What purity counts as investment gold in Australia?

Australia's GST Act defines precious metal as gold in an investment form of at least 99.5% fineness, silver at least 99.9%, and platinum at least 99%, in a tradeable form carrying a mark guaranteeing its fineness.

Does a bar that qualifies in Australia also qualify in Singapore?

On fineness, yes. Singapore's Investment Precious Metals rules use the same thresholds — 99.5% gold, 99.9% silver, 99% platinum — and also require investment form with a recognised hallmark. Qualifying on fineness is a separate question from the tax outcome of any particular transaction.

Is investment-grade bullion defined the same way everywhere?

No. Indonesia's VAT exemption for gold bars is described at 99.99% purity, and Malaysia's 10% import duty keys off LBMA certification rather than a fineness percentage. The specification is set per jurisdiction.

Australia and Singapore use the same bullion thresholds

Both define investment-grade metal at 99.5% gold, 99.9% silver and 99% platinum. A bar that qualifies in one qualifies in the other — which is not true of every market an Australian buyer might look at.

Last checked 23 September 2026. Rules change — every figure below links to its primary source so you can confirm it yourself. How this site sources figures.

Gold: 99.5% in both
Silver: 99.9% in both
Platinum: 99% in both
Australia: GST Act 1999, s195-1 'precious metal'
Singapore: Investment Precious Metals (IRAS / Customs)
Both also require: Investment form, with a recognised hallmark

The thresholds are the same number

Australia’s GST law defines a precious metal as gold in an investment form of at least 99.5% fineness, silver at 99.9%, and platinum at 99% — the definition sits in the dictionary section of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 and is elaborated in ATO ruling GSTR 2003/10.

Singapore’s Investment Precious Metals rules use the same three figures, per Singapore Customs and the IRAS e-Tax Guide. Both also require the metal to be in a recognisable investment form — bar, wafer or coin — carrying a mark that guarantees its fineness.

That is not a coincidence so much as a convention: both are tracking what the international bullion market already treats as deliverable. The practical consequence is the useful part.

What that means if you are Australian

A bar that qualifies as investment-grade at home also clears Singapore’s threshold. You do not need to learn a second specification, and a dealer in either market is working to the same fineness test.

It is worth knowing because the assumption does not hold everywhere. Indonesia’s VAT exemption for gold bars is described at 99.99% — a materially higher bar that plenty of 99.5% gold would not clear. And Malaysia’s 10% duty keys off LBMA certification rather than fineness at all.

So “investment grade” is not one global standard. It is a specification set per jurisdiction, and three of the four markets on this site draw the line in three different places.

What this page does not tell you

Identical thresholds do not mean identical tax outcomes. The two systems reach their result by different routes, and the treatment of a sale, of a dealer’s margin, and of metal crossing a border are separate questions from whether the metal qualifies in the first place. Australia’s GST treatment of supplies along the chain has its own structure that this page does not attempt to summarise.

Nor does this cover what customs requires when metal physically moves — the Australian Border Force publishes its own guidance on importing precious metals, coins and currency, and you should read it rather than assume.

This page describes rules, not a recommendation — see our position on advice.