Globally, the question of how copyright law should respond to artificial intelligence (AI) has generated considerable debate, with governments, courts and creative industries yet to reach a settled consensus. Australia has entered that debate, with the Government stating its position on the interaction between our national copyright framework and the rights of AI companies to access copyright content for the purpose of training AI models.
On 15 July 2026, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese set out the government’s approach in clear terms: mandatory national standards for AI are coming, a dedicated Office of AI will be established, and the rights of Australian copyright holders will be protected. The government has ruled out any exemption that would allow AI companies to train on Australian content without permission.
Background
At the centre of this debate is a legal issue. AI companies require large volumes of content (books, articles, images, recordings and datasets) to train their models. Under Australia’s Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), the scraping, reproduction or use of that content without authorisation will, in most circumstances, constitute an infringement of copyright. Unlike the United States, Australia has no broad fair use exception that may permit such use, creating a real barrier for AI companies seeking to operate or invest in Australia.
The Prime Minister’s speech comes against a backdrop of growing pressure from AI companies seeking regulatory certainty before committing to Australian investment. Anthropic, one of the world’s largest AI developers, has publicly signalled its intention to invest substantially in Australia, while making clear that certainty around Australia’s copyright framework is a condition of that commitment. While Anthropic has not sought an exemption from copyright laws, it has indicated that the inability to efficiently identify and license from the broad range of smaller rights holders makes AI training in Australia commercially difficult under the current settings.
The speech: key announcements
Delivering his speech, “AI in Australia’s Interest” at the University of Sydney, the Prime Minister announced that Australia would establish:
- a first-of-its-kind national AI framework, bringing governance issues across education, employment, energy, copyright and defence into a single mandatory structure
- a dedicated Office of AI within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to coordinate and administer national standards
- legislation implementing the framework to be introduced to Parliament in early 2027.
The copyright position
In his speech, the Prime Minister confirmed that Australian copyright holders will retain ownership and control of their work in the age of artificial intelligence. He acknowledged that no country has yet “got it right” when it comes to protecting creators in the context of AI training. The government’s decision to maintain its existing framework and rule out a text and data mining (TDM) exemption is central to that commitment. A TDM exemption, had it been adopted, would have permitted AI companies to train their models on Australian copyright content without seeking permission or paying compensation.
The Prime Minister stated: “Australian writers, musicians, artists and journalists must retain ownership and control of their work. Our laws will spell that out, plain as day. No company should use Australian books, music, art or news to build or train AI without the artist’s control. That includes the artist’s control of the price and value of their work. Anything less, is theft.”[1]
Australia’s position contrasts with those of comparable jurisdictions. The copyright regime in the United States has a “fair use” doctrine, which does provide some leeway for the use of copyright content in the context of AI training, although the scope of what kinds of uses are “fair” remains highly contested in US courts. The United Kingdom, similarly, considered introducing a TDM exception but has since reversed that position, confirming that is has no current “preferred option” on copyright reform; leaving room for industry to develop its own licensing and content access models.
In practice, bilateral licensing arrangements between copyright holders and AI companies will be challenging to achieve at scale, particularly where training models require access to content from a large range of sources and involve multiple stakeholders. Minister for Industry and Innovation Tim Ayres has acknowledged this impasse, stating that “it’s a stalemate if there’s not leadership from government, and that’s what we’re providing here”. The government’s response has been to accelerate the development of a national framework that seeks to attract investment and “unlock AI training in Australia”[2] without compromising the rights of Australian copyright holders.
What’s next?
The process is now underway. The Prime Minister will next seek state and territory agreement on the mandatory AI standards at National Cabinet in August. Concurrently, Attorney-General Rowland’s consultation on copyright reform is ongoing, with three principal models under consideration: statutory licensing, collective licensing, and voluntary regimes. Draft legislation is expected in early 2027. Hamilton Locke’s IP and Technology team will be providing updates and industry insights at each stage of this process as it unfolds.
For more information, please contact Sarah Gilkes, Sophie Bradshaw or Toby Patten.
[1] AI in Australia’s Interest – Speech (https://www.pm.gov.au/media/ai-australias-interests-0)
[2] Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Domestic policy – Office of AI (https://www.pmc.gov.au/domestic-policy/office-ai)
