We are building a new website. Try it now and give us your feedback. Explore the beta site.
The law
- Copyright Act 1968 (Commonwealth) - The current version of the Copyright Act includes all changes made by amending legislation, such as the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000, the Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000, the relevant parts of the US Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act 2004, the Copyright Amendment Act 2006 and the Copyright Amendment (Disability Access and Other Measures) Act 2017.
- For an overview of the Copyright Act see A short guide to copyright issued by the Australian Government.
Exceptions that allow copying without permission
The Australian Copyright Council has an excellent website that provides a range of information sheets.
Collecting societies and other ways to find copyright owners
- Copyright Agency Limited (CA) - pay for a licence to copy books, articles, essays and artwork.
- Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) - pay for a licence to copy, perform or broadcast music.
- Screenrights - educational institutions and government agencies can pay for a licence to copy or broadcast certain film, television and radio productions.
- Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) - pay for a licence to broadcast recorded music or perform it in public.
- Australian Publishers Association - find links to around 185 Australian publishers.
- Publishers Global - find publishers listed by country. It has links to publishers in around 55 countries, including links to around 420 Australian publishers.
- Firms Out of Business (FOB) - lists some of the international publishing firms, magazines, literary agencies and similar organisations that are no longer in existence.
- Writers Artists and Their Copyright Holders (WATCH) - a useful source for contact details of international writers.
- Australian Society of Authors - lists Australian authors with links to their individual web pages.
- Australian Cartoonists' Association - a list of full members, many with links to their contact details.
- Australian Copyright Council provides an information sheet, Government: Commonwealth, State & Territory, December 2015, on ways to contact government agencies to get permission to copy their material.
Organisations with expertise in copyright and intellectual property
- Arts Law Centre of Australia
- Australian Copyright Council
- Australian Digital Alliance (ADA)
- Australian Libraries Copyright Committee (ALCC)
- Centre for Media and Communications Law, University of Melbourne
- Creative Commons Australia
- Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications
- Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia
- IP Australia
- Resale Royalty Rights