Copyright

Ownership of copyright in records held by the National Archives

The Commonwealth government owns copyright in most of the records held by the National Archives as they are official records produced by Commonwealth government agencies. The Commonwealth is not the copyright owner for records in the collection of the National Archives which were not made by the government, for example letters written by private individuals to the government or documents provided by other governments. Although such records are the property of the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth cannot give permission to reproduce them as it is not the copyright owner.

Copies provided for research purposes only

We make copies of records in our custody available to researchers for the purposes of their research. Any copies of records you receive are provided to you on the understanding that you are to use them for research or study or in order to seek permission to publish. Where the Commonwealth government owns copyright, you may download, display, print and reproduce the material in unaltered form for your personal, non-commercial use. We ask that you acknowledge the National Archives as the source and cite the record accordingly. In general, you may only proceed to publish or otherwise reproduce a copy of a document received from the National Archives if:

you have the permission of the copyright holder; or
the work (letter, report, photograph, etc) is no longer in copyright; or
the Copyright Act 1968 permits you to do so under 'fair dealing' provisions.

Fair dealing and research

The Copyright Act permits some copying without the express permission of the copyright owner. If a copyright use can be characterised as ‘fair dealing’ the Copyright Act provides that it does not infringe copyright. Fair dealing allows you for example, to reproduce a reasonable portion of a work for research or study, criticism or review, news reporting or professional legal advice.

Responsibilities of researchers

If you wish to reproduce a record held in our collection, it is your responsibility to determine:

whether the document, photograph, film or other record you wish to use is still in copyright
who owns the copyright, and
where and how to contact the copyright owner and obtain the approval required.

How long does copyright last?

Use the guidance provided in the table below to determine if a work is still in copyright. Where copyright has expired, this is noted in the table; otherwise, the duration of copyright is as specified in the table.

The National Archives' collection includes examples of all categories of records referred to below.

Determining if a work is still in copyright

Where the Crown owns copyright in material made before or after 1 January 2024

Literary, dramatic, musical works made public before the author's death	Copyright expired as at 1 January 2024 if author died before 1 January 1955 – otherwise, life of author + 70 years
Literary, dramatic, musical works made public after the author’s death and before 1 January 2019	Copyright expired as at 1 January 2024 if made public before 1 January 1955 – otherwise, year first made public + 70 years
Literary, dramatic, musical works made public after the author’s death and on or after 1 January 2019 never made public	Copyright expired as at 1 January 2024 if author died before 1 January 1949 – otherwise, life of author + 70 years
Artistic works (other than photographs)	Copyright expired as at 1 January 2024 if author died before 1 January 1955 – otherwise, life of author + 70 years
Photographs taken before 1 January 1955	Copyright expired as at 1 January 2024 – otherwise, life of author + 70 years
Works where the author is unknown (other than photographs) made public before 1 January 2024	Copyright expired as at 1 January 2024 if made public before 1 January 1955 – otherwise, year first made public + 70 years
Works where the author is unknown (other than photographs) never made public	Copyright expired as at 1 January 2024 if made before 1 January 1949 – otherwise, year made + 70 years
Photographs where the author is unknown made public before 1 January 2024	Copyright expired as at 1 January 2024 if made public before 1 January 1955 – otherwise, year first made public + 70 years
Photographs where the author is unknown never made public	Copyright expired as at 1 January 2024 if made public before 1 January 1955 – otherwise, year made + 70 years
Sound recordings made public before 1 January 2024	Copyright expired as at 1 January 2024 if made public before 1 January 1955 – otherwise, year first made public + 70 years
Sound recordings never made public	Copyright expired as at 1 January 2024 if made public before 1 January 1955 – otherwise, year made + 70 years
Broadcasts	Year of broadcast + 50 years

Further information (including examples of other categories of records) is available on the Department of Communications and the Arts website.

Obtaining permission to publish

For permission to publish copies of any records from our collection, please submit a copyright request or email copyright@naa.gov.au.

We can advise you whether copyright in the document is held by the Commonwealth. If the Commonwealth does not own the copyright, you will need to trace and seek the permission of the copyright owner.

This is general information and should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice.

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