Australia's Lending Rights schemes have supported Australian creators and publishers for more than 50 years. The schemes have expanded over time to cover public and educational libraries and books in print, ebook and audiobook formats.
Campaign for a lending right
Australian authors were calling for a lending right as early as 1968. They argued that authors should be compensated when their books were made available through public libraries, similar to the performing rights recognised under copyright law and lending right schemes operating overseas.
Public Lending Right announced
On 13 May 1974, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam announced the Public Lending Right scheme to benefit Australian authors. Australia's scheme followed similar lending right schemes in Europe and New Zealand.
The Australian Government funded $530,000 for the scheme in its first year. Australian authors were paid approximately 50 cents for every copy of their books available for loan from Australian public libraries.
Read Prime Minister Gough Whitlam's 1974 media release.
Legislative recognition
The scheme initially operated without its own legislation. The Public Lending Right Act 1985 later provided a legislative basis for the Public Lending Right scheme.
Educational Lending Right introduced
The Australian Government expanded Lending Rights in 2000–01 by introducing the Educational Lending Right scheme. This expansion, first proposed in the 1994 cultural policy Creative Nation, extended the library survey process to school, TAFE, and university libraries.
Eligible Australian creators and publishers could then be compensated for the free multiple use of their books in public and education lending libraries.
Ebooks and audiobooks added
In 2023, the Australian Government expanded the Lending Right schemes to include ebooks and audiobooks. This fulfilled a commitment in the National Cultural Policy, Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place and recognised changes in how Australians access and borrow books through libraries.
New legislation
The Australian Parliament passed the Public and Educational Lending Rights (Better Income for Authors) Act 2026 in May 2026. The legislation commenced on 1 October 2026 and brings the Public Lending Right and Educational Lending Right together under one legislative framework. It replaces the previous Public Lending Right Act 1985 and the Public Lending Right Scheme 2016. The Schemes now operate under the Public and Educational Lending Rights Scheme 2026, a new framework that modernises lending rights to support the enrichment of Australian culture by encouraging the growth and development of Australian writing and publishing.
An advertisement for the Public Lending Right Scheme (The Canberra Times 22 February 1992 via Trove).
