Copyright in Schools
The National Copyright Unit (NCU) is the specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools. The NCU curates the Smartcopying website an essential source of information for school educators. Full details at Smartcopying.
Teaching, both face-to-face and online, presents a changing and challenging set of legal considerations for the application of copyright laws in schools. The Smartcopying website is the one point of reference for reliable copyright information for all staff in the ACT Education Directorate. Full details at Smartcopying.
Remote and Digital Learning – COVID-19 Copyright issues
Full details at: COVID-19 Copyright Issues - Smartcopying.
Safe Harbour Scheme
Full details at: Safe Harbours.
The Copyright Act 1968 contains a ‘safe harbour’ scheme (Part v Division 2AA of the Act). This scheme provides legal protection to schools in certain circumstances for copyright infringements committed by users of their information technology Schemes and services. As long as a school follows the rules set out in the system, they can receive legal protection under the ‘safe harbour’ scheme. The ‘safe harbour’ scheme ensures that schools are not exposed to unnecessary legal risk from providing Australian students with the tools to ensure they are fully equipped for the demands of an innovative digital workforce.
Educational jurisdictions have arrangements with the National Copyright Unit to help schools respond to any take down notices received under the ‘safe harbour’ scheme.
Designated Representative
ACT Education Directorate participates in the Safe harbour scheme in Part V Division 2AA of the Copyright Act 1968 and has appointed the National Copyright Unit as its Designated Representative for receiving take down notices issued under the scheme.
All take down notices issued under the scheme should be sent to:
The National Copyright Director
National Copyright Unit
105 Phillip Street
Parramatta NSW 2150
notices@det.nsw.edu.au
Tel: 02 7814 3855
Contacts: DSST@act.gov.au attention: Copyright Officer for ACT Education Directorate smartcopying@det.nsw.edu.au or 02 7814 3855 for complex issues that need clarification by a legal professional, after referring to the website and its specialised, curated information.
The ACT Education Directorate encourages the dissemination and re‑use of information provided on this website.
The Australian Capital Territory Government owns the copyright in all material produced by this agency.
All material provided on this website is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence, with the exception of:
any images, photographs or branding, including the ACT Coat of Arms, the ACT Government logo and any other government logos or symbols; and content supplied by third parties.
The licence conditions are available on the Creative Commons website.
Attribution
Material obtained from this website is to be attributed as:
© Australian Capital Territory.
Third party copyright
In some cases, a third party may hold copyright in material presented on this website. Their permission may be required to use the material.
Contact us
Enquiries about copyright and use of the material on this website can be directed to:
Copyright & IP Officer at DSST@act.gov.au
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