Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I thank all senators for their contributions to the debate on the Copyright Amendment Bill 2026. This bill implements two priority legislative reforms. Firstly, there is the establishment of an orphan works scheme, which will facilitate publicly beneficial use of genuinely orphaned materials by reducing legal risks for good faith users without unreasonably prejudicing the interests of copyright owners. Secondly, the proposed amendments to section 28 of the Copyright Act will ensure copyright material is treated consistently, regardless of whether it is used in a physical, online or hybrid classroom, so long as the other conditions of that section are met. They will also promote collaborative learning, involving parents and members of the community, without impacting existing licensing arrangements.

The bill will also strengthen and modernise the Copyright Act through various minor and technical amendments to simplify, update and clarify certain provisions. I thank the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, expertly chaired by Senator Jana Stewart, for its inquiry into the bill over the recent months. The government agrees with the committee's sole recommendation that the bill be passed.

I do want to assist the chamber in some way, given the motion's time of an hour is upon us, and address some of the second reading amendments, if that's helpful. The government opposes the amendment put forward by the Greens. The government has been clear that the bill is intended to achieve outcomes that stakeholders agreed could be progressed with broad support. Stakeholders have broadly agreed that section 28 of the Copyright Act could be clarified to ensure that it applies in the same way to an online remote class as to in-person classes. The bill has been carefully drafted to achieve this intent.

Additional measures to extend section 28 to cover recording of lessons for later viewing do not have broad stakeholder support. Rights holders remain strongly opposed to such an extension, evidenced through a joint media release issued by several rights holders representatives on 20 March 2026. This is a complex area of law and a contested policy space; we accept that. It requires careful consideration and detailed analysis to balance the interests of all stakeholders and to avoid any unintended consequences.

This is what the bill, as currently before the Senate, achieves. It represents several years of work with key stakeholders to achieve pragmatic outcomes that benefit the education sector, while not impacting rights holders' legitimate interests, and it has broad stakeholder support. This is not the case for the amendment moved by the Greens, and, for this reason, the government opposes that amendment.

The government also opposes the second reading amendment foreshadowed by Senator David Pocock. The government has already been clear in strongly supporting Australian creators and media organisations. That is why the Attorney-General announced in October last year that the government is not considering a text and data mining exception. Under such a proposal, artificial intelligence developers would be able to use the works of Australian creatives for free, and without permission, to train AI systems. The government stands behind Australia's creative and media industry. The Australian government has consistently said that there are no plans to weaken copyright protections when it comes to AI. The bill will implement important reforms that update and clarify the Copyright Act, reducing legal risk and promoting modern, collaborative learning for the benefit of the Australian community, without unreasonably prejudicing the interests of copyright owners.