Last updated 12 February 2026

Anyone who exercises any of the copyright owner’s rights without express permission infringes the copyright in their work. It is not only those who make the unauthorised copies or authorise someone else to make copies of works who are in breach of copyright, but also those who sell unauthorised versions of works. Some examples of infringing acts are the unauthorised:

  • copyright of music or computer software, whether given away or sold. A new defence for personal copying for private or domestic purposes was introduced in 2006 (see Exceptions to Infringement below)
  • interpreting and performing of a play (originated in a script)
  • purchasing of a restricted number of licences from a computer software developer and then distributing copies of the software. This often happens in organisations where a limited number of licences are purchased and then many more copies are distributed to employees
  • distributing photographic or digital images from an artwork
  • photocopying of books from a library.

Infringement of copyright is determined by qualitative rather than quantitative measures. In other words, the amount of copying is not as relevant as whether or not the essence of a work has been copied. In some cases even a small amount of copying may amount to an infringement of copyright. Infringement also extends to other activities that are done without the copyright owner’s permission such as:

  • importation of copyright works into Australia for sale, hire, distribution or exhibition
  • sale, rental or exhibition of works
  • permission of public entertainment venue to be used for the public performance of a literary, dramatic or musical work
  • importation of a device that is capable of circumventing or facilitating the circumvention of technological protection measures (TPMs) designed to prevent or inhibit the infringement of copyright in a work or other subject-matter
  • removal or alteration of any electronic rights management information that is attached to copies of a work or other subject matter in which copyright subsists.

An expanded scheme of TPMs implements Australia’s obligations under the US Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act 2004 (Cth). There are three prohibited activities:

  • circumventing an access control TPM
  • manufacturing a circumvention device for a TPM
  • providing a circumvention service for a TPM.

There are both civil and criminal liabilities for these activities. There are some limited circumstances where a circumvention device can be legally manufactured, supplied or used (ss 116AN(2)–116AN(9) Copyright Act 1968 (Cth)). These include:

  • interoperability between computer programs
  • encryption research
  • computer security testing
  • online privacy
  • law enforcement and national security
  • acquisitions by libraries and other related institutions.

Some exceptions are set out in the Copyright Regulations 2017 (Cth).