Fair dealing vs. Fair use

'Fair dealing' is a collection of defined exceptions in the Copyright Act 1968 in Australia (the Act) that allow for certain uses of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and audio-visual material without infringing copyright. The defined exceptions cover "criticism or review", "parody or satire", "reporting news", "research or study’", and "judicial proceedings or professional advice".

'Fair use' is a principle from U.S. legislation that is generally broader in its application than our fair dealing 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.

Note that while fair dealing may cover students reproducing material in their assignments (with appropriate referencing), it does not cover certain reuses, such as:

• Publishing or communicating third-party materials in a journal article, conference presentation or thesis. Use for publication or communication online usually requires permission from the copyright owner unless licensing is already attached to the material.
• Educational use by staff in courses. The fair dealing exceptions for "research or study" and "criticism or review" do not cover educational use of copyright materials in university courses (this is done under the educational statutory licence - see the tab above).

To learn more about fair dealing, read the Fair Dealing vs. Fair Use guide (PDF).