NAVA welcomes Government commitment to protect artists' rights in the age of AI

The National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) welcomes today's announcement by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that the Australian Government will establish national AI standards and legislate to ensure Australian artists retain ownership and control of their work.

In a major speech today, the Prime Minister stated that no company should use Australian art, books, music or news to build or train AI without the creator's control, including control over the price and value of their work.

"The Prime Minister has said Australia has the opportunity to 'set the terms' for AI. NAVA welcomes that ambition and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure those terms include meaningful protections for artists' rights, transparency in AI training and respect for Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property," said NAVA Executive Director, Penelope Benton.

"Australia can build a thriving AI industry without requiring artists to subsidise it by giving away control of their creative work. Artists must retain the right to decide whether their work is used to train AI systems, negotiate permission, be properly attributed and be fairly paid."

The Government's commitment provides greater confidence that Australia's copyright framework will be upheld as AI regulation is developed.

NAVA also welcomes the establishment of a new Office of AI within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to coordinate the Australian Government's work across copyright, employment, education, energy and other areas affected by AI.

The Prime Minister's commitment follows united advocacy from Australia's creative industries opposing proposals to weaken copyright law or introduce an exception that would allow technology companies to use creators' work for AI training without permission.

"Visual artists have been among those most affected by generative AI because image generation systems have been trained on vast datasets of artworks and photographs, often without artists' knowledge or consent," said Benton. "Today's announcement provides important reassurance that artists' rights will remain central to Australia's approach to AI."

The new Australian AI standards must also recognise and protect First Nations cultural rights. AI-generated material that imitates, distorts or misappropriates cultural expressions can cause profound cultural and economic harm. ICIP needs dedicated protections.

NAVA looks forward to working with the Australian Government and the new Office of AI to ensure these commitments are translated into legislation and practical licensing frameworks that give artists real control over how their work is used.