This week’s landmark decision by the Australian Government ruling out a Text and Data Mining (TDM) exception to copyright law is a victory worth celebrating. The decision confirms that tech companies cannot legally train Large Language Models on Australian work without permission. It also reaffirms the strength of our creative industry as we continue to navigate the AI policy debates ahead.
By choosing not to greenlight a TDM exception, the Albanese Government has sent a strong message: copyright remains a vital framework of cultural and economic value. It underpins the investment that allows new Australian stories to be told, new research and ideas to be shared, and creativity to thrive in an era of rapid technological change.
This is not simply a policy decision about AI; it is an affirmation that creativity and intellectual property deserve respect, and that the future of Australian culture depends on fair and sustainable practices.
TDM copyright ruling – quick links
What happens now?
For publishers, authors and illustrators, the Government’s decision provides much-needed certainty. Ruling out a TDM exception is not a rejection of AI. Rather, it is a firm statement that innovation must operate within a framework that respects creators’ rights and sustains the industries that nurture Australian culture.
What that framework will look like is now the work that lies ahead of us we will need to sustain its significant advocacy efforts throughout that process.
While this week’s decision is a major step forward, questions remain about how AI uses creative content, whether transparency of AI training data should be required, how copyright is enforced in an increasingly global and digital environment, and how Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property will be respected.
Read: Copyright win for Australian artists vs AI – but how long can we hold off the bots?
The Attorney General announced the reactivation of the Copyright and AI Reference Group. This forum will play a crucial role in ensuring that Australia’s approach to AI respects creators’ rights and that the value of Australian intellectual property remains protected as technology evolves.
Dr Stuart Glover, Head of Policy at the Australian Publishers Association, will participate in CAIRG to ensure publishers’ perspectives on fair remuneration, licensing frameworks, and the protection of creative investment are taken into account when policy is shaped.
A shared challenge: The vital role of copyright advocacy
It is worth celebrating what can be achieved when the creative industries join forces – as has been done before when copyright has come under threat.
Such collective advocacy was on display during the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee hearing earlier this month, where I appeared for the Australian Publishers Association alongside the Australian Society of Authors’ CEO Lucy Hayward and authors Thomas Keneally, Sally Rippin, Anna Funder, Caroline Overington and Professor Toby Walsh. But there was also incredible representation from the screen, music and news media industries that made the argument so compelling.
It’s a shared challenge and opportunity. We all reinforced that copyright protections are essential to sustaining Australia’s creative industries and that opt-in licensing is a practical, ethical solution that allows AI innovation to coexist.
There’s so much more work to be done, but it’s important to recognise this milestone achievement.
Patrizia Di Biase-Dyson is CEO of the Australian Publishers Association.
