Why didn’t I get a royalty when my work was sold at auction?

There are several steps to process a royalty payment once an artwork as been resold.

  • The Art Market Professional reporting the resale has 60 business days to do so.
  • Once the report has been reviewed by our research team, the royalty will be either approved or declined.
  • Any approved resales will then be invoiced for the royalty amount.
  • Artists or the successors are then notified quarterly.

We encourage all eligible artists and successors to register with us. Even if you haven’t been notified of a royalty payment yet, registering ensures we can contact you quickly when one becomes available.

Why you might not have received a royalty:

  • Given the royalty scheme only commenced on December 1, 2024, if your work sold prior to this, a royalty would not apply to that resale. The Act is not retrospective.
  • Art Market Professionals have 60 business days to report resales, so it’s possible we haven’t received a report for your works resale yet.

What to do now:

  • Check the sale date: Confirm the exact date the resale happened. If it was before December 1, 2024, the royalty doesn’t apply.
  • Check your work meets the criteria under the scheme:  Please see our step-by-step flowchart under the ‘Criteria’ section on our Homepage here
  • Register with RRA: We may already have a royalty payment for you but have been unable to find your contact details, or we may have a royalty in our next quarterly distribution. You can register at any time by completing our online form here: Resale Royalties Aotearoa – Registration Form
  • Contact RRA: Should you believe your work has been resold and meets the specified criteria, and you have not received notification of a royalty payment, kindly provide us with the relevant details via our contact form here: Resale Royalties Aotearoa – Contact Us. We will then conduct a further review.