This section in a nutshell: You need permission to photograph on private property; You need permission from the copyright owner (usually the artist) to photograph any artwork – an exception is sculptures permanently displayed in a public place; There is no copyright restriction on photographing people, but there may be restrictions due to other laws

Photographers should be aware of legal and copyright issues, and ensure that their photographs do not violate copyright or other laws. In particular:

• Photographing on private property

In order to access a privately owned space you need permission from the landowner, and he or she has the right to impose restrictions on photography. Therefore, you may only be allowed to photograph certain objects or locations. This type or restriction is common in many museums, galleries and sporting grounds, and may occur on land owned by Councils. Even where the landowner allows you to photograph, keep in mind that he or she may not be the copyright owner in artistic works you might be photographing. In this case, you need the permission of the author of the artwork as well.

— Art Law Centre of Australia's information sheet "Street photographer’s rights"

Do I need permission to photograph a building? Generally, no. Although a building is protected by copyright, a special exception in the Copyright Act allows buildings to be photographed without permission. Be aware though, that the owner of a property may impose restrictions regarding entry onto the property. It may sometimes be the case, as with photos of people, that certain unauthorised uses of a photo of a particular building may raise issues under other laws, such as competition and consumer legislation.

— Australian Copyright Council's information sheet "Photographers & Copyright" (PDF)

• Photographing artworks

Sculptures, monuments and artwork may be protected by copyright. Unless an exception applies, you need permission from the copyright owner of the work. Exceptions to this general rule are found in the Copyright Act. For example, photographing and publishing a photograph of a sculpture or work of artistic craftsmanship that is permanently situated in a public place, or in premises open to the public, does not infringe copyright (s.65). This does not apply to other public art, such as murals. If the public place is a gallery or museum, remember that your rights to photograph may be limited by the conditions of admission on your ticket. As previously discussed, you can also take pictures of buildings without infringing copyright

— Art Law Centre of Australia's information sheet "Street photographer’s rights"

The generally accepted interpretation of the relevant provision in the Copyright Act is that you may photograph a “sculpture or work of artistic craftsmanship” which is publicly displayed “other than temporarily” without permission. There is, however, a technical argument that neither underlying works in such sculptures and craft works nor pre-existing design drawings are covered under that provision, and that permission is still required for the indirect reproduction of these works in a photograph of the sculpture or craft work. Although, we are not aware of any cases in which this argument has been raised in court. You will generally need permission to photograph other public art, such as murals.

— Australian Copyright Council's information sheet "Photographers & Copyright" (PDF)

• Photographing people

There are no publicity or personality rights in Australia, and there is no right to privacy that protects a person’s image. Existing privacy laws are more concerned with storage and management of personal information and are of limited relevance to the present issue. ... There is no restriction on taking photographs of people on private property from public property. ... The same applies to photographs taken from private land when you have permission to take photographs. You should be careful that you are not being a nuisance and interfering with someone’s right to use and enjoy the land

— Art Law Centre of Australia's information sheet "Street photographer’s rights"

A person’s likeness is not protected by copyright. However, in some cases, using a person’s likeness without permission may be prevented under other laws, such as the law of passing off, competition and consumer legislation, and State and Territory fair trading laws. These areas of law concern conduct which may mislead or deceive the public and may particularly come into play if the photo you are taking is of a well-known person, and is to be used, for example, as a poster or as a postcard or in advertising. In some cases, uses of photos may be defamatory of people in them. ... photographers may take more casual shots, for example, photos of people in the street or at markets, or playing sports. If you know that you might later be using such a photo commercially, it’s generally a good idea to get a model release from the people you have photographed. If it’s impractical to get the people in your shots to sign model releases, or if they refuse to do so, your ability to use or license the use of the photo in certain ways might be limited because of the laws discussed above.

— Australian Copyright Council's information sheet "Photographers & Copyright" (PDF)