Copyright Amendment Bill 2026

The majority voted against an amendment introduced by ACT Senator David Pocock (Independent), which means it failed. Had it succeeded, the amendment would have added the text below to the usual second reading motion, which is "that the bill be read a second time" (parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill).

Amendment text

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:

(a) reaffirms its support for creators and rightsholders and the fundamental principle that they should control, and be fairly paid for, the use of their works; and

(b) rejects any proposal to introduce text and data mining exceptions or any other provisions that would allow Big Tech to use copyrighted material without authorisation or payment".