About the National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) is Australia’s audiovisual archive, telling the national story by collecting, preserving and sharing audiovisual media, the cultural experience platforms of our time. The collection itself dates back to 1935, making it one of the world’s oldest audiovisual collections. It is also one of the country’s most used cultural collections, with around 125 million views of collection content each year.

The NFSA is in a period of significant change. Following increased Government investment, the institution is in a process of digital transformation, establishing the NFSA as Australia’s most dynamic and valued cultural organisation. We are rebuilding our curatorial workforce and developing the NFSA’s capacity to digitise our collection at scale – to preserve it for the future, to make sure it can be discovered, and to share it with all Australians.

We continue to work on developing a stable, secure and future-proof workforce across our four physical sites based in Canberra and Mitchell in the ACT as well as in Sydney and Melbourne.

We are also undergoing a program of business improvement for many of our corporate systems to improve efficiency and reduce manual handling.

We are an ambitious organisation, and we aim to be an employer of choice within the Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) sector, providing exciting and challenging work, as well as favourable employment conditions and unique development opportunities for our staff.

Cultural Values

We are an equal opportunity employer, embracing a diverse range of applicants such as veterans, and people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, LGBTQIA community members, individuals with disabilities and/or health conditions, as well as those from varied faith and cultural backgrounds. At the NFSA we prioritise the development of a safe, inclusive, and high-performance culture through shared actions and behaviours that align with our strategy and direction. This empowers our employees to effectively contribute to our goals.

The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia is committed to ensuring a child-secure and child-friendly environment. All employees are expected to demonstrate a commitment to, and support for these principles in theory and practice.

About the Team The Rights and Distribution team is part of the NFSA Enterprises Branch, that provides professional access to the national collection through footage sales, theatrical screening loans, and distribution partnerships. The Enterprises Branch also supports internal teams with rights advice and licensing for projects and partnerships.

The Rights and Distribution team is continually looking to improve the efficiency of rights management, to enable greater use of the collection.

The Enterprises Branch is an energetic team committed to providing excellent service to our clients and are based in Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra.





The Opportunity The Licensing and Distribution Officer plays a key role in supporting the management of rights clearances and licensing activities for NFSA projects, products and online platforms. This includes facilitating the distribution and licensing of NFSA collection material, verifying rights in NFSA titles, including the Film Australia Collection and managing rights-related matters across NFSA digital platforms to support the compliant distribution of content.

The role supports the NFSA Digitisation Strategy by researching, updating and maintaining rights information and agreements within the collections database and digital rights management systems. Working within a busy and collaborative team, the Licensing and Distribution Officer also work across the NFSA, to support rights clearances and licensing activities.

The position requires an understanding of the Australian cultural sector, the film, sound, broadcast or digital publishing industries and experience working with copyright material, particularly audiovisual materials. The Licensing and Distribution Officer will maintain and develop the professional relationships the NFSA has established with external stakeholders.

The Licensing and Distribution Officer will work confidently within an information management environment, using applications such as Office 365, Content Manager and media asset databases. In addition, they will be able to identify and navigate a range of databases and online resources to support research and rights records management.

Under limited direction, this position is responsible for delivering the following functions:

- Research, analyse and maintain rights information and records, ensuring rights data, documentation and systems are accurate and current to support informed decision-making and to enable the use of NFSA materials.
- Undertake rights clearances and licensing for NFSA projects, products, services and platforms, including negotiating and administering agreements
- Provide rights-related advice and support to internal stakeholders, communicating rights information and research findings, resolving rights issues, and contributing to strategies that support NFSA projects, products and distribution activities.
- Support compliance with rights, licensing and distribution obligations across NFSA activities and digital platforms, including content classification requirements, takedown requests and other compliance requirements to support the distribution of NFSA content.
- Build and maintain positive professional relationships within the NFSA and with industry, rights holders and partner stakeholders and content providers.
- Support the development, drafting and implementation of NFSA policies, procedures and guidelines on copyright and licensing issues including initiatives that improve rights awareness at the NFSA,



increasing the accessibility of NFSA’s collection while complying with our legal and other obligations.

Selection Criteria The successful candidate will demonstrate their capacity against the following:

1. Demonstrated knowledge and experience in copyright, licensing and contractual arrangements preferably within the audiovisual, cultural, heritage or media sectors.
2. Strong analytical and research skills, with the demonstrated ability to interpret rights documentation, investigate rights ownership and apply rights frameworks to support decision-making.
3. Well-developed written and verbal communication and negotiation skills, with the ability to convey complex information clearly and build productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
4. Demonstrated problem-solving skills, with the ability to exercise sound judgement and initiative to resolve issues and identifying practical solutions.
5. Demonstrated ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team, contributing to shared goals and a positive, and collaborative team environment.

Qualifications and/or relevant experience required

Mandatory

- Knowledge of copyright legislation relevant to the cultural sector or equivalent industry sectors, particularly as it applies to audio-visual material.

Desirable:
- Tertiary qualification in a related discipline.
- Knowledge and understanding of contractual and distribution arrangements related to film and audio-visual content.

How to Apply

When applying via our online e-recruitment system, please address the details in the ‘Key Responsibilities’ and ‘Selection Criteria’ by outlining in 500 words or less, how your skills and relevant experience demonstrate that you would be our ideal candidate. Your current resume is also to be included in your application.

In addition to an application and your resume, the assessment process for this position may also include an interview and referee reports.

We welcome and encourage applications from people with disability, the LGBTIQ+ communities, from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Eligibility To be eligible for this position you must:

- Be an Australian Citizen.
- Satisfactorily complete an Australian Federal Police National Police Check.

What we offer you

We provide a diverse, inclusive, and supportive work environment with access to:

- Great training and development opportunities.
- Generous leave and flexible working arrangements.
- Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP – a free counselling service for you and your family).
- A competitive salary, plus 15.4% superannuation.
- Rewards and recognition initiatives.

RecuitAbility

RecruitAbility applies to this vacancy. Under the RecruitAbility scheme you will be invited to participate in further assessment activity for the vacancy if you choose to apply under the scheme; declare you have a disability; and meet the minimum requirements for the job. For more information see: RecruitAbility | Australian Public Service Commission (https://apsc.gov.au).

📌 Licensing and Distribution Officer (Australia)
🏢 National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
📍 Australia