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Generative AI is transforming how content is created — from artwork and music to articles, marketing copy, film scripts, and code. 

But it’s also creating serious legal tension around copyright, ownership, and fair compensation. 

At Visual Legal in Adelaide, we’re seeing a steady stream of clients — artists, writers, photographers, filmmakers, small businesses, and tech developers — asking the same core questions: 

Can AI use my work without permission? 

Who owns what it generates? 

And how do I protect myself?

Australia’s position is clear but still developing: copyright law protects human creators, not machines. 

Here’s the current legal landscape.

Australian Copyright Law Basics

The Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) protects original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works — but only if there is human authorship. 

The High Court has consistently held that non-human entities cannot be authors. In the 2022 case Commissioner of Patents v Thaler [2022] FCAFC 62, the Full Federal Court ruled that an AI system (DABUS) could not be named as an inventor under the Patents Act 1990 (Cth) because only natural persons qualify. 

The same reasoning applies to copyright: pure AI output with no meaningful human input is not protected by copyright in Australia.

If a human meaningfully contributes — by prompting, selecting, editing, arranging, or refining the output — copyright can subsist in the final work, and the human is the author. 

The threshold is one of degree: a rough AI draft that a person then heavily crafts is likely protectable; fully autonomous AI generation is not.

Training AI on Copyrighted Material

This is the most contentious area. Generative AI models are trained on massive datasets scraped from the internet, often including copyrighted books, articles, images, music, and film stills.

Under Australian law:

• Reproducing a substantial part of a copyrighted work without permission is infringement (s 14 Copyright Act 1968 (Cth)).
• There is no broad text and data mining exemption in Australia (unlike the UK, EU, Japan, or Singapore, which allow non-commercial or commercial text/data mining under certain conditions).
• The fair dealing exceptions (research/study, criticism/review, parody/satire, reporting news — ss 40–43) are narrow and unlikely to cover large-scale commercial AI training.

In December 2023, the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department established a Copyright and Artificial Intelligence Reference Group to consult creatives, tech companies, and legal experts on whether new licensing schemes or exceptions should be introduced. 

As of early 2026, no broad exemption has been legislated, and the debate continues. Australian creatives (including the Australian Society of Authors) argue that unlicensed scraping constitutes “the greatest act of copyright theft in history” and that creators should be compensated when their works train AI models.

Ownership of AI-Generated Content

• Pure AI output (minimal or no human input): generally not copyrightable in Australia.
• Human + AI collaboration: copyright usually vests in the human contributor(s) who exercised sufficient skill, labour, or judgment.
• Businesses using AI tools: ownership depends on contracts. If you hire a developer or use a platform, ensure agreements clearly allocate IP rights (e.g., you own outputs or receive a broad licence).

Moral Rights and Ethical Concerns

Creators also hold moral rights under Part IX of the Copyright Act — right of attribution and protection against derogatory treatment. 

AI outputs that mimic or distort an artist’s style could raise moral rights issues, even if no economic infringement occurs.

The 2023 Hollywood strikes (WGA and SAG-AFTRA) highlighted similar concerns: writers demanded AI not generate literary material or be passed off as source material, protecting residuals, credit, and compensation. 

Australian creators are raising parallel issues around attribution, fair payment, and the devaluation of human creative labour.

Balancing Innovation and Protection

Australia is watching international approaches closely:

• The EU AI Act (2024) requires transparency in training data and risk assessments for high-risk AI systems.
• The US continues to debate “fair use” in AI training cases (e.g., ongoing lawsuits against Stability AI, Midjourney, and others by Getty Images, artists, and authors).

In Australia, proposals under discussion include:

• Compulsory or collective licensing schemes to compensate creators for training data use
• Clearer guidelines on human authorship thresholds
• Transparency requirements for AI developers about training datasets

The Attorney-General’s reference group continues to consult stakeholders to find a balanced framework — encouraging innovation while ensuring creators are not unfairly disadvantaged.

What This Means for You in Practice

• Creators (artists, writers, photographers, musicians): Your work can be scraped for AI training with limited current protection. Document your creative process, consider licensing your work, and monitor emerging licensing schemes.

• Businesses using AI tools: Review contracts with AI providers or developers for ownership, infringement indemnities, and licensing rights. Avoid representing pure AI output as fully human-created.

• AI developers/startups: Be transparent about training data sources; unlicensed use of Australian copyrighted material carries infringement risk.

At Visual Legal, we help artists, creators, businesses, and tech innovators navigate AI and copyright — from enforcing rights and pursuing infringements to drafting safe AI-use agreements and advising on emerging policy. 

If you’re dealing with AI-generated content, training data concerns, ownership questions, or potential infringement, book a free consultation. 

We’ll meet in our central Adelaide office or via secure teleconference, listen to your situation, explain the current law plainly, and help you protect your interests. No pressure, just practical support.

Questions about AI and copyright in Australia? Drop them below or get in touch — we’re here to help.