Copyright: For Students and Creatives

As a student you are allowed to do some extra copying and exceed certain limits that you would not be allowed to do in your professional life.

If you are seeking advice for your practice as a professional artist, designer, writer or performer now and post TAFE, you can start with the links and resources in the Copyright for Creatives box below.

The Copyright Act allows students to use copyright material without permission if your use is a “fair dealing” for one of the following purposes:

• research or study
• criticism or review
• parody or satire
• reporting news

Students may copy or communicate more than a reasonable portion of a literary, musical or dramatic work or more than one article for the same research if this is fair.  This is generally thought to be 10% or one chapter but it isn’t a ceiling.  Students can copy more if it is ‘fair’.  To decide if your copying or communication is fair:

Consider the fair dealing factors:

• the purpose and character of the dealing
• the nature of the work
• the possibility of obtaining the work within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price
• the effect of the dealing upon the potential market for, or value of the work
• in the case where only the part of the work is copied - the amount and substantiality of the part copied in relation to the whole work

More information

Copyright in Your Life After TAFE- Caution!

Reusing your assignments in your work life after TAFE? Remember that as a student you have special concessions that will not apply in the "real" world.

It is very important to acknowledge all your references, otherwise you could be accused of stealing other people's ideas or works and passing it off as your own and in some circumstances breaching copyright laws.

Why should I reference my work?

• Demonstrates that you have researched and considered the ideas of others in developing your argument.
• Provides the person marking the work with the specific names, dates and location of the information sources that you have used and covers you for copyright attribution.
• Ensures that you are not guilty of plagiarising.

A bibliography or reference list is a complete list of all the books, articles, and other information sources you have used to help you write your essay or assignment. It should be arranged alphabetically by author's surname.

For more information go to the relevant pages on the Research and Referencing guide:

The information on this copyright page applies to the work you create as a student for your course. You won't be able to rely on these rules and guidelines in your work life beyond TAFE.

If you are seeking advice for your practice as a professional artist, designer, writer or performer the websites in the box below are a good starting point: