Rights and Licensing

The NFSA usage and licence fees apply to works in the NFSA collection owned and verified by the NFSA including the Film Australia Collection.

Clients making use of such works, in some cases, are required to warrant that the use will not breach third-party rights.

The Film Australia Collection includes the Australian Government documentary films and associated materials produced by Film Australia and its predecessor agencies in the period 1913–2008.

The NFSA charges an Access Fee for the use of third-party controlled material supplied by the NFSA.

Media includes television broadcasts, radio broadcasts, websites, online streaming, online games, online apps, DVD products, cinema releases, onsite exhibitions, live performances, corporate in-house productions, print publications and public screenings.

Where third-party controlled works in the NFSA collection remain under legal control of the copyright owner and/or depositor, written permission from the copyright owner and/or depositor is required prior to this material being supplied.

Copyright clearance is the client’s responsibility. Where available the NFSA will provide the copyright owner’s contact details. If the copyright owner cannot be found, the NFSA may agree to supply the material and ask the client to sign an indemnity form.

Restrictions apply for the use of sensitive materials. The NFSA may require the client to supply permissions in writing prior to viewing and licensing sensitive materials. In some cases these sensitive materials are unavailable for the client’s specific use and therefore the NFSA cannot supply.

Australian Indigenous materials are made available in accordance with the NFSA’s Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) rights guidelines.

Unless stated, fees cover a single specified use or production, on a non-exclusive basis for up to ten years.

Unless stated, the minimum charge per medium or multiple media use is 30 seconds with the exception of advertising usage where a five-second minimum applies per medium or multiple media use.

An additional 50 per cent of the usage or licence fee is charged for an in perpetuity term.

A reduced per-second scaled rate is available if the client purchases more than three minutes of content. The full rate is charged for the first 180 seconds, 50% discount on the full rate for the following 180 seconds and 75% discount on the full rate for over 360 seconds.

Clients may license as excerpts up to 20 per cent of the duration of any one title from the NFSA collection, including the Film Australia Collection.

General Conditions

Research and handling fees will be applied to all requests for collection research, previewing materials (multiple items), lending and copying services.

Credit card details are required prior to NFSA staff commencing work on a client’s job.

A non-refundable minimum licence fee is payable on supply of material on broadcast quality format.

For domestic clients the fees are charged in Australian dollars, inclusive of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Completion time for copying requests is dependent on the condition and format of the material. Please discuss your delivery timeframe with NFSA staff.

On completion of the client’s use, master material provided by the NFSA must be erased or returned to the NFSA.

Clients are liable for any damage to, or loss of, collection items while in their care. The NFSA may charge a repair or replacement fee and service fees.

Urgent jobs (same day or within 48 hours) are charged an additional 25 per cent surcharge on service and transfer fees.

Acknowledging the NFSA

Access to the NFSA’s collection for any public presentation or reproduction is conditional on a prominent acknowledgement or credit being given to the NFSA. The type and nature of the acknowledgement is agreed between the client and the NFSA.

Clients are obliged to provide proof of acknowledgement within four weeks of completion of project. Failure to acknowledge the NFSA will result in an additional 25 per cent surcharge on usage or licence fee.

Footage or stills from the NFSA collection published online are to be watermarked with the NFSA logo.

The NFSA Usage or Licence Agreement specifies the required acknowledgment to be included in the client’s end credits or publication.

Publicity associated with the screening of films should contain the acknowledgement 'Print Courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia’.

Return to Depositor and External Loans

Where owners have placed collection material 'on deposit’ with the NFSA, NFSA staff can arrange for the retrieval and despatch of such material to the depositor (subject to retrieval, service and freight charges).

If a depositor requests the collection material be returned to them or made available to a third party (external loan), the depositor accepts all risks associated with the material after it leaves the NFSA. A formal agreement will be issued by the NFSA binding the depositor and the NFSA and must be signed by the depositor prior to release of materials.

Where necessary, condition reports will be supplied by NFSA film or video technicians and additional technical service fees may be levied by the NFSA to determine viability of materials for reproduction work.

The NFSA's Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights guidelines

Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights Guidelines for the Use of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Material from the NFSA collection including the Film Australia Collection.

The NFSA respects Indigenous culture, Indigenous individuals and Indigenous communities and recognises their ownership of cultural and intellectual property rights.

Footage, audio and stills of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples accessed from the NFSA collection are subject to the terms and conditions of the Usage or Licence Agreement in conjunction with the following guidelines. Non-compliance with these guidelines will constitute a breach of the agreement.

1. Requests for the use of the material must be made in writing with details of the production and the context for use of the footage and/or stills.

2. Footage and/or stills supplied must be used solely within the production outlined in the Usage or Licence Agreement and not for any other purpose.

3. All efforts to identify the community and location of the footage and/or stills should be made to ensure authentic and appropriate use. Footage or stills of a particular community should not be used to represent another community.

4. All efforts must be taken to seek approval from the relevant Indigenous community for the footage’s inclusion in a new production.

5. Footage, audio or stills of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should not be used as generic stock image or sound.

6. Some specific titles from the Film Australia Collection (FAC) require that the footage or still is acknowledged by an on-screen title or label of the name and year of production of the original FAC production. For example: Desert People – 1966 (c. NFSA).

7. All efforts must be taken to ensure correct credits, descriptions or captioning are applied to use of this material.

8. A warning is to be included when the production is broadcast or exhibited to the public as follows:

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that the following program may contain images and/or audio of deceased persons.