Legal deposit in Australia
What is legal deposit?
Legal deposit is a statutory obligation which requires that any organisation, commercial or public, and any individual producing any type of documentation in multiple copies, be obliged to deposit one or more copies with a recognised national institution.
UNESCO Guidelines for legal deposit legislation, 2000
This legislated mandate is important because it means the national collection includes everything, free from political, moral, aesthetic, or literary judgements, ensuring that everything published in Australia is valued and treasured equally by the libraries who share the responsibility to preserve our country’s documentary heritage and stories. Legal deposit collections help library users - researchers, readers, and audiences everywhere - to understand the Australian experience.
In Australia, legal deposit requires publishers to deposit publications with the National Library of Australia and the state or territory library where the publisher is based.
In New South Wales publishers are also required to deposit relevant publications with the Parliamentary Library and the University of Sydney Library, and in Queensland and South Australia, publishers are also required to deposit relevant publications in the parliamentary libraries. Further, all material of particular relevance to South Australia, must be deposited with the State Library of South Australia.
Why legal deposit?
Legal deposit ensures that material published in Australia is preserved for current and future generations. It enables libraries to provide access to a complete collection of the nation’s published heritage. The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Statement on Legal Deposit includes the following benefits of legal deposit:
- By ensuring that copies of all national publications in every kind of media are provided to trusted custodians, legal deposit enables and ensures the comprehensive collection of a nation’s documentary heritage.
- Legal deposit permits comprehensive, standardised cataloguing and recording of publications, to the benefit of libraries, booksellers, publishers, scholars and the general public; and it enables the custodian to serve as the national reference and information centre for study and research on all facets of its national documentary heritage.
- Legal deposit supports preservation, contributing to the long-term survival of a nation’s documentary heritage.
- Ultimately, legal deposit is fundamental to freedom of information and to the perpetuation of an informed citizenry.
Who is a publisher?
The definition of a publisher for legal deposit in Australia is very broad. It includes commercial and newspaper publishers, independent and small press publishers and government publishers at Commonwealth, State and Local Government level. It also includes schools, societies, organisations, clubs, churches, associations and private individuals (self-publishers).
If you are self-publisher in Australia using an overseas based online publishing platform you are subject to legal deposit. Some well-known examples include Amazon, Smashwords, Ingram Spark and Lulu.
When is something considered published?
Legal deposit legislation only applies to materials that are published. Published refers to the act of making content, such as a book, article, report, music, film, or other works, available to the public, typically in a printed or digital format. This is often done through a publishing company, a media outlet, or via online platforms and websites. Once a work is published, it is generally accessible for viewing, reading, or purchasing by the public.
NED is not a publishing platform. If the content has not been made available to the public elsewhere it is out of scope for NED. To be in scope for NED the item needs to be created electronically and either:
- freely available online.
- available for purchase online.
- available to the members/subscribers of an organisation.
- distributed to the public or members/subscribers of an organisation on physical media (e.g. USB drive).
Do publishers need to deposit electronic material?
Increasingly, publications that come under the definition of legal deposit material are being produced and published in electronic form. Most national, state and territory libraries, including the National Library of Australia, have legislation in place to cover this electronic legal deposit material, and others are reviewing or amending existing legislation to extend to electronic publications.
NED member libraries encourage publishers to deposit their electronic publications, where it meets legal deposit criteria.
For specific information about legal deposit requirements in your state or territory, see what are my legal deposit obligations?.