Statement - 1 October 2026

Screenrights has applied to the Copyright Tribunal of Australia for a determination of the amount of equitable remuneration Australian schools should pay for use of its members’ broadcast content under the educational statutory licence. 

The educational statutory licence provides teachers and students with an easy and affordable way to access any and all broadcast content for educational purposes including drama, films, documentaries, news and current affairs programs and everything else shown on free and pay television and radio. Around 97 percent of Australian schools are covered under the licence which they rely on every day to access Screenrights members’ content. Usage records demonstrate more and more television content is being accessed each year.

Screenrights has been trying to negotiate a fair fee with the schools representatives since February 2025. In all that time, the schools have not made an offer to Screenrights or responded to the offer Screenrights made at their request. This leaves us no choice but to ask the Copyright Tribunal to set the amount.

Screenrights Chair, Kim Dalton, said: “Our members include writers, directors, and producers, whose screen content delivers immense value to teachers and students. They are entitled to receive fair payment for schools’ use of their copyright works. Applying to the Copyright Tribunal is a step Screenrights takes only when all other options have been exhausted.

“For more than 30 years, Screenrights and schools have been able to reach agreement. While it is regrettable that agreement couldn’t be reached through negotiation, defending our members’ right to fair compensation for the use of their content remains Screenrights’ core purpose. At a time when generative AI and rapid technological change pose unprecedented challenges to copyright, it has never been more important for Screenrights to stand up for our members’ rights. We welcome the Tribunal’s independent assessment.”

About the Australian statutory educational licence

The statutory education licence, set out in s 113P the Copyright Act, allows educators to copy and share text, images, print music and broadcasts in ways that usually require permission from the copyright owner, provided that fair compensation is made to the creators of the content.

Australian educators can copy and communicate text, images, print music and broadcasts without a copyright clearance if:

• they work for an institution that is covered by a ‘remuneration notice’ (or fair compensation arrangements); and

• their use is solely for educational purposes.

The Australian government has appointed two collecting societies to manage the education copying scheme in the Copyright Act:

• Copyright Agency in respect of "works" (namely, literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, as defined in s 10 of the Copyright Act); and

• Screenrights in respect of "broadcasts" (as defined in s 10 of the Copyright Act).

The Copyright Act provides that if the parties are unable to agree, the licence fee’s “equitable remuneration” can be determined by the Copyright Tribunal, a division of the Federal Court.

More information: info@screenrights.org