The NSW Government must pay fees to copyright holders for Government use of copyright works, radio and television broadcasts. This obligation is set out in the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). NSW has therefore entered into agreements with the Copyright Agency and Screenrights.

These agreements do not cover posting the copyright work of others on websites, or emailing the copyright work of others to people outside of the NSW government. This should only be done with the agreement of the copyright owner.

The State has also executed an agreement with APRA on a continuing basis. Under this agreement, participating agencies pay annual fees for public performance of music.

The State's agreement with the Copyright Agency expired on 30 June 2012. Negotiations are underway for a new agreement. Agencies will not receive invoices from the Copyright Agency until a new agreement is executed. Once this happens, the Copyright Agency will issue retrospective invoices for 2012-13 and following years.

The agreement between NSW and Screenrights is current until 30 June 2015. Negotiations to renew the agreement and reassess the rates paid will commence in 2014.

The rates that are paid under the agreements with the Copyright Agency and Screenrights are based on sampling surveys to estimate the volume of government copying. Agencies are therefore asked to cooperate with sampling surveys when requested.

Chris Eccles
Secretary