Copyright Agency is deeply saddened by the tragic events in Bondi. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and loved ones, and with all those who have been injured or traumatised. We offer our heartfelt condolences and stand in solidarity with the Jewish community during this painful time. We also acknowledge the courage of […]
Read MoreCopyright Agency’s Annual General Meeting was held on Wednesday 26 November 2025. At the board meeting following the AGM, four directors were re-appointed to the board. As part of our constituted board structure, Copyright Agency has two representatives each from the Australian Publishers Association (APA) and the Australian Society of Authors (ASA). Sophie Cunningham AM will continue to represent the ASA, and Cath Godfrey will continue to represent the […]
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Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund Celebrates the 2025 Miles Franklin Finalists at Gleebooks The future of Australian literature took centre stage at Gleebooks in Sydney as three of the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award Shortlist authors — Winnie Dunn, Julie Janson and Siang Lu — gathered for a powerful and witty conversation hosted by Sunil Badami. […]
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Copyright Agency is deeply saddened by the passing of Michael Webster, publisher, academic, long-serving Board member, and Copyright Agency Chair from 1999-2002. Michael’s distinguished career in Australian publishing spanned many decades and various institutions. He served as Chair of the Small Press Network and Melbourne Writers Festival, and on the boards of the Australian Publishers […]
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Copyright Agency Chair, Dr Kate Harrison, is pleased to welcome Terri Janke as an Independent Director to the Board. Terri replaces Jason Eades, who recently stepped down after six years as a director. Terri brings a wealth of experience to the Copyright Agency Board. A Wuthathi, Yadhaigana and Meriam woman and an international authority on […]
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This year, three directly-elected positions on the Copyright Agency’s Board come up for election, that of Author Director, Artist Director and Publisher Director. Incumbent artist director Dr Oliver Watts and author director Matthew Ricketson (pictured above) have indicated they will nominate again for their respective positions. Author, artist, and publisher members can nominate for their corresponding director positions […]
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Kirsty Murray has stepped down from the Board after serving for four years as a Director. Kirsty was nominated by the Australian Society of Authors and appointed to the Board in 2020. During her time with Copyright Agency Kirsty has shared significant insight into the experiences of our author members and been a strong advocate […]
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Copyright Agency is delighted that the Government’s extension of the artists’ Resale Royalty Scheme will provide opportunities for Australian artists to receive royalties from resales of their artworks in other countries. The reciprocity launch on 31 March 2024 comes amid growing popularity of Aboriginal art worldwide, particularly in Europe, and we’re excited to see […]
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Each year the world comes together for International Women’s Day (IWD) to celebrate women’s achievements and reinforce a commitment to women’s equality. The theme for International Women’s Day 2024 is Inspire Inclusion and Copyright Agency marked the occasion by sitting down with our CEO Jo Johnston, to learn about her experiences, Copyright Agency’s dedication to improving […]
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We are thrilled to see that former Copyright Agency Chair Kim Williams has been announced as ABC Chair. Kim was nominated by an independent panel to hold the position for the next five years. Read the ABC’s announcement here. Kim stepped down from Copyright Agency Board in 2021, after chairing the organisation for six years […]
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The report by the Annual Code Reviewer on collecting societies’ compliance with the Code of Conduct in 2022-23 is now available here. The objectives of the Code are to facilitate efficient and fair outcomes for members and licensees by: promoting awareness of and access to information about copyright or the resale royalty right or both […]
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Last month, The Walkley Foundation hosted the 68th Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism at the International Convention Centre in Sydney. Dubbed ‘The Walkleys’, the ceremony recognises and rewards the best in the journalism craft. Finalists are selected by eminent journalists and photographers and overall winners judged by the Walkley Judging Board. Find out more […]
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Jason Eades has stepped down from the Board, after serving for six years as a Director. Jason has made a very significant contribution to the Board and to our members and we acknowledge the wealth of knowledge and expertise he brought to the Board, from his long experience in leadership roles in the not-for-profit, […]
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We are saddened to hear of the passing of Dr Dale Spender AM, pioneering feminist, activist, educator, author and founding member of Copyright Agency. Spender also served on the Copyright Agency’s Board for nine years and was the first female Chair since the organisation formed in 1974. She was also the founding editor of the […]
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Copyright Agency recently made some changes to our Statutory Education Licence rate card for private education providers. The changes take effect from 1 January 2024, and you can read more about them here. The feedback from the sector relating to the changes has been overwhelmingly positive. We sat down last week with Cyril Gabriel – […]
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Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund supports the 18th Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Inner Sanctum, which runs from 1 March to 2 June 2024. The Art Gallery of South Australia exhibition is a career-defining moment for contemporary Australian artists. Curated by José Da Silva, Inner Sanctum represents the human condition showcasing contemporary Australia in a reflective […]
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The festive season is drawing closer, and Christmas shopping – whether you love it or loathe it – is fast ascending to the top of your to-do list. You’re likely to be left spoilt for choice or at your wits’ end when it comes to present ideas but, luckily for you, we’ve pulled together a […]
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Australia’s oldest continuously running art centre, Ernabella Arts in Pukatja Community South Australia, has teamed up with one of the country’s most iconic homewares brands, Kip&Co, to design a homewares and clothing collection. The collaboration saw the Copyright Agency negotiate on behalf of the Ernabella artists to protect their moral rights and Indigenous Cultural Intellectual […]
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Copyright Agency has completed an extensive and thorough review of the rates charged to the independent education sector and we are pleased to unveil our new Statutory Education Licence rate card, designed in consultation with industry. The review included consideration of customer feedback, analysis of comparable market offerings and assessment of the current sector and […]
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Copyright Agency is saddened to hear of the passing of John Olsen AO OBE. Known for his distinctive painting style and depictions of landscapes, Olsen was one of Australia’s most acclaimed artists. During a career that spanned more than sixty years he won numerous awards, including the Wynne Prize in 1969 and 1985, the Sulman […]
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Copyright Agency’s CEO Josephine Johnston is delighted to announce the appointment of two new executives to the leadership team: Anne Milne (Director Corporate Services) and Arthur Baker (Director of Strategy and Innovation). Anne comes to Copyright Agency from South Eastern Sydney Local Health where she worked as Director, Corporate and Legal Services. Before that, she […]
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Copyright Agency Chair Dr Kate Harrison today welcomes Sophie Cunningham to the Board. The appointment was announced at the Annual General Meeting on Monday, 21 November 2022. Ms Cunningham was nominated by the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) and joins the board as one of two ASA nominee directors. She takes the place of outgoing author […]
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The Copyright Agency today announced the appointment of Matthew Ricketson to its Board, filling the casual vacancy for the Author Member. Dr Ricketson has worked as a journalist with the Age, the Australian, the Sunday Herald and other press publications. He has taught journalism at RMIT, was a Professor of Journalism at the University of […]
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The Copyright Tribunal (‘the Tribunal’) has released its decision in the long running matter involving the rate that media monitoring companies, Isentia and Meltwater, should pay to use news publishers’ print and digital content in their monitoring services. The media monitoring organisations’ (MMOs) case began in 2017 following the development of a new licensing model […]
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Universities Australia have applied for judicial review of the decision of the Copyright Tribunal on the rate payable by the 39 universities for use of copyright material.
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In 1974 Frank was one of a small band of determined volunteers campaigning for respect and financial recognition for Australian creators. His legacy lives on today ensuring that creators are fairly remunerated for their work in a digital environment that provides millions of students with access to high quality educational material. Frank generously gave permission […]
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I am pleased to inform you that today we’ve received a gratifying result in our action against Universities Australia (UA) in the Copyright Tribunal. The Tribunal has set the 2019 fee at $35.1M, to be applied as a per student fee, with indexation to apply for the years 2020 through to 2022. This is an excellent outcome for our members, recognising the contribution they make to the Education sector and fairly remunerating them for use of the materials they produce.
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Copyright Agency is a signatory to the Code of Conduct for Collecting Societies, and reports annually on its compliance with the Code (see here). Members and licensees are invited each year to make submissions to the Annual Code Reviewer (a former Federal Court judge) about Copyright Agency’s compliance with the Code (see here for the call for submissions for the review of compliance for 2020–21).
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The Board of Copyright Agency has made a call to author members to nominate as a director to fill a casual vacancy.
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Copyright Agency today announced the appointment of Josephine Johnston to the role of Chief Executive Officer, after a competitive search process which produced a field of impressive candidates. Dr Kate Harrison, Copyright Agency Chair said, “The Board is delighted that Jo has accepted the position of CEO and is confident that she will do an […]
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The following is an update on the recent cyber incident experienced by Copyright Agency. Our IT team has successfully restored a number of operations. This means that you may be hearing from our staff in in relation to the following activities:
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Dear Members, This is the last message I will send to you as CEO. As we announced a while ago, after six fantastic years representing you, it is time to move on to other challenges. What I have deeply enjoyed over this period is reading and seeing the output of an effective copyright system – […]
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Copyright Agency Chair, Dr Kate Harrison welcomes Leslie Loble to the Board. The appointment was announced at the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 24 November 2021 and is in addition to the reappointment of Jane Curry, Dr Oliver Watts and Adele Ferguson.
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On Friday, the Copyright Tribunal delivered its decision in relation to the rate that media monitoring companies, iSentia and Meltwater, should pay to use news publishers’ print and digital content in their monitoring services. The media monitoring organisations’ (MMOs) case began in 2017 following the development of a new licensing model by the Copyright Agency. […]
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On 10 August Copyright Agency (CA) filed an important opening Position Paper with the Copyright Tribunal in support of implementing a new digital way of collecting data about the use of members’ material to teach millions of Australian school students..
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Copyright Agency today announced that after six years as CEO, Adam Suckling has decided not to renew his contract for a further three-year term.
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Copyright Agency Board Director, Kate Harrison, has been appointed as the organisation’s Chair.
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Copyright Agency has made an application to the Copyright Tribunal of Australia, asking for assistance with designing new methodologies for collecting data from schools.
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Find out the latest on our cases before the Copyright Tribunal – an update from Adam Suckling, Copyright Agency CEO.
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More members added information about where their works have been published under the recent Royalty Claim campaign than ever before.
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We’ve released a new enhancement to members’ online accounts that makes it quick and easy to understand payments over time.
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With the ongoing uncertainty related to the pandemic, Copyright Agency recently agreed with school sector representatives to continue the survey pause until the end of 2021.
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Copyright Agency Chair Kim Williams has used today’s AGM to welcome Arthur Baker, Kirsty Murray and Richard Eccles to the Board.
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Copyright Agency would like to update members on the actions that have been proceeding in the Copyright Tribunal.
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The week starting 7 September 2020 was the first of a three-week hearing in Copyright Agency’s action against Universities Australia (UA).
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Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Copyright Agency has worked with the education sector to minimise disruptions and alleviate some of the pressure resulting from a radical transformation of teaching practices. The statutory education licence has been instrumental in the shift to online learning. Its broad and flexible coverage enabled educators to focus on the important […]
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The 2019/20 Financial Year drew to a close with almost $114 million distributed to publishers, writers, visual artists and surveyor members. “Our licences cover the use of a vast amount of copyright material by Australian school and university students, governments and businesses,” says Copyright Agency CEO Adam Suckling. “Our payment to members is for use […]
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Our largest annual payments to members – the Schools and Universities distributions – are coming up in June 2020, along with the TAFE distribution and payments to visual artists. We know that in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic many of you are anxiously awaiting these distributions. We’re working hard to maintain our schedule with […]
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Dear Members, I write to update you on a recent court decision in Canada; what we have being doing for you around COVID-19; our legal cases; payment for news content by big tech; and the Cultural Fund. Canadian judgement: writers, publishers and visual artists win, but still get smashed I think it is worth soberly […]
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The Copyright Agency has announced an additional $125,000 under its Emergency Action Funding, in addition to the recently announced $375,000 and bringing forward of allocated Cultural Fund grants to the first part of next financial year. Copyright Agency’s CEO Adam Suckling said, “Our earlier-announced Emergency Action Funding of $375,000 was overwhelmed with applications to support […]
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On 22 April 2020 the Copyright Tribunal handed down a decision on Isentia’s application for the Tribunal to reduce Isentia’s interim copyright fees to the same fees that Meltwater is paying. His Honour Justice Greenwood rejected Isentia’s application to have its interim copyright fees reduced. The main hearing into the fees that media monitoring companies […]
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Dear Licensees, As you know, the rapid spread of COVID-19 has led to WHO declaring it a global pandemic. I hope that you, your family and loved ones are doing as best as possible under the circumstances. I wanted to let you know that Copyright Agency has taken steps to reduce risk to customers, members […]
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Copyright Agency announces a full program of support for writers, visual artists and publishers in the face of the severe challenges they face as a result of COVID-19. Under this program, Copyright Agency will provide an additional $375,000 in grants to creators, as well as bring forward to the first quarter of next financial year […]
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Dear Members, We have understandably had enquiries about whether COVID-19 and the associated necessary public health measures, as well as their economic impact, will stop or delay our payments to members. I completely understand your concern, as many of you are particularly adversely affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19. I’d like to assure you […]
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Dear Members, As you know, the rapid spread of Covid-19 has led to WHO declaring it a global pandemic. I hope that you, your family and loved ones are doing as best as possible under the circumstances. I wanted to let you know that Copyright Agency is taking steps to reduce any risk to members […]
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Copyright Agency and the State of New South Wales have settled their long-running dispute over the rate that NSW should pay for the use of copyright material by its public servants. The parties have now settled the arrangements for the past liability back to July 2012 and the payments forward to June 2023. Both parties […]
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At the end of 2019, the Copyright Agency rolled out the first round of planned improvements to the Member Portal. These updates form part of our commitment to enhancing member services by: Providing a more intuitive experience in the Portal Making it easier to manage and update your account Streamlining the onboarding process for new […]
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Premiering on NITV in February 2020, the Art Gallery of NSW’s deadly gallery event Faboriginal will bring a new form of game show based on Aboriginal art into living rooms across the country. The Copyright Agency worked closely with the gallery and production company Noble Savage Pictures to license 59 artworks for the program. They […]
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