27 June 2018

The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) welcomes the passage of new laws through the Australian Parliament to ensure educational bodies are protected from online copyright infringements by their staff and students.

NCEC acting executive director Ray Collins said the Copyright Amendment (Services Providers) Act 2018 would extend protections, known as ‘safe harbours’, to schools, universities and other educational bodies who provide internet access, removing the threat of penalties if staff or students illegally downloaded copyrighted material such as films and music.

“We applaud the passage of these long-overdue provisions to safeguard Australian schools, universities and libraries who have faced unintended exposure to legal risk for simply providing internet access to their staff and students,” Mr Collins said.

“It makes sense for schools and educational bodies to enjoy the same protections as commercial internet service providers (ISPs) like Telstra and Optus.”

“The Catholic sector, along with other educational institutions, has been advocating for these changes and we are pleased that the Australian Parliament has voted to make these important amendments to the legislation to protect schools,” he said.

“The amendments will ensure Australian schools can now safely provide internet access to their staff and students which is integral for a quality 21st century education.”

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Catholic Education welcomes copyright protections for schools

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