Creative Women’s Association · Southern Cross Registry

Provenance Rights.

What is provenance?

Provenance is the verified record of where something came from, who made it, from what material, using what technique, and on what land. It is the difference between a garment and a story. Between a product and a place.

The concept has governed value in fine art, wine, and precious metals for centuries. A Burgundy wine commands its premium because its origin is institutionally verified. A Harris Tweed cloth carries its mark because an independent authority — the Harris Tweed Authority, established by Act of Parliament in 1993 — certifies every metre at point of production. An 18-carat gold hallmark traces to the British assay office system established in 1300.

In each case, provenance is not self-declared. It is independently verified, institutionally recorded, and legally protected. That is the system CWA is building for Australian cultural production.

Why it matters now

Australian makers have produced cultural goods — woven cloth, forged metalwork, hand-thrown ceramics, lace, leather, basketry — for generations. No independent system has existed to verify, record, or protect those claims.

From mid-2028, the European Union’s Digital Product Passport regulation requires independently verified supply chain data on every textile entering European markets. The AU-EU Free Trade Agreement, concluded March 2026, commits Australia to an equivalent Geographical Indication framework for craft and industrial goods.

The Southern Cross Registry is Australia’s response. Provenance Rights are the legal and commercial framework that makes the Registry work for makers.

Get Your UPI → Register Now →

About

The Southern Cross Registry.

Australian cultural producers — weavers, farmers, processors, designers, lace makers, and craft practitioners — can register their work and production chain with the Southern Cross Registry, operated by the Creative Women’s Association.

Registration issues a Unique Provenance Identifier — your permanent registration number — and a Registered Provenance Credential for each work, lot, or skill you register, forming Australia’s verified provenance record for Geographical Indication applications, EU Digital Product Passport compliance, and commercial attribution.

Provenance is not a label. It is a chain. Every link in that chain — from fibre farmer to finished product — is recorded, verified, and permanently held in the Southern Cross Registry.

The seven-link provenance chain

The CWA provenance chain runs from primary fibre production through to the finished cultural good. Each producer in the chain registers their link — their specific contribution, location, and material. When a buyer scans a QR code on a certified product, they access the verified record of every link in the chain that produced it.

The Seven-Link Provenance Chain · Southern Cross Registry · CWA

The Registry

What can be registered?

The Southern Cross Registry is open to Australian producers across the full cultural and craft production chain. Your producer type determines your Link number in the provenance chain — the system assigns it when you register.

Registration is open to any Australian cultural producer holding a current ABN where at least one significant production step occurs in Australia. The Registry covers primary production, textile manufacture, heritage craft, and cultural and intangible skills — the full span of Australian cultural making.

What can be registered — Southern Cross Registry

Requirements

Eligibility.

To register with the Southern Cross Registry you must meet the criteria set out in the Southern Cross Code of Practice. These align with the eligibility framework of EU Regulation 2023/2411 — the Geographical Indication framework for craft and industrial products that entered into force 1 December 2025 — and with the AU-EU Free Trade Agreement’s equivalent requirements for Australian producers.

Your registration declaration is a formal statement. Accuracy is your obligation and your protection. Where third-party certification exists — AWTA wool test, Responsible Wool Standard, organic certification, RSPCA Approved — the Registry references the certifying authority’s record. It does not duplicate their work.

The case for registration

Why register.

Registering with the Southern Cross Registry gives you a permanent, verified, publicly accessible record of your work as an Australian cultural producer. That record is the foundation of every commercial and legal protection the Southern Cross System provides.

Harris Tweed employment grew 570% between 2009 and 2014 following the introduction of independent provenance certification. The EU’s GI framework commands an average 2× market price premium for certified goods. Every maker who registers now is building the evidentiary record that both the Australian GI framework and the EU DPP requirement will require.

The Provenance Rights Brand Licence returns royalties along the chain when a brand uses your provenance story commercially. Without a UPI and active RPC, that mechanism has nothing to reference. Registration is the foundation.

Southern Cross Registry

Register for your Unique Provenance Identifier.

Complete the Provenance Registration form to register with the Southern Cross Registry and receive your Unique Provenance Identifier. Registration is the foundation of everything the Southern Cross System gives you — your permanent maker number, your Registered Provenance Credentials, your Southern Cross Seal, and your access to the Southern Cross Marketplace and Open Commissions.

Your UPI — issued in SCR-XXXXX format — is permanent. It is issued once and held for life, regardless of membership status. It is your verified identity within Australia’s national provenance record.

Registration is included in your CWA Practitioner Membership. The first six months are free. Read the full guide before registering, or go straight to the form.

What registration issues

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Unique Provenance Identifier (UPI) — permanent maker number in SCR-XXXXX format

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Registered Provenance Credential (RPC) — per work or lot, with QR code linking to your public Registry entry

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Southern Cross Seal — display on your work, labelling, and marketing materials

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Marketplace access — verified storefront in the Southern Cross Marketplace

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EU DPP readiness — your provenance chain is building from day one

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Provenance royalty eligibility — your record is the foundation of the Provenance Rights Licence mechanism

Step-by-step application guide

For the full six-step registration walkthrough — what to prepare, what is assessed, and your ongoing obligations as a registered producer.

Read the step-by-step guide →

For brands and designers

Provenance Rights Licence.

When a brand uses a maker’s story — in marketing, labelling, product narrative, or commercial storytelling — the Provenance Rights Licence formalises that use and returns value to the makers whose work makes the story possible.

The mechanism is modelled on performing rights — the system that ensures musicians are paid when their work is used commercially, regardless of who performs it or where. In the same way, when a brand uses the story of Australian wool grown on a named station, spun by a named mill, woven by a named weaver, those producers are entitled to a share of the commercial value that story generates.

Royalties flow back along the registered provenance chain in proportion to each maker’s contribution. The chain must be registered in the Southern Cross Registry for the licence to function. This is why registration matters not only to makers, but to every brand that trades on Australian provenance.

Four-tier licence fee structure

Independent maker

$500 – $2,000

Small to mid-size brand

$5,000 – $20,000

National brand

$15,000 – $50,000

Major international brand

$50,000 – $200,000+

Royalty distribution

Weaver / producer royalty

50%

CWA platform margin

40%

Chain reserve

10%

Southern Cross Registry

Your provenance record begins the day you register.

Australia has 30 months before the EU Digital Product Passport deadline. Every maker who registers now is building the verified record that will matter — for GI protection, for EU market access, for commercial attribution, and for the long-term value of Australian cultural production.

Get Your UPI Register Now → Download the Guide ↗

Creative Women’s Association · Southern Cross Registry · ABN 54 693 315 043