Productivity Commission study on the parallel importation of books
Copyright Society seminar: The Year in Review
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Who is part of the Government for copyright purposes?
Part VII of the Copyright Act contains special provisions relating to ownership and use of copyright material by governments. These provisions apply to departments of the Commonwealth,
States and Territories (the Northern Territory, ACT and Norfolk
Island). Agencies and statutory authorities may be part of the
Commonwealth, States or Territories if the relevant parliament intended
them to enjoy the privileges of the Crown as agents or emanations of
the Crown. Local governments and councils are NOT covered by Part VII.
There is more information about these provisions here.
An agency or statutory authority may need to get legal
advice about whether it is govered by Part VII.
Do not assume that you are covered by Part VII just because your email address and/or organisation's web address ends in ".gov".
If you get legal advice about your organisation's status, the questions you need to ask are:
- Is your organisation part of the Commonwealth (which includes Territories) or a State for the purposes of sections 176 to 178 (government ownership provisions) of the Copyright Act?
- Is your organisation part of the Commonwealth or a State for the purposes of section 183 (the government use provision) of the Copyright Act?
- In which circumstances is your organisation‘s use of copyright material "for the services of" the Comonwealth or a State under section 183?
These are difficult legal questions, and the answers need to take into account a number of court decisions, including: Townsville Hospitals Board v Townsville City Council and Re Australian Broadcasting Commission.
The following people may be able to assist you:
| government | contact person | phone |
|---|---|---|
| Cth | Jennifer Perrin, Attorney-General’s Department | 02 6250 6758 |
| ACT | David Wardle, Director of Territory Records, Territory Records Office | 02 6207 0194 |
| NSW | Jennifer Mar Young, State Copyright Manager, Attorney-General’s Department | 02 9228 7735 |
| NT | Robert Bradshaw, Department of Justice | 08 8999 7014 |
| QLD | Andrew Rodger, Qld Government Chief Information Office | 07 3898 0336 |
| SA | Catherine Anderson, Crown Solicitor’s Office | 08 8207 1504 |
| TAS | Catherine Vickers, Senior Policy Officer, Department of Justice | 03 6233 3798 |
| VIC | Matthew Thornley, Copyright Manager, Department of Premier and Cabinet | 03 9651 5478 |
| WA | Irene Hislop, Department of Premier & Cabinet | 08 9222 8759 |
Organisations licensed by CAL
Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) administers aspects of the government use provisions. On its website, there is a list of Commonwealth government departments and agencies, and a list of State Government departments and agencies, that have government use agreements with CAL.