GLAM/Newsletter/April 2026/Contents/Australia report

This Month in GLAM – Volume XVI, Issue IV, April 2026

Australia report

WikiCon Australia, ICIP, Orphan works and Trans-Tasman partnerships

WikiCon Canberra 2026

On 19–20 April, the Australian Wikimedia community gathered at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) in Canberra (Kanbarra) for WikiCon Australia 2026. The program mixed technical sessions on Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons with broader discussions on AI, policy, culture and community practice. The slightly longer format this year gave more room for conversations to continue beyond the formal sessions, and the NFSA's courtyard got a workout in the cool Canberra autumn sun.

A workshop on the Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) and Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDSov) draft guide prompted some of the most substantive discussions of the weekend. Participants stressed the importance of building genuine relationships with Indigenous communities, thorough analysis of sources and awareness of cultural sensitivities when engaging with cultural knowledge and research materials. The conversation will continue well beyond the event as WMAU continues to develop the guide collaboratively with its members, the First Nations expert panel and Terri Janke & Company staff.

WMAU also marked Wikipedia's 25th birthday by asking two of Australia's longest-serving editors - both editing for more than 20 years - to cut the birthday cake! Feedback from participants was warm: sessions were described as "inclusive and inspiring," and many spoke about how much they valued the in-person connection with comments including "I feel like I'm with my people." Post-event, several local meetup groups are already forming, with gatherings being planned in Canberra and Melbourne as well as the regular monthly Community calls. Read more: WikiCon Canberra 2026: Bringing the Community Together.

Australia Passes World-Leading Orphan Works Legislation

On 2 April 2026, the Copyright Amendment Act 2026 came into force and for Australian Wikimedians, it's a genuinely significant development. Orphan works are materials still under copyright whose rights holders can't be identified or located. Until now, Australian law has left members of the public with no safe pathway to share these works publicly - only major institutions could act under section 200AB of the Copyright Act. That meant many historical and culturally valuable photographs, recordings, and documents often sat inaccessible, their educational and heritage value unrealised.

The new scheme changes that. It provides a practical, balanced pathway for using orphan works after a diligent search has been conducted and documented. The protections apply when a user has made a genuine effort to find the rights holder, kept a record of that search, and clearly noted that the material is being used under the scheme.

For the Wikimedia community, this opens up real opportunities: sharing family and community archives, publishing historically significant materials, expanding representation of Australian stories, and supporting GLAM partnerships more broadly. WMAU was quick to welcome the legislation, while also highlighting several important clarifications for community members to keep in mind. This is reform that has been decades in the making, and Australia is now setting a standard that other jurisdictions will watch closely. Read more: Wikimedia Australia welcomes the passage of the Copyright Amendment Act 2026

Sugar Valley Library Museum GLAM Training

In late April, WMAU hosted a GLAM training day at the Sugar Valley Library Museum in the Newcastle region as part of the AMaGA: Building Digital Skills, Sharing Stories, Sustaining Culture Partner Project. Its main focus is on upskilling Museum and Gallery volunteers with Wiki editing and contributing skills and knowledge. The outcomes will include building Wikipedia content about the region, ensuring that diverse local collections, stories, and knowledge are visible to both national and international audiences.

A Trans-Tasman Partnership for #1Lib1Ref

This month, Wikimedia Diff published a piece by Hillmenco on the joint WMAU and Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand (WANZ) campaign for #1Lib1Ref Australasia 2026.

For those in the Northern Hemisphere, #1Lib1Ref traditionally runs in January. But that's summer and typically a holiday season in Australia and New Zealand, when academic libraries are quieter, and engagement is much harder. The Southern Hemisphere window of 15 May to 5 June is better timed, and the two chapters are now running it jointly to pool resources, co-host workshops and share training materials across the Tasman. The collaboration is aimed at closing the gap in how Southern Hemisphere communities, histories and biodiversity are represented on global knowledge platforms. Whether a librarian working in a small regional library in rural Otago or a major state library in Queensland, the campaign is designed to make participation straightforward and fun. Read more about the campaign on Wikipedia.

Looking Ahead

May brings 1Lib1Ref Australasia, more GLAM training, WMAU representation through attendance at global conferences and the ongoing work on the ICIP and IDSov guide for WMAU. If your chapter is working through similar questions — particularly around Indigenous Cultural & Intellectual Property (ICIP) or orphan works — WMAU would be glad to compare notes.

Find out more about Wikimedia Australia at wikimedia.org.au or connect with our Community via the monthly Community calls.

Images

Photographs by Gnangarra...commons.wikimedia.org, CC BY 2.5 AU, via Wikimedia Commons

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