Personal use

Making a copy of material under copyright for your own private use is allowed in the Copyright Act under certain circumstances.

The two main exceptions are format-shifting and time-shifting of material.

Format-shifting is copying from one format to another - ie  CD to  digital file.

  • You must own a legal copy of the work to be copied.
  • The purpose must be for you own private use.
  • You cannot loan or share the material to others.
  • The amount copied can be in full.

Time-shifting exception covers recording a broadcast TV or radio material to watch later.

For more information see Australian Copyright Council Copying and converting formats for private use.

These are for personal domestic use only and can not be relied on for education purposes. For making copies for educational purposes see Copyright for teaching guidelines.