Copyright surveys

​Purpose

To assist schools to meet their obligations during copyright surveys.

The Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) provides for statutory licences that allow for limited copying by or on behalf of educational institutions for educational purposes. As well as these statutory licences, there are also voluntary licences that afford educational institutions additional rights to copy perform and record music for educational purposes. These education licences are negotiated at a national level through the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG). CAG reports to the Australian Education Senior Officials Committee (AESOC)​.

These licences are vital for the education of students in that the licences save teachers the enormous administrative burden of having to negotiate each individual use of an author's work. The licences facilitate the educational purposes of schools. The department pays an annual licence fee for each licence and such fees (and their distribution to copyright owners) are determined by reference to a sampling system carried out in schools on behalf of the collecting societies representing copyright owners.

As part of the agreed sampling methodology, schools are selected on a rotational basis to participate in the copyright survey. Participation in copyright use surveys is a compulsory requirement for schools using the statutory educational licences under the Copyright Act.

Selected schools are required to keep accurate records of copied works for the survey period—one term for the statutory copying of print materials survey and the statutory copying and communication of "off air" broadcasts survey, and 4 weeks for the statutory copying of electronic materials survey. Schools that have completed a survey in the last 8 years are excluded from the selection process.

Duration of program

Ongoing

Eligibility

State schools selected to participate in the copyright survey. Schools are selected using an algorithm that takes into account enrolments, school type (primary or secondary), and last participation date (greater than 8 years).

Allocation of funds

There are 2 separate copyright surveys undertaken—Photocopying survey and Electronic use survey. Funds will be allocated on the following basis:

Photoc​​opying survey

• 30 hrs casual AO2
• $1.61 per FTE
• TRS for the time the school representatives to attend training (will vary depending on individual travel time).

Electronic use survey

• 15 hrs casual AO2
• $1.01 per FTE
• TRS for the time the school representatives to attend training (will vary depending on individual travel time).

Payment details

Payment timelines will vary based on when surveys are conducted during the year.

Data requirements

How to apply

No application is required. Schools will be contacted directly if they are selected to participate.

Contact

Legal Services
Phone: (07) 3513 5855