Photo and Model Release Form in Australia: When You Need One and What It Should Cover

A model release form is a short signed agreement in which the person in a photo or video agrees to be photographed or filmed and gives you permission to use their image for set purposes, such as advertising, social media or stock. In Australia it is the clearest way to show what the person agreed to, where the images can appear and for how long. Get it signed on the day, before the images are used.

Claim Done drafts a signable photo and model release form from your answers for a flat A$29. You download it straight away, and both of you sign it yourselves.

When a model release is wise

A release is worth having whenever someone’s image will be shown publicly or used to sell something:

• Marketing and advertising: ads, flyers, packaging, a business website.
• Social media: brand pages, paid posts and content a customer or creator makes for a business.
• Stock and licensing: images you plan to license to other people.
• Portfolio: a photographer showing their own work.
• Editorial or documentary projects.

What the law says about using a person’s image

Photos can be personal information

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) says photos and videos of a person are treated as personal information under the Privacy Act 1988 if the person’s identity is clear or could reasonably be worked out. The same page says the Act does not apply to someone taking photos in a personal capacity, and that it covers organisations with an annual turnover of more than $3 million that operate in Australia, and some other organisations. It adds that some state or territory laws may stop someone photographing private activities without consent; check with your state or territory Attorney-General’s Department.

Most small businesses, with an annual turnover of $3 million or less, are not covered by the Act. But the OAIC’s small business page lists businesses that are covered whatever their turnover, including health service providers, businesses that trade in personal information, and businesses that have opted in.

For covered organisations, the OAIC’s guidance on posting photos and videos says:

• you may only collect images of identifiable people if it is reasonably necessary for your functions or activities
• consent is not required to collect an image unless it records sensitive information (such as racial or ethnic origin or religious beliefs), but you must take reasonable steps to tell the person who you are, what the image is for and who you usually share it with
• it is good practice to get the person’s express consent after telling them, in as much detail as possible, what their picture will be used for and who will see it
• if you later use the picture for something you did not tell them about, you will probably need their consent, unless they would reasonably expect that use.

The OAIC’s page on consent says express consent is given openly and obviously, for example by signing your name. A signed release is exactly that kind of record.

Do not make it look like an endorsement that is not real

The Australian Consumer Law says a business must not, in trade or commerce, engage in misleading or deceptive conduct (section 18). Section 29 bans false or misleading representations that purport to be a testimonial by any person, or that goods or services have sponsorship or approval. The ACCC says any statement that creates a false impression about goods and services can be breaking the law.

So think about what a viewer will take from a person’s photo beside a product. Presenting a model as a real customer, or putting words in their mouth, is a risk. In its review of influencer posts, the ACCC said that without explicit disclosure of a commercial arrangement, a consumer may be misled into thinking a post is a genuine, unsponsored endorsement. A release records permission to use the image. It does not change what the ad itself tells viewers.

Photographing children

The OAIC strongly encourages organisations to take particular care with children’s images and, depending on the child’s age and understanding, to discuss what will happen with the picture with a parent or guardian first. The eSafety Commissioner says sport organisations should gain a parent’s permission to take and share images of their child. Its guidance for parents says to always check with other parents before posting or tagging images that include their children.

State education departments set their own rules for schools. Two that we read:

In other States and Territories, check the education department’s own photo policy. For any child under 18, the Claim Done release is given and signed by a parent or guardian on the child’s behalf, and names their relationship to the child.

What the release should cover

The OAIC’s consent guidance says a request for consent should be as specific as possible, and should not reach for undefined future uses or vague wording such as “all legitimate uses”. It also says consent given for specific circumstances cannot be assumed to continue indefinitely. A good release therefore spells out:

1. Who is who: the person photographed, and the photographer or business.
2. The shoot: what was photographed or filmed, and when.
3. The uses allowed: for example advertising, social media, website, packaging, portfolio or stock.
4. Where and for how long: the territory (Australia only, or worldwide) and the duration (a set period, or ongoing).
5. Payment: a fee, something else such as free photos, or nothing.
6. Who owns the images: write it down so nobody has to guess later.
7. Limits: any context the person does not want, such as political ads.
8. Signatures and dates, with a parent or guardian for a child.

How the document is set out

The Claim Done release follows this structure:

• Date and parties: the subject (or parent or guardian) and the creator.
• The shoot: a short factual description and the date.
• Grant of consent and permission: consent to be photographed or filmed, and a licence to use the images. It is not a sale of the person’s image.
• Permitted uses: only the uses you list.
• Territory and duration.
• Consideration: any fee or other payment, or that it is given freely.
• Ownership of the images: recorded as the creator’s unless you say otherwise.
• The subject’s release: limited to the agreed uses.
• Limits on use: if the subject asked for any.
• No defamatory or misleading use.
• General terms and signing block.

Signing it and keeping the signed copy

Sign before the images are published, ideally on the day of the shoot while everyone is there. Give the person a copy. Keep the signed original with the image files, so you can find it years later. If you will use the images in a new way that the release does not cover, ask again and get a fresh signature.

If the person changes their mind

For organisations covered by the Privacy Act, the OAIC’s consent guidance says a person can withdraw consent at any time, and the organisation cannot rely on past consent for future use. A signed release still shows what was agreed and when. The OAIC’s advice for someone unhappy with a posted photo starts with asking the person who posted it to take it down. If you get that request, talk it through calmly and check what your release says.

Mistakes to avoid

• Relying on a verbal “yes” with nothing written down.
• A release so broad it covers “any use, forever” without saying what that means.
• Using a photo in an ad in a way that suggests a personal endorsement the person never gave.
• Letting a child sign without a parent or guardian.
• Losing the signed copy.

When you are ready, set out the uses, the territory, the duration and any payment, and get it signed. Start your model release form now.