Australia Mulls AI Copyright Deal Amid Artist Outcry

The Albanese government is consulting on a law that would let artificial-intelligence firms scrape Australian creative works—books, music, visual art—unless the rights holder opts out. Under the draft, companies could pay for bulk licences, while creators who do not opt out would have their material automatically available for training large-language models.

The Sydney Morning Herald

The proposal follows a broader push to attract data-centre investment, which the government says could inject billions into the economy. In July, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a Sydney University audience he would not surrender Australian music and publishing rights to overseas firms, a pledge now being tested by the draft legislation.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Prime Minister Albanese has framed the measure as a way to “create jobs, not replace them”, arguing that a regulated licensing scheme protects creators while enabling AI development. The government maintains that the opt-out mechanism is a safeguard, and that the legislation does not constitute the “text and data mining exception” previously ruled out. Coalition and Liberal senators have echoed the urgency, linking the deal to the country’s ability to secure future data-centre projects.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Authors, musicians and researchers argue the draft undermines copyright and could “kill” creative industries. Australian Society of Authors chief executive Lucy Hayward said the burden would shift to creators, who would have to police infringement themselves. Professor Toby Walsh, a leading AI researcher, accused the government of abandoning its promise to protect creators. Author Anna Funder called the approach “beyond me”, questioning why any nation would allow its cultural output to be fed into corporate AI systems without adequate compensation.

The Sydney Morning Herald

• “I think we should do better as a country,” — David Pocock, independent senator

The Sydney Morning Herald

• “Why any country would decimate its creative industries, all writing, all music, all art, and allow that to be fed into these tech companies’ computer programs is beyond me.” — Anna Funder, author

The Sydney Morning Herald

• “This is a text and data mining exception with an opt-out bolted on. It is precisely what the government said it had ruled out,” — Michaelia Cash

The Sydney Morning Herald

• “We cannot shift the burden to creators to try to protect their work online and police any continued infringement by big tech. AI developers could not even abide by our current opt-in system – on what basis can we trust they will abide by an opt-out?” — Lucy Hayward, of authors chief

The Sydney Morning Herald

• “The prime minister promised not to sell out the creative industries, and he seems to be selling out the creative industries,” — Toby Walsh, researcher and author

The Sydney Morning Herald