Screenrights has announced that for FY2024/25, a record $42.6 million was distributed to members. The use of screen content through the Australian Educational Licence has also grown again, with usage records by educators and students up 32% on FY2023/24.
“We are proud to report another record year, but the significance goes beyond the numbers: it demonstrates that our members’ content continues to be highly valued by users, such as school teachers and students who benefit from our licences,” said Board Chair Kim Dalton. “This also reaffirms the vital role of copyright in protecting creators and rightsholders, ensuring they are fairly compensated for the use of their work.” Advocating for fair compensation informs Screenrights’ work exploring licensing solutions for Generative AI; modernising the Australian Educational Licence to keep up with changes in broadcasting; and expanding the reach of the New Zealand Educational Licence. “We appreciate the continued support of our members and stakeholders as we work through these important issues,” said Dalton.
At its Annual General Meeting held remotely on Thursday 20 November, Screenrights was also pleased to announce a record year for licence collections, surpassing $50 million for the first time in FY2024/25 with Educational Licences in both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand continuing to offset the decline in Retransmission Licence income to total $50.2M in licence revenue. “While we work to grow the NZ educational licence for the mutual benefit of learners and creators, the growth in collections from the Australian educational licence is in line with CPI. Looking over the last few years of annual reporting since the pandemic, we have known for some time now that the surging usage of the licence has not slowed. Screenrights’ view is that the value of the licence to educators in Australia is evidenced by the extraordinary, sustained growth in usage records,” said Screenrights Chief Executive James Dickinson. “We feel that it’s only fair for licence fees to increase to recognise this increase in value, and that is a discussion we’ll be having on behalf of our members over the coming 12 months as we renegotiate the licence.”
Company Secretary Natalie Buck announced the Screenrights Board election results at the AGM, with three returning Directors elected to the Board: Tom Alegounarias and Paul Wiegard will both serve their second terms as General Directors; and Kelly Lefever will serve her third term as Authorial Director (Screenwriter).
Screenrights was also proud to launch its inaugural Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) towards the end of the last financial year. Further highlights from Screenrights’ 2024/25 year in review are available here, including updates on the progress of systems upgrades as part of the organisation’s ongoing digital transformation. A full copy of the Annual Report will be available once it has been tabled in Parliament.
