Copyright for students

Students are able to use copyright materials in the course of studying and conducting research. Copyright also applies to and protects works that students create, including assessments and theses. The University's Student Conduct Rule and Copyright Compliance Policy require that all students should respect copyright.

The video below provides a great overview on copyright for students:

In short:

  • In Australia copyright protects works automatically once they take on material form (e.g. are written down, recorded, etc.);
  • Copyright various by country (see the Fair dealing vs.'fair use'  tab below)
  • There are limits on how much you can copy or reuse of copyright materials;
  • Plaigiarism is copyright infringement, so always reference your sources appropriately;
  • Just because something is available online, doesn't mean that you can just take it and reproduce it elsewhere (see the Fair dealing tab below for use in assessments);
  • How copyright materials are used  will change what is permitted, e.g. private vs. classroom vs. public;
  • Changing a small amount of a work when you reuse it does not mean that you 'get around' copyright;
  • Copyright protects your works as well - you own the copyright in your assessments (if lecturers want to reuse them in the future, they need your permission to do so).

To learn more, check out the tabs below.

Need to keep track of copyright materials you're using? Access our Copyright Checker spreadsheet.

Under the Fair Dealing section of the Copyright Act 1968 individuals may copy materials for limited purposes, including "research or study", "criticism or review" and "parody or satire".

Research or study

Students and researchers may copy limited amounts of works for their own research and study needs including when:

  • Copying for general reading / research current awareness
  • Copying material for the process of preparing an assignment
  • Copying material for the process of conducting research
  • Copying to assist with the preparation of an article, book chapter, conference presentation or thesis

Note that while this exception may cover students reproducing material in their assignments (with appropriate referencing), it does not cover certain reuses, such as in publishing or communicating third-party materials in a journal article, conference presentation or a thesis.  Use in publication or communication online usually requires permission from the copyright owner unless licensing is already attached to the material.

The University has also entered into a number of licences which allow students to copy from various media for study or research purposes.  Check the tabs below for what limits apply.

Other fair dealing exceptions

Individuals may be able to rely on fair dealing exceptions for "criticism or review" and "parody or satire" to reproduce copyright materials for certain other purposes.  Note that use of copyright materials under some forms of fair dealing can be quite strict.

Students can learn more about fair dealing from the Australian Copyright Council's fact sheet on fair dealing.

What doesn't fair dealing cover?

There is often confusion around what fair dealing allows for, especially for "research or study" and "criticism or review".  The fair dealing exceptions do not cover educational use of copyright materials in courses (this is done under the educational statutory licence in S113P).

Researchers and course coordinators should read the staff factsheet on fair dealing.

There are limits to how much of a literary work can be photocopied or scanned under fair dealing:

  • 10% or one chapter of a book
  • One article from any single issue of a journal.  Additional articles may be copied if they are on the same specific topic.

Artworks include maps, diagrams, charts, drawings, paintings, cartoons, prints, engravings, photographs, illustrations, and so on. Under fair dealing:

  • An entire artwork may be copied if it is an 'incidental work'.  This means it explains or accompanies a text.
  • If the artwork is not an 'incidental work' it may  be copied if you cannot find a separately published copy of the work 'within a reasonable time'.

Students are generally not permitted to make copies of substantial portions of film, television or music under the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright Act 1968.

There are separate provisions in the Act allowing for some time- and format-shifting.  See the Australian Copyright Council guides on music, films and video for more information.

Providing source information is  extremely important at University. In addition to academic integrity, there are often marks assigned to correct referencing information.

There is also a copyright component to referencing, which you may see noted under the broader term 'attribution'.  The Copyright Act 1968 outlines the moral rights of authors/creators, including the right to attribution and not to have a work falsely attributed. Referencing your sources correctly means that you are following best practice to avoid plagiarism and copyright  infringement in your assessments.

For use of copyright material outside of your assessments, e.g., under 'fair dealing' or open licensing, you should be careful with how you make use of material and always provide source information that meets the moral rights of creators.

Note that referencing/attribution alone might not be enough to satisfy requirements for reuse of material – always check if you need to seek permission (e.g., for use in a digital thesis, see below) and what the attribution requirements are. Where open licensing is involved, you may need to include a particular copyright, permission or usage statement. Creative Commons has a great page for best practices for attributing material under open licensing.

Learn more about attribution vs. referencing (PDF), including attribution requirements.

Access our referencing guides.

'Fair use' is a principle from U.S. legislation that is generally broader in its application than our equivalent, fair dealing, is in Australia.  Due to the more open interpretation around reuse of copyright material under fair use, courts are often required to arbitrate disputes.

Fair use does not apply in Australia, so any copyright information you've Googled that mentions fair use will most likely not apply here.  More about fair dealing can be read in the 'Fair dealing' tab above.

HDR students should read the factsheet on Fair dealing vs. fair use (PDF) for information on research and publication.

Looking for materials to use that are free and have clear guidelines?  Check out the page on Open-licensed and free resources.

These curated resources are not only useful for assessments, but also for social media and personal projects outside of university.

The University of Newcastle requires all research postgraduates to deposit a digital version of their thesis in our institutional repository NOVA.  Learn more about depositing your thesis.

Scholarly citation practices do not cover reuse of third-party copyright material in a thesis or dissertation - permission (or a licence) will need to be sought.  Our guide to Copyright in your digital thesis (PDF) has more information.

Need to keep track of copyright materials used in a project or thesis? Access our Copyright Checker spreadsheet.

The webinar video below covers what you should know about theses and copyright.  You can watch similar videos in our Copyright, licensing and open access for research playlist.