Protect your fair share - it's free to join AWGACS! JOIN AWGACS Protect your fair share - i t's free to join AWGACS! Become an AWGACS member JOIN AWG The Australian Writers’ Guild continues to fight against unfair treatment of writers both for the writers’ sake and in support of a healthy industry. We are negotiating new industrial terms and conditions and have developed a new range of model contracts and minimum recommended terms and conditions. Our service for members ups the ante on contract negotiations and adherence. Solidarity is fundamental to winning these battles. Support the guild that works hard for you and your fellow writers, and call on our services to fight for what you are worth. In joining with other writing professionals, you will be contributing to the health of Australian performance writing culture and all its communities. Without the support and advice of the Guild over the past 60 years, many successful writers would never have had the chance to develop the careers they now cherish. Australia’s most prominent writers are long-serving members of the Australian Writers’ Guild. Under maintinence, be back soon! JOIN NZWG NZWG was founded in 1976 and is the professional membership association and registered trade union of Aotearoa New Zealand script writers. NZWG is committed to working in a way that adheres to the spirit and principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. NZWG is a member of the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG), Council of Trade Unions (CTU NZ) and WeCreate. New Zealand Writers Guild (NZWG) screenwriters cannot be categorised as one homogenous group; they are communities of talented workers who live all over Aotearoa. They are a mix of ages, backgrounds, and experience levels – from students, emerging through to experienced career professionals whose living is made on the creation of ideas inked onto pages. These screenwriters’ ideas are formed in many ways, from pure imagination, to lived experiences and inspiration from many other sources. The primary objective of NZWG is to establish and enhance the minimum working conditions and compensation rates for writers. Over the decades, NZWG has achieved significant milestones in supporting writers. In the early 1980s, NZWG played a pivotal role in initiating and negotiating the Theatre Writers agreement. In the early 2000s, NZWG successfully negotiated the NZWG Model Contract with the Screen Production and Development Association (SPADA). Become a NZWG member

Partner Collecting Societies Governance & Policy Annual General Meeting (AGM) About AWGACS | How it works | Who can join | Board & staff ABOUT AWGACS Established in 1996, the Australian Writers’ Guild Authorship Collecting Society (AWGACS) is a not-for-profit collecting society for screenwriters. AWGACS collects and distributes international and domestic royalties for Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand writers. AWGACS collects royalties from the following schemes under the Copyright Act: Educational copying and communication royalties (under Part IVA): Educational institutions copying programs and make them available or to store online. Government copying royalties (under section 183): Copying from radio, television and the internet for government use. Retransmission royalties in Australia (under Part VC): Retransmitting free to air broadcasts on subscription services. AWGACS has agreements with over 30 collecting societies from around the world to collect royalties for members. About AWGACS HOW IT WORKS AWGACS collects secondary royalties from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and countries across the globe to distribute to its members. Secondary royalties (also known as statutory royalties) are a complex revenue source governed by laws, conventions and agreements that differ between countries and collecting societies. Although each secondary royalty payment can be tiny, they can add up to a substantial payment to writers. It would be impossible for most writers to track down all the secondary royalties from so many sources and countries by themselves, which is why societies such as AWGACS to do this on their behalf. Secondary royalties are separate to residuals (or primary royalties), which are what producers are required to pay writers based on what they have negotiated in their contracts. AWGACS operates under the obligatory governance and financial standards required by law, including annual reports to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). We voluntarily submit ourselves to the Code of Conduct for Collecting Societies and provide annual reports to the Hon. Kevin Lindgren QC for reviews and audits. We are a full member of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), the world’s leading network of authors’ collecting societies, and abide by its professional rules and resolutions with annual compliance surveys and audits. AWGACS is a member of Writers & Directors Worldwide (W&DW). WDW campaigns around the world for fair remuneration for authors. How It Works WHO CAN JOIN Membership is open to: Any screenwriter from Australia or New Zealand (although, we are open to all nationalities), A full member of the AWG, An editor who is also an ‘author’, Any other person whom the Board considers fit to be a member, The beneficiary or executor of the estate of a person referred to above. AWGACS collects for: Feature films, Short films, Television series and serials, Miniseries, Telemovies, Documentary television and film. Who Can Join BOARD Sam Meikle Chairperson Sam Meikle is a highly experienced writer and creator with hundreds of hours of produced credits across a broad range of television dramas, comedies, animation and web series. He has worked extensively in development for many of Australia’s leading production houses, and written and interviewed for documentary works. His short films have screened at festivals around the world and he’s been engaged to develop multiple feature film projects. Sam holds a Masters in screenwriting from the AFTRS (2000), he’s a graduate of the NIDA Playwrights’ Studio (2000), he's been nominated for three AACTA Awards and 12 Australian Writers’ Guild Awards, winning four. Most recently, Sam was a writer, an Executive Producer and co-showrunner of Wakefield for the ABC, BBC Studios and Showtime, and a co-creator, head writer, and Executive Producer of MaveriX for the ABC and Netflix. Kodie Bedford AWG-appointed Director Kodie was born in Western Australia, with strong family ties to the East Kimberley. Working mostly in television, Kodie’s credits include Mystery Road (ABC), Squinters (ABC) and Grace Beside Me (NITV/ABC). She made her directorial debut with a short horror film, Scout. Kodie received the Balnaves Fellowship for 2019 to develop her own play with Belvoir Theatre, Cursed! which was staged for the Belvoir Theatre 2020 season. Most recently, Kodie co-wrote and script produced ABC Iview series All My Friends are Racist which was nominated for Best Short Form Comedy for the 2021 AACTA awards and she also script produced and wrote for Warwick Thornton’s vampire show Firebite for AMC+. Shanti Gudgeon AWG-appointed Director Shanti Gudgeon has written for Foxtel comedy/drama series SLiDE for Playmaker Media, Conspiracy 365 for Circa Films, Dance Academy for Werner Productions and ABC3, Trip for Biscuits for ABC3, and Nowhere Boys for Matchbox Pictures and ABC3. Nowhere Boys won the AACTA Award for Best Children’s Series and the LOGIE Award for Best Children’s Series, while Trip for Biscuits has been nominated for an SPA Award for Best Children’s Television Productions. Most recently, Shanti wrote for the second season of Wolf Creek. Shanti’s screenplay, Scratches + Cuts, was selected for Film Victoria’s New Feature Writers Scheme and it was also nominated for an IF Award for best unproduced feature screenplay. Her feature script, Under The Black Flag, was selected by the Producer’s Guild of America for their International Co-Production Showcase. Shanti in development on the feature All I Know of the Devil, supported through Screen Australia. Briar Grace-Smith ONZM Membership-elected Director Briar Grace-Smith ONZM is a filmmaker and one of New Zealand’s most celebrated writers of award-winning plays, screenplays, short fiction and television scripts. Her most recent film, Cousins, an adaptation of the acclaimed New Zealand novel by Patricia Grace, was released in New Zealand in 2022 to unwavering critical and audience acclaim. Briar is an inaugural recipient of the Arts Foundation Laureate Award and was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2018 for her contribution to theatre, television and screen. Claire Pullen Group CEO AWG & AWGACS Claire Pullen is the Group CEO of the Australian Writers’ Guild and the Australian Writers’ Guild Authorship Collecting Society (AWGACS). She is a high-impact policy innovator and former media and communications director with over 15 years of experience in NGOs, working extensively to improve the rights of individuals and communities. Claire led the community campaign to decriminalise abortion in NSW and her policy paper list on firefighter occupational cancer now sits in legislation in all states and territories in Australia. She has won awards for her pioneering feminist and representation work, and has appeared in courts and tribunals throughout Australia. Claire has worked as a freelance journalist, has owned two microbusinesses and has represented the legal and disability communities as a Board member. Claire holds a Master’s degree in Labour Law and Relations from the University of Sydney, a first-class Honours degree and several other qualifications. A skilled lobbyist and high-impact campaign strategist, she has now turned her love of Aussie content towards the fight to improve rights and remuneration for Australian screen and stage writers. Staff And Leadership STAFF Claire Pullen Group CEO, AWG & AWGACS Molly Ulm Manager Vanessa Tanner-Sousa Coordinator Bec Bagnat Research & Royalty Officer Karen Johnston Bookkeeper Staff And Leadership

AWGACS was established in 1996 as the copyright collecting society for screenwriters from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. WHAT IS AWGACS? AWGACS was established in 1996 as the copyright collecting society for screenwriters from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Since then, we have collected over $33 million dollars for members and authors from around the world. Join now to protect your right to secondary royalties - it's free! Join AWGACS Now Unable to contact list NEWS AWGACS Temporary Database Shutdown As you are aware, AWGACS has been in the process of upgrading our database and we want to thank you for your invaluable feedback on the... 1 hour ago The 57th Annual AWGIE Awards The Australian Writers' Guild invites you to celebrate the best of Australian storytelling by joining us for the 57th Annual AWGIE Awards... Jan 7 More Posts

As you are aware, AWGACS has been in the process of upgrading our database and we want to thank you for your invaluable feedback on the database and your experience using it. This is a much-needed update to ensure we can maximise our royalty collections and streamline the distribution process for our members.Collecting secondary royalties is a unique and bespoke process, so we have been building a database to match. This database upgrade will also ensure improved data security, an improved distribution process and a system worthy of our members. It’s been a long project and we are pleased to see the build approaching its end.   In order for us to fully complete the build, the MyAccount portal will need to be offline for a period of time while back-end development and updates are done. At this stage, we are forecasting that it will remain unavailable from 14 June 2025 until October 2025.   During this period AWGACS members will NOT  be able to access the MyAccount portal or its functions. This is a tentative date and we will keep members informed of any updates as soon as they happen.  We are hoping to have the portal back and running before this date and will let you know as soon as possible.   Most of you have already completed your distribution for last year. If you are yet to do this, please log on before 14 June to update your details and complete your payment before 13 June. Otherwise, this will be unavailable until the portal is fully functional again.    If you have any questions or concerns, please contact   awgacs@awg.com.au   or call (02) 9319 0339 . The AWGACS team will remain at your disposal to assist you during the shutdown period so please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can stay up to date with the latest information from AWGACS via:   Website    |    LinkedIn    |    Facebook    |    Instagram

The Australian Writers' Guild invites you to celebrate the best of Australian storytelling by joining us for the 57th Annual AWGIE Awards on the evening of Thursday 13 February 2025 Tickets Student $70   BOOK HERE AWG Member $80   BOOK HERE General $120   BOOK HERE Meet the nominees  and be the first to congratulate the award-winning writers across stage, screen, audio and interactive categories. The event will be co-hosted by comedy superstars Alex Lee   and   Suren Jayemanne . Event Details Thursday 13 February Parade Theatre National Institute of Dramatic Art 215 Anzac Parade, Kensington, Sydney 6pm Drinks in the foyer 7pm Announcement and presentation of Awards 8:30pm-10:30pm Cocktail reception Dress Code Foyer-Fabulous Tickets Student $70   BOOK HERE AWG Member $80   BOOK HERE General $120   BOOK HERE See you at the AWGIES!