It’s April Fool’s Day! Copyright law reform doesn’t happen quickly so the passing of an amendment to the Copyright Act is no joke.
Yesterday, a law was passed that will introduce a scheme to facilitate the use of orphan works – copyright material where the owner cannot be identified or located.
The Queensland Literary Awards (QLAs) are leaving the State Library of Queensland (SLQ) for the Brisbane Writers Festival (BWF) and SLQ has handed black&write! back to Creative Australia. The changes come about because of independent reviews and reconciling the library’s role with the ‘expectations of the Crisafulli Government’.
The addictiveness of social media platforms and the extent to which their makers make them that way has been under fire in two significant US court cases whose recent verdicts didn't go Big Tech's way. Adding to their worries, Australia continues to amp up online safety for young people regulation.
And, there is just one bit on the side this week, but it's a good one: find out which iconic Aussie sounds have been added to Sounds of Australia.
Don't just read the beginning. Free members can read the entire blog post. Sign up and keep reading.
Rapid-fire
A short list of other things:
- First Nations publisher Magabala Books are opening a second bookstore in Naarm Melbourne. Shoot through
- Entries for the 2026 Queensland Literary Awards opened yesterday and will close on Thursday 30 April 2026. Shoot through
- The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OIAC) is consulting on an exposure draft of the Children’s Online Privacy Code. Submissions are due by Friday 5 June 2026. Shoot through
- The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund grants for organisations round 1 closes on Monday 13 April 2026. Shoot through
What’s been going on?
Here's WTF happened this week:
Orphan works amendment to the Copyright Act passed
A scheme for good faith uses of orphan works will soon be introduced into Australia copyright law, opening up huge amounts of material to productive and creative uses.
Yesterday the Copyright Amendment Bill 2026 passed both Houses of Parliament meaning a new orphan works scheme will be introduced into the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Typically, if you want to use material in a way that is protected by copyright without infringing that copyright either a copyright exception needs to cover your use or you need the permission of the copyright owner. The problem for orphan works though is that the copyright owner of the material cannot be identified or located, so you can’t get permission.
