Writers to be fairly compensated

As announced under the Australia Government’s new National Cultural Policy – Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place, the modernisation of lending rights will update the Whitlam-era scheme to ensure Australian authors, illustrators and publishers are recompensed for their work being freely available in libraries.

We have now updated the schemes so that claims can be submitted for e-books and audiobooks. This will ensure that all formats of a book being held in library collections can be counted towards the payment’s authors receive.  

Although Australian writers are enjoying increasing popularity in Australia and overseas, many can only afford writing as a secondary occupation. The Whitlam Government introduced the Australian Lending Right Scheme to support Australian book creators and publishers to continue to write and illustrate books, by providing direct funding to them in recognition of potential income lost through the free use of their books in public and educational libraries across Australia.

Authors and publishers will be able to make claims for e-books and audiobooks from 3 April 2023, with the closing date for claims this year being extended to 30 June 2023. The first payments under the scheme to include digital material will be made in June 2024.

For more information about the scheme visit:

• Australian Lending Right Schemes
• Ministers Media Release