Below you can find links to official websites in Australia
​dealing with copyright and intellectual property matters in Australia
​
This page covers the key organisations are: 
  • Department of Communications and the Arts - Introduced in 2016. Its policy responsibilities now include the arts portfolio including cultural affairs, copyright and classification policy. It is responsible for managing the Copyright Act 1968 and is the lead agency for whole-of-government issues on the management of IP.
  • IP Australia - dealing with intellectual property matters
  • the Australian Copyright Council
  • the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department (Commercial and Administrative Law Branch) - a very poor website for being able to find ANY information on copyright!
  • the Australian Library and Information Association​
Plus links to online responses from the Australian community and independent commentators

​The image at the top is the building housing the Department of Communications and the Arts in Canberra.

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Copyright Law in Australia
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No particular level of literary or artistic merit is required for copyright to subsist in a work. However single words, slogans or titles are not sufficiently substantial to be protected as works. They may be protected by other legal means, such as a trademark or under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth).
The Laws
Until 2004, copyright in Australia was based on the "plus 50" law which restricts works until 50 years after the author's death. In 2004 this was changed to a "plus 70" law in line with the USA and European Union, but this change was not made retroactive. The consequence is that the work of an author who died before 1955 is normally in the public domain in Australia.
Copyright law in Australia - Wikipedia
REFERENCE Articles about Australian Copyright
  • Authentic Design Alliance - advocates for the use of genuine design product and helps members to encourage their clients to choose the genuine article.
The Arts Law Centre of Australia 
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This is is the national community legal centre for the arts in Australia. . Its roles is to help those needing assistance with the legal aspects of being an artist. Such help includes: 
  • legal services,
  • information and sample agreements
  • publishing,
  • advocating and
  • undertaking policy research.
The Artists in the Black Project provides services, resources and an advocacy role in relation to Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property.​
The Australia Law Reform Commission
The Australian Law Reform Commission is a federal agency that reviews Australia’s laws to ensure they provide improved access to justice for all Australians by making laws and related processes more equitable, modern, fair and efficient.

So far as copyright is concerned...

Copyright and intellectual property organisations in Australia

Department of Communications and the Arts
Address: 38 Sydney Ave, Forrest ACT 2603
​
The Department of Communications and the Arts manages the Copyright Act 1968 and works on copyright policy in Australia, and international copyright issues.
  • Copyright page

TNS Australia worked with this DCA to produce reports on copyright infringement​​
IP Australia
Postal address: PO Box 200, Woden ACT 2606

IP Australia is the Government organisation that administers intellectual property matters i.e. the patents, trade marks, designs and plant breeder's rights system
The Australian Copyright Council

This is a not-for-profit organisation which provides information, advice and training about copyright in Australia.
The Australian Library and Information Association ​
Museums Australia
Key points
• Copyright provides creators with an incentive to create new works and a legal framework for the control of their creations.
• Copyright protection is free and applies automatically when material is created.
• There is NO registration system for copyright in Australia.
• Copyright does not protect ideas, information, styles or techniques.
• Copyright does not protect names, titles or slogans. • There are no general exemptions from copyright law for non-profit organisations.
• There are some situations where copyright law allows people to use copyright material without permission for their own personal use, but these are narrow and specific.
• Australian copyright law applies to actions that take place in Australia, even if the material used was created or first published in another country
​An Introduction to Copyright in Australia ​ (2014)
​Australian Government Attorney-General's Department
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The Australian Government administers copyright.
Picture
Attorney-General's Department, Canberra (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Copyright collecting agencies
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Copyright protection is free and automatic in Australia. There is no registration system.
Some websites offer copyright protection or to "register" copyright for a fee. These websites have no authority to guarantee copyright protection.
Australian Government on copyright
Copyright collecting agencies in Australia make sure creators are rewarded for their creativity.
  • They are non-governmental groups which manage the rights of copyright owners.
  • They negotiate licences with individuals and Government
  • They receive payments, which they pass onto copyright owners.
These are copyright collecting agencies relevant to artists
  • Visual Artists Copyright Collecting Agency (Viscopy) - (NOTE: VERY SLOW WEBSITE!) responsible for licensing copyright in artistic works. It pays the artist or copyright owner a royalty for the reproduction. VISCOPY represents its artist members for the full range of rights, reproduction, publication and communication, thereby providing copyright users with authorised access to thousands of artistic works for commercial, non-commercial and educational purposes.
  • Copyright Agency Limited (CAL), representing authors, journalists, visual artists, surveyors, photographers and newspapers, magazine and book publishers.
Note: I'm not a lawyer and you should not rely on any assertions I make as legal advice. I'm just an ordinary artist and writer who is trying to make sense of copyright in relation to visual art - and what artists can do if their copyright is infringed and/or others act in such a way as to create orphan works from their copyright protected artwork. These pages organises links to what seem to me to be relevant websites. If you need the help of a lawyer you should engage a professional.