Coming on the back of a recent gallery closure and liquidation application by a Sydney art dealer allegedly owing money to 14 artists whose works had been sold by the gallery before its closure, the Australia Council announced today that it will be investigating whether or not art dealers should be forced to set up trust accounts to protect the income of artists whose works have been sold by their galleries. As a comparison to the local situation , the Australia Council points to the fact that 'at least 29 states in the United States have legislation enacted which protects the rights of artists’ work held on consignment for exhibition or sale.' Whilst the visual arts sector is known to contribute over $160 million each year to Australia’s Gross Domestic Product, artists and practitioners in the sub-sector are amongst the lowest paid professional workers in Australia, and those least able to forgo income in the case of commercial arts businesses going bust. Chair of the Australia Council, David Gonski AO states that there are two ways that he sees that artists income can be protected. 'One is legislative reform. The other is a voluntary code of practice accepted and self-regulated by a sub sector of the industry. For instance, galleries could identify themselves publicly as operating under a code of practice, which would include establishing a trust account for the proceeds of the sale of artists’ work. Both these options will be considered.' The National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) is currently undergoing a revision of its Code of Practice for the Australian Visual Arts and Craft Sector and Executive Director, Tamara Winikoff believes that any new requirements could be incorporated into its code. She states, 'The revision would require commercial galleries to establish trust accounts and adherence to this professional standard could then be regarded as a requirement of business operation for art dealers.' The Australia Council says that it 'intends to develop a set of solutions in consultation with key stakeholders’. With the proposed solutions being added to the recommendations of Rupert Myer’s 'Report of the Contemporary Visual Arts and Craft Inquiry', which was released in September.