Membership
The Australian Writers’ Guild continues to fight against unfair treatment of writers both for the writers’ sake and in support of a healthy industry. We are negotiating new industrial terms and conditions and have developed a new range of model contracts and minimum recommended terms and conditions. Our service for members ups the ante on contract negotiations and adherence. Solidarity is fundamental to winning these battles. Support the guild that works hard for you and your fellow writers, and call on our services to fight for what you are worth.
In joining with other writing professionals, you will be contributing to the health of Australian performance writing culture and all its communities. Without the support and advice of the Guild over the past 60 years, many successful writers would never have had the chance to develop the careers they now cherish.
Australia’s most prominent writers are long-serving members of the Australian Writers’ Guild.
Membership Levels
The Australian Writers’ Guild continues to fight against unfair treatment of writers both for the writers’ sake and in support of a healthy industry. We are negotiating new recommended industrial terms and conditions and have developed a new range of model contracts and minimum recommended terms and conditions. We launched a brand new service for members in 2010 to up the ante on contract negotiations and adherence. Solidarity is fundamental to winning these battles. Support the guild that works hard for you and your fellow writers, and call on our services to fight for what you are worth.
In joining with other writing professionals, you will be contributing to the health of Australian performance writing culture and all its’ communities. Without the support and advice of the Guild over the past 60 years, many successful writers would never have had the chance to develop the careers they now cherish.
Levels of Membership
The AWG has a number of membership levels for stage and screen writers. Full members are stage or screen writers who have produced work and are entitled to the full range of services provided by the AWG. Emerging writers without the required amount of produced work can apply for Associate membership of the Guild and can make use of a number of our services and networking opportunities and apply for the many initiatives we run throughout the year. We also have student, senior and overseas membership.
Full, Associate, and Student members can sign up for membership online via the blue JOIN button above. For more information on our Senior and Overseas memberships, please contact [email protected] or call 02 9319 0339.
Full Membership
To qualify for full membership you must have had your screen or stage writing produced.
For film, theatre and radio you must have at least 50 minutes of produced work, television writers must have 45 minutes. For any other form of performance writing please contact the AWG National Office for more information.
Some of the benefits of AWG Full Membership include:
- Access to model contracts and recommended standard rates for film, television, theatre and new media,
- In-house industrial advice provided by our industrial team,
- Invitations to professional networking opportunities and a wide range of industry events,
- Invitations to a wide range of industry events, as well as committee-organised events in most states (monthly in Sydney and Melbourne), and a free ticket to the Annual AWGIE Awards,
- Access to industry and professional development seminars, workshops and conferences
- Entry in AWG competitions, including the Annual AWGIE Awards,
- Opportunities to be made eligible for Pathways Showcase and/or Prime, including via AWG-run competitions,
- AWG's Script registration service,
- AWG's Script assessment service,
- Industry Information, news and special offers via our AWG newsletter, and industrial alerts via our Industrial newsletter, and
- Discounted prices on Final Draft – the industry standard in scriptwriting software.
One-off Joining Fee $185
Annual Rates
GST Inclusive
| Income | Monthly* | Quarterly* | 12 months |
| Below $40,000 | $27.10 | $81.25 | $325 |
| $40,001-$60,000 | $37.50 | $112.50 | $450 |
| $60,001 – $80,000 | $45.84 | $137.50 | $550 |
| $80,001 – $100,000 | $62.50 | $187.50 | $750 |
| Over $100,000 | $70.75 | $212.50 | $850 |
* Note: Monthly and Quarterly payments must be made for a minimum of 12 months. To change your payment frequency, click the Renew button above.
Associate Membership
Associate Membership is available for un-produced writers or writers with produced work beneath the minimum stated for full membership.
This level of membership is perfect for emerging writers looking for support and craft development opportunities and the chance to network other writers and members of the industry. Associate membership of the AWG is a fantastic way of becoming part of the writing community while you’re looking for your big break.
Some of the benefits of AWG Associate Membership include:
- Industrial advice (6 hours per annum with additional advice charged at a rate of $165/hr),
- Access to agreements, rates and other industrial documents,
- Standard agreements include: options, co-writing & employment contracts,
- Eligibility for writing competitions, prizes and initiatives,
- Invitations to a wide range of industry events, as well as committee-organised events in most states (monthly in Sydney and Melbourne),
- Access to writing and professional resources,
- Opportunities to be made eligible for Pathways Showcase, including via AWG-run competitions,
- AWG's Script Registration service,
- AWG's Script Assessment service,
- Access to industry information, news and special offers, including discounts and giveaways, via our newsletter, and
- Discounted prices on Final Draft – the industry standard in scriptwriting software
One-off Joining Fee $120
Annual Rates
GST Inclusive| Monthly* | Quarterly* | 12 Months |
| $17.50 | $52.50 | $210 |
* Note: Monthly and Quarterly payments must be made for a minimum of 12 months. To change your payment frequency, click the Renew button above.
Student Membership
To qualify for student membership you must be able to provide proof of enrolment in either a full time course in any subject or a part-time performance writing course.
Some of the benefits of AWG Student Membership include:
- Access to agreements, rates and other industrial documents via the AWG website,
- Access to standard agreements, including options, co-writing & employment contracts,
- Invitations to a wide range of industry events, as well as committee-organised events in most states (monthly in Sydney and Melbourne),
- Access to writing and professional resources,
- AWG's Script Registration Service,
- AWG's Script Assessment Service, and
- Access to industry information, news and special offers, including discounts and giveaways, via our newsletter.
One-off Joining Fee is waived for Student Members
Annual Membership $85
GST Inclusive.Once you have completed your online membership registration, you will be prompted to upload your student ID.
Your enrolment will not be valid until we have received a copy of your student card or proof of enrolment, and activated your membership.
Mac Gudgeon
I volunteered to sit on the National Executive Council because on matters industrial, professional and cultural, one voice can be ignored, a thousand voices, united, can initiate change.
Industrial Advice
As the professional association for Australia’s performance writers, the Australian Writers’ Guild provides our members with extensive industrial support but also work to improve our screen and theatre industries as a whole and in doing so play our part in promoting Australia’s cultural voice.
We work with members to ensure that performance writers get the pay and conditions they deserve. Our members come together to work for and represent their fellow writers across the industry in a number of committees such as the Feature Film, Children’s Television and Playwrights committees. On behalf of our members we establish recommended minimum rates and conditions for writers. We provide model contracts for series and serials, children’s television, theatre and feature film. The AWG gives writers an active political voice by lobbying for the improved status of writers; for industry development and for the protection of writers’ creative rights.
We provide our members with free industrial advice related to their professional work including advice with individual contracts and credit arbitration. This advice is unlimited for full members and limited to 6 hours per year for associate members. Please note it does not include services of legal representation.
For further information please contact one of our Industrial Officers on 02 9319 0339 or [email protected].
Industrial contracts and rates available to members
Prospective AWG Members can view the list of industrial resources, rates and contracts available below. Current AWG members can access these files here. If you are not already logged in to your account, you will be prompted to log in. If you are not a current AWG member, you can join or renew your membership here.
Industrial Contracts
Negotiated Agreements
These agreements have been negotiated by the AWG with other organisations. The agreements covering television writing have been negotiated with Screen Producers Australia (SPA). The Theatre Industry Agreement was negotiated with the Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG).
- Children's Television Agreement 2011 & Writers Contract with 2023 Rates
- MATA Agreement 2010 with 2023 Rates
- MATA Writer's Contract 2010 with 2023 Rates
- SASA Agreement 2008 with 2023 Rates
- SASA Writers Contract 2 January 2008 with 2023 rates
- Theatre Industry Agreement 2016
Recommended Agreements
The AWG recommended agreements provide writers with favourable terms which are a good starting point for negotiations with producers.
- Corporate Commercial Contract
- Corporate Non-Commercial Contract
- Executive Producer (Series Creator and Showrunner) Agreement
- Feature Film Agreement
- Feature Film Option Agreement - Including Assignment Deed
- Script Editor Agreement
- Short Film Writers' Contract
- Short Form Option Agreement Adaptation
- TV/VOD (Original Concept) Option and Assignment Agreement
Miscellaneous Agreements
- AWG Rights Assignment Letter
- Co-writers Agreement
- Confidentiality Agreement
Rates
These are standard minimum rates the AWG has negotiated over many years, and are accepted as an industrial standard. They are the minimum rates that an Australian writer ought to receive and should by no means prevent you from negotiating a higher fee based on your experience.
- Casual Writing Minimum Rates 2023
- Children's Television Agreement Rates 2023
- Corporate DVD Minimum Rates 2023
- Documentary Rates 2023
- Feature Film Minimum Rates 2023
- Freelance Narrative Designer - Games and Interactive 2023
- Freelance Script Editors and Assessors 2023
- Low Budget and Short Film Rates 2023
- MATA Minimum Rates 2023
- SASA Rates 2023
- Script Department Rates 2023
- Theatre Industry Agreement Minimum Rates 2023
Members Only Industrial Resources
- Screen Credits Manual
- Moral Rights Accord
- Television Series Creator and Executive Producer (Showrunner) Guidelines
- Copyright Information
Pathways
The AWG is helping our members get their work noticed with an exciting program called Pathways.
The program has been developed to provide a channel for great scripts that are discovered through our many initiatives and competitions to reach industry professionals looking for fresh new scripts to take to stage and screen. Pathways showcases scripts that our experienced members uncover while judging competitions and consider to have high potential for production.
Industry members can access synopses of the selected scripts on the AWG website and then contact the writer of a script that has piqued their interest.
The program was developed as result of the wealth of fantastic material coming through the AWG mailbox and knowing how difficult it can sometimes be to get a great script noticed. The AWG sees the program as a way to help forge relationships between our members and other industry professionals.
To learn more about Pathways, visit our pathways page
Your Scripts & Registration
Upload your script registration HERE.
With more than 10,000 scripts given additional protection, it’s no surprise script registration is one of the most popular services we offer to writers at all career stages.
Purpose
The Australian Writers' Guild’s Registration Service has been set up (in line with script registration services offered by Writers’ Guilds in the UK, USA and Canada) to assist AWG members in establishing the completion date and the identity of their literary property. It should be remembered that the aim of the registration is to prove priority of ownership, and that the priority of ownership cannot necessarily be proved if the material is sent to a reader or producer before it is received and registered by the Guild.
Value
Registration does not confer any protection that you are not already entitled to under Australian law. It merely provides evidence of the author’s prior claim to authorship of the literary material and the date of its completion. Registration does not confer copyright. In Australia, copyright is owned by the author of an original work as soon as it is in material form (i.e. in writing). There is no need for an author to do anything further to protect their work, provided the author is an Australian resident and their work is “original” (in the sense of being the author(s) own composition).
Material
The Australian Writers’ Guild will accept full scripts for registration, as well as material which is not in full script form, e.g. synopses, outlines, treatments and scenarios. Each property must be registered separately.
Joint Authors
In the case of joint authorship, all parties must be members (Full or Associate) of the Guild, and all names must appear on the registration form.
Procedure
One copy of the material which is to be registered shall be lodged with the Guild office, which shall seal the material in an envelope marked with all the relevant details (name and address of the author, title and format of the material, registration number and date of registration, and signature of the staff member acting as registrar). This envelope shall be kept in a safe place by the Guild. Material for registration may be either be mailed or delivered in person to the Guild office, together with the appropriate registration fee. After a registration number has been allocated, the author may then note on the title page of his/her work that it is registered with the Australian Writers’ Guild. The correct makings for the title page are shown below.
Withdrawals
The registered copy of the material left on deposit cannot be returned to the author without defeating the purpose of registration because evidence should be available, if necessary, that the material has been in registration. However, if necessary, an author may have the registered copy returned to him/her at any time upon sufficient notice. A registered envelope will be surrendered only to the author upon presentation of the original registration receipt, proper identification and payment of the withdrawal fee. Where there are joint authors, written consent of all parties must be tendered. Registered manuscripts, or information pertaining thereto, shall be made available to no person other than the author(s) unless a court order has been obtained. Once a script has been withdrawn, the original registration is no longer valid and the material must be registered again.
Duration
Registration is valid for ten years. A registration may be renewed before the end of the ten year period by application to the Guild and payment of the then current renewal fee. In registering a property you authorise the Guild, unless the registration is renewed at the end of the ten year period, to destroy any unclaimed property without notice
Pseudonyms
Scripts may only be registered in the name of the author(s) and under no other name(s). Pseudonyms are not acceptable.
Fees
Registration fee….$27.50 including GST per property
Renewal fee…….. $27.50 including GST per property
Title Page
Australia is a member of both international copyright conventions: the Berne Union and the Universal Copyright Convention. No formalities are required by the former, but under the latter it is necessary to display on your work the copyright symbol “©” your name and the year. Once the script is registered, the title page of all subsequent copies of that script should carry the registration number (see below). This is in effect a warning that you will not tolerate any infringement of your copyright.
The correct style of marking for the title page of your script is:
Copyright or “©” Jane Smith, 1994
Registered with the Australian Writers’ Guild
No: _________
Please note: Registration is available to current financial members of the Guild only.
If you are not a member join here.
Script Assessments
The Australian Writers’ Guild is proud to offer our members a Script Assessment service.
After extensive consultation with development professionals working in film, TV and theatre, we have designed a script assessment service to give members constructive and balanced evaluation of their draft scripts.
AWG provides members with a number of choices to suit their experience level and the stage of their script’s development. This includes three tiers of assessment and a range of reporting and consultation options. Australia’s leading assessors ensure a high quality of assessment and efficient turnaround.
Please log in to access the Script Assessment service and to view the list of our assessors.
Assessment types
| TIER | MEMBER SUBMISSION | ASSESSOR FEEDBACK | PRICE* |
| Tier A: Written Report | 20-30 pages + 1 line and 1 paragraph synopsis | 2-3 pages written feedback | $275 |
| Tier B: Written Report | 45-65 pages + 1 line and 1 paragraph synopsis | Max 4 pages written feedback | $385 |
| Tier B: Face-to-face | 45-65 pages + 1 line and 1 paragraph synopsis | 45 mins face-to-face + 2 pages written feedback | $385 |
| Tier C: Written Report | up to 120 pages + 1 line and 1 paragraph synopsis | Max 6 pages written feedback | $495 |
| Tier C: Face-to-face | up to 120 pages + 1 line and 1 paragraph synopsis | 1 hour face-to-face + 2 pages written feedback | $495 |
| Follow Up: Phone Consultation | 45 minutes on phone | $110 | |
| Follow Up: Face-to-face | 60 minutes on Zoom | $165 |
* GST inclusive
Tier A: Written Report
We encourage first-time and emerging writers to consider Tier A. You may also benefit from this level if you’ve embarked on a new script, and need a litmus test before you continue – or if you have a treatment you’d like assessed.
Writers provide a one-line and a one-paragraph synopsis and up to 30 pages of a draft script or treatment. The AWG assessor provides a maximum of 3 pages of written feedback.
Assessment Fee: $275
Tier B: Written Report
The Tier B report is designed for members who have written a TV script and are seeking feedback on their draft. This tier is ideal for, but not limited to, those who aspire to write for commercial TV or streaming services.
Writers provide a one-line and a one-paragraph synopsis and a draft script they are developing (up to 65 pages). The AWG assessor provides a maximum of 4 pages of written feedback.
Assessment Fee: $385
Tier B: Face-to-face
Face-to-face meetings are very popular with both our assessors and writers. They often find it’s a dynamic, fast way to tap fresh creative reservoirs and lay waste to writing blocks.
Writers provide a one-line and a one-paragraph synopsis and a full draft script of the project they are developing. The AWG assessor provides a 2 page report and meets with the writer for a 45 minute face-to-face meeting.
Assessment Fee: $385
Tier C: Written Report
The Tier C report is recommended for more established writers, and those who’ve been assessed before. This tier is suitable for feature film or theatre scripts and is useful in a broader industry development context.
Writers provide a one-line and a one-paragraph synopsis and a full draft script they are developing. The AWG assessor provides a maximum of 6 pages of written feedback.
Assessment Fee: $495
Tier C: Face-to-Face
Face-to-face meetings are highly regarded by our members as an easy way to exchange ideas and seek immediate feedback/insight from our experienced assessors.
Writers provide a one-line and a one-paragraph synopsis and a full draft script of the project they are developing. The AWG assessor provides a 2 page report and meets with the writer for a 1 hour face-to-face meeting.
Assessment Fee: $495
Follow-up Consultations
From time to time, writers require clarification or further discussion with an assessor with regard to the feedback on their project. A follow-up consultation (45 mins over the phone or 60 mins face-to-face) is available for an additional fee. Not all assessors will be available for this service.
Phone Consultation Fee: $110
Face-to-Face Consultation Fee: $165
Member Events & Competitions
Promotions and Discounts
The Australian Writers’ Guild has put together a range of additional lifestyle benefits and services where AWG Members are eligible to receive discounts and concessions.
Here are the great new services we have introduced:
AWG members receive 30% off IMDbPro, the go-to resource for the entertainment industry, providing you with access to contacts and representation for over 300,000 industry professionals and details of over 25,000 projects in development. To access this great deal, contact [email protected].
AWG Members can now access fixed reduced rates on car and truck rental through Budget and its Budget Business Club. To make a booking simply, click here. For telephone bookings call and make sure to quote the BCD Number: N039649.
AWG Members receive a discounted ticket for any regular sessions, anytime*. Present your AWG membership card at the box office. For cinema details click here.
*Excludes film festivals and special screenings.
AWG Members receive a discounted ticket for any regular session, anytime*. Present your AWG membership card at the box office. For cinema details click here.
*Excludes film festivals and special screenings.
Belvoir St Theatre offers AWG members Industry rate tickets – Upstairs shows are discounted to $62 and Downstairs shows to $42. Present your AWG membership card at the box office when collecting tickets. To make a booking or see the upcoming program, click here
If you wish to suggest a service you would like your Guild to offer its members, please contact our office at [email protected].
Final Draft
Final Draft, the industry standard for scriptwriting, is available with fantastic discounts from the AWG.
The Australian Writers’ Guild is proud to be an official reseller of Final Draft, the number one selling scriptwriting software in the world.
Final Draft is a program specifically designed for writing screenplays, teleplays, stage plays and scripts for new media. The program formats scripts to entertainment industry standards leaving you to focus your creative energy on the content.
Thanks to our partnership with Final Draft we are able to offer this software and related upgrades to our members at a seriously reduced price.
AWG Member Price: $199 for a download of Final Draft 12. Price is GST inclusive.
Contact the AWG National Office at [email protected] to purchase your copy today and get writing!
Please Note: The Australian Writers’ Guild is an authorised reseller only. All technical questions relating to the downloading/installation of the product or future software issues or queries should be directed to the Technical Support Team of Final Draft by visiting: http://www.finaldraft.com/support.