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.
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AWGACS collects royalties from the following schemes under the Copyright Act:
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Educational copying and communication royalties (under Part IVA): Educational institutions copying programs and make them available or to store online.
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Government copying royalties (under section 183): Copying from radio, television and the internet for government use.
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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.
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.
WHO CAN JOIN
Membership is open to:
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Any screenwriter from Australia or New Zealand (although, we are open to all nationalities),
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A full member of the AWG,
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An editor who is also an ‘author’,
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Any other person whom the Board considers fit to be a member,
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The beneficiary or executor of the estate of a person referred to above.
AWGACS collects for:
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Feature films,
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Short films,
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Television series and serials,
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Miniseries,
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Telemovies,
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Documentary television and film.
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
Claire Pullen
Group CEO, AWG & AWGACS
Molly Ulm
Manager
Vanessa Tanner-Sousa
Coordinator
Bec Bagnat
Research & Royalty Officer
Sally Cattle
Research & Royalty Officer
Karen Johnston
Bookkeeper