The livelihood of Australian directors is at risk as films are increasingly watched via online streaming, a platform where directors receive no royalties for their work. Unlike their international counterparts, directors in Australia currently only receive royalties from broadcast TV. It is estimated that due to the rise of online platforms, broadcast will be obsolete in the next ten years.
Quotes attributable to:
-ASDACS executive director Deb Jackson: “We need to bring copyright law into the streaming age to keep directors on our shores, creating Australian stories. Without access to a secondary revenue stream Australian directors only receive their upfront directors fee, which forces many to seek opportunities overseas where they are fairly compensated or leave the industry altogether.”
-Director Bruce Beresford: “I’m extremely concerned about the future of Australia’s film industry. We are seeing more and more directors leave Australia to find work overseas, where they are paid fairly, alongside producers and other creatives.”
-Director Gillian Armstrong: “Australian directors are some of the best in the world, but they are not fairly recognised for their work. Streaming has had a radical change on the film industry, and we need to recognise this in how directors are compensated.”
-Director Phil Noyce: “Working in Australia’s film industry is a labour of love for many in our industry – the jobs are scarce and many directors need to take a second or third job to make ends meet. We need to make the provision now for online content so we can shift the dial in terms of making Australia’s film industry an attractive option for new creatives.”
“We need to act now to attract and retain the next generation of talent on our shores, so they can continue to tell the world about Australia through film.”
The work of directors is foundational to Australia’s screen industry which contributed over $6 billion to the Australian economy and supported 55,000 individuals in the financial year 2021-2022. Australian films are increasingly viewed via streaming or on-demand services (currently 71.9% of views), and this number is only set to increase over time.
Currently, Australian screen directors are not recognised as co-authors or primary copyright owners of their work and this lack of primary copyright means Australian directors miss out on fair remuneration from secondary revenue streams including those generated from online content, educational and government copying schemes.
ASDACS is asking the Federal Government to work with the industry to address this issue, by amending the Copyright Act to either: deem the director a joint copyright owner alongside the producer; or deem the director a joint copyright owner alongside the producer, with the producer guaranteed primary copyright and the director guaranteed secondary renumeration under existing statutory licences.
These reforms would provide copyright protection and creative recognition for directors in any future online royalty collection schemes while preserving the role of producers to recoup the cost of production and attract investment. These changes will have no impact on any other creators of the film, for example composers and writers.
Internationally there are examples of where similar changes have made a significant difference. In the UK directors are considered copyright owners alongside producers and further changes being put in place to account for the increased use of online streaming platforms. This allows the UK collecting society to negotiate with content users such as broadcasters and online platforms to provide fair and equitable compensation for the ongoing exploitation of their work.
Media contact: Lilia Bednarek 0449 521 201