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Copyright for teaching staff

Find out who owns copyright, how to legally use third‑party content in your teaching materials and what you should consider when uploading to AI.

You might assume copyright law works differently in educational settings. That you're free to use any material you like when creating modules, slides, assessment tasks or videos. In fact, strict copyright rules apply to all teaching staff. Following them is not only a legal responsibility – it also helps you maintain the academic integrity of your course (and sets a good example for your students). The requirements aren't unique to Federation – they come from the Australian Copyright Act 1968.

Copyright and teaching

Find out how to legally use copyright‑protected material when you develop learning resources, deliver classes and use online platforms.

Read our guidelines

Copyright in different contexts

AI‑generated outputs don't have copyright protection because there's no human creator. If you're going to upload teaching content to an AI tool, follow these tips:

  • Check if you have the right to share content before uploading it.
  • Make sure you know whether the AI tool you're using is public (uploads may be added to training data) or private (content stays internal and isn't used to train the model).
  • Don’t upload personal or private information, Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property (ICIP), sensitive material or anything that could risk defamation.
  • Get permission or check licences before uploading content that you haven't created.

If you'd like more detail about any of these topics, download our AI fact sheet (PDF 161 KB).

The licences and exceptions that allow you to use copyright material for teaching don't apply in non‑educational contexts such as presenting at conferences, delivering public lectures, publishing in books, journals or online, or creating and delivering commercial training. If you're planning on using material outside the University, you might need to ask for the creator's permission.

Copying material for your own private use is generally allowed, particularly if you're format shifting or time shifting. Format shifting means making a copy of something you already own in a different format (e.g. CD to digital file). Time-shifting means recording live TV or radio to watch later.

Don't forget your attributions

An attribution is an acknowledgement of the copyright owner. If you use text, images, videos and other content that isn't your own, you should include information about the creator and source. Find out how to write attributions.

Who owns copyright for your work?

Any material you create while you're employed at Federation (using University resources, funding, facilities or supervision) is owned by the University. However, you'll be granted a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use that material for teaching purposes. Read our Intellectual Property Procedure or the Australian Copyright Council's 'Ownership of Copyright' fact sheet for more info.

Join a training session

Copyright training sessions are offered throughout the year. You'll find upcoming sessions on the Library calendar, but if these don't fit your schedule, email copyright@federation.edu.au and we'll work out a date and time that suits.

Contact us

If you have any questions about copyright, please email copyright@federation.edu.au or call (03) 5327 9876.