Non-government users

15.88 The statutory licence for uses ‘for the services of the Commonwealth or State’ covers uses made by non-government users, as long as the user is authorised in writing.[124] The exceptions recommended in this chapter should also be available to non-government users.

15.89 Outsourcing of certain government functions is commonly undertaken in pursuit of innovation and efficiency. For example, both the NSW and Queensland governments provide public access to surveys, as required by statute, via approved providers in the private sector.

15.90 It is also likely that government use of digital technologies, including the cloud, will result in use of copyright material by non-government users. The current exceptions for parliamentary libraries are only available to an authorised officer of a library,[125] while the exceptions for judicial proceedings are not so limited.[126] As already noted, the new exceptions recommended in this chapter are defined by the purpose of the use, rather than the identity of the user. A non-government actor should be able to use material under both the current and the recommended new exceptions.

15.91 Normally, such a person would be acting on the authority of the government agency. In the United Kingdom and New Zealand, the exceptions for use of material open to public inspection are limited to users who are authorised by the ‘appropriate person’.[127] The ALRC does not consider such a limitation is necessary. A user who is not authorised by the government agency with the obligation to provide public access could not be said to be using material ‘for the purpose of complying with a statute that requires a government agency to provide access to material’.