impact that could have on Indigenous Australian artists.'
The Indonesian-produced items had labels such as 'Aboriginal Art', 'genuine' and 'Australia' (pictured: worker at Balinese factory producing fake Indigenous art)
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