Australian Makers_How to apply for UPI

Southern Cross Registry · Creative Women’s Association

How to apply for your Unique Provenance Identifier

Registration with the Southern Cross Registry establishes your verified, permanent provenance record as an Australian cultural producer. It issues two foundational credentials: a Unique Provenance Identifier (UPI) — your permanent maker number — and a Registered Provenance Credential (RPC) for each work, lot, or skill you register.

Registration is open to: Fibre farmers · Processors · Weavers · Millers · Ceramicists · Basket makers · Lace makers · Heritage craft practitioners · and all eight canonical categories of Australian cultural production. You must hold a current Australian Business Number (ABN). At least one significant production step must occur in Australia.

The provenance chain

Seven links. One verified record.

Your UPI and RPC sit at every link of the chain — from fibre producer to finished product. Any buyer, brand, customs authority, or trade officer can look up your UPI and retrieve your verified provenance record in real time.

Seven-link provenance chain — Southern Cross Registry

The registration process

Six steps to your UPI

1

Step 1

Prepare your registration declaration

Your registration declaration is a formal statement — accuracy is your obligation and your protection. Before applying, gather the following:

What you will need

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Your legal name, ABN, and business or trading name

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The name of your studio, property, or workshop

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The specific region, valley, district, or area where your work is produced — this is your geographic origin declaration and will appear publicly in the Registry

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A description of your production method: process, technique, equipment, and whether any steps occur outside Australia

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Your primary material or fibre — wool, silk, clay, cane, timber, or other — and grade or specification where relevant

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Any third-party certificates you hold: AWTA wool test, Responsible Wool Standard, organic certification, RSPCA Approved, or equivalent. The Registry references the certifying authority — it does not duplicate their work.

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Where your work forms part of a provenance chain: the UPI or business name of the upstream producer whose material you use

Note for fibre producers: If you are a wool grower, alpaca farmer, or other fibre producer, you will register each annual clip or fibre lot as a separate RPC. Your UPI is issued once at initial registration and applies to all future registrations.

2

Step 2

Submit your application

Applications are submitted online through the Southern Cross Registry registration form. The registration form has six sections:

①

Producer identity — legal name, ABN, trading name, contact details

②

Geographic origin — the specific region or area where your work is produced

③

Production method — process, technique, equipment, steps inside and outside Australia

④

Material or fibre content — primary material, grade, third-party certificates

⑤

Chain of custody — upstream producer UPI or business name where applicable

⑥

Declaration — formal confirmation that all information is accurate and agreement to the Rules Governing Use of the Southern Cross Registry

Begin registration →

3

Step 3

Include required documents

Your application must include:

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Your completed registration declaration (submitted via the online form)

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Supporting documentation where you make specific practice claims — animal welfare certification, environmental certification, heritage skills documentation, workshop photographs, or guild membership records

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Third-party certificates where held — uploaded directly in the form

The Registry conducts a documentation assessment, not a physical audit. Your declaration is the formal record. Where you hold third-party certification, the Registry references the certifying authority’s record.

4

Step 4

Assessment and registration

The Southern Cross Registry reviews your application in two stages. First, your declaration is reviewed against the Southern Cross Code of Practice — the Registry may request supporting documentation or clarification. Where your application is complete and consistent with the Code of Practice, registration proceeds.

On completion, the Registry issues:

Your UPI

Unique Provenance Identifier

Format: SCR-XXXXX. Issued once. Held for life. Your permanent maker number in the Southern Cross Registry.

Your RPC

Registered Provenance Credential

Issued per work or lot. A QR code linking to your public Registry entry is generated automatically.

What Registration Issues — Southern Cross Registry

5

Step 5 — After registration

Display the Registered & Protected Provenance Seal

Once your registration is confirmed, you are entitled to display the Registered & Protected Provenance Seal on your work, your product labelling, and your marketing materials. The seal signals to buyers, brands, and trade authorities that your provenance has been declared, assessed, and is on verified public record with the Southern Cross Registry.

Registered & Protected Provenance Seal — Southern Cross Registry

The seal may only be displayed by producers who hold a current UPI and at least one active RPC in the Southern Cross Registry.

6

Step 6 — Ongoing

Ongoing obligations and compliance

Any producer who holds a current UPI and active RPC may display the Registered & Protected Provenance Seal and make verified provenance claims. Producers must ensure their Registry record remains accurate and up to date.

Ongoing Obligations — Southern Cross Registry

Types of monitoring

Before market: The Registry may request verification that a registered work is consistent with the producer’s declaration prior to display of the seal.

After market: The Registry monitors the use of the seal and provenance claims online and at market. Where a claim exceeds the Registry record, action will be taken.

Producers’ obligations

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Self-declare before any new work or lot is placed on the market under a new RPC

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Renewal declaration every 3 years thereafter

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Non-compliance — false declaration, use of seal without registration, or claims exceeding the Registry record — may result in suspension or removal

Ready to register?

Your UPI is waiting. Your provenance chain begins today.

Visit the Get Your UPI page for the full guide — what a UPI gives you, why the international deadline matters, and how the Southern Cross System works for your practice.

Or go straight to the registration form — it takes less than 20 minutes.

CWA Practitioner Membership · Southern Cross Registry · ABN 54 693 315 043

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