78% of Australians Say AI Companies Must Keep Asking Permission to Use Creative Work, New Poll Finds

A new Australian poll has put a clear number on a debate that has been running in Canberra for months. According to research released by the Australian Recording Industry Association, known as ARIA, 78 per cent of Australians would keep the requirement for AI companies to get permission before using Australian creative work. Just 9 per cent would change the law. The result lands as the federal government weighs how to set copyright rules for AI training, and it suggests most voters are not willing to trade creator control for faster AI investment.

The poll was conducted by RedBridge Group for ARIA. It surveyed 1,524 adults online from 8 to 10 October 2026, and ARIA released the results on 26 October 2026. Coverage of the release reported a margin of error of about 3.3 points. This is an industry commissioned poll, so it is best read as evidence of public feeling as measured by ARIA.

What the headline number actually means

The headline question asked whether Australians would keep the rule that AI companies need permission to use Australian creative work, even if some AI companies then chose not to train their models in Australia.

On that test, the poll found the permission first position still held by a large margin. Seventy eight per cent said keep the requirement, while 9 per cent said change the law. The remaining respondents did not fall into either camp in the reported headline split. In other words, the poll does not show a public ready to accept a trade in which creator permission is dropped in return for keeping AI companies in Australia.

Support held across every group polled

One of the more striking claims in the release is how even the support was. ARIA reported that no age, gender, income or education group fell below 65 per cent in support for keeping the permission requirement. That matters in a debate where positions are often presented as a split between young technology users and older creators, or between city and regional voters.

The poll also tested the views of people who are broadly supportive of AI development in Australia. Among the 33 per cent who said they support AI companies training models in Australia, 82 per cent still said creators should decide whether their work is used, and 71 per cent would keep the permission requirement. That finding cuts against a simple for or against framing. A person can want AI built in Australia and still want creators to be asked first, according to this poll.

Fifty two per cent said they would be more likely to support a political party that keeps the permission requirement, against 14 per cent who said they would be less likely, with a net positive result reported across Labor, Coalition, One Nation and Greens voters.

National security did not change the answer

The poll also asked whether a national security claim should override the permission rule. Seventy eight per cent said an AI company citing national security as a reason should still need permission to use Australian creative work. Only 9 per cent said it should not.

ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd said the result settled the question of where Australians stand. She said: “If there was ever any doubt about where Australians stand on AI and copyright, this polling settles it: the AI industry has made its best arguments and Australians have rejected every one of them. Australians want creators to decide how their work is used and they will not trade that away for promises of investment or claims around national security.” That is ARIA speaking for the music industry, not a government statement, and readers should weigh it as advocacy backed by its own commissioned research.

Why this poll matters now

The timing is part of the story. According to reports on the consultation process, the Attorney-General’s office was consulting creators and AI companies on copyright law changes in early October 2026. Parliamentary committee leaders wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on 12 October 2026 recommending that copyright settings be examined while preserving creators’ control and payment rights. A committee final report was reported as due in November 2026, with the government aiming to get AI and data centre laws through parliament in early 2027.

None of that means a new law has been settled. No final opt-out regime, statutory licensing scheme or collective licensing system has been confirmed in the reporting on the debate, and no confirmed royalty rate or compensation amount has been set out for AI training. The poll is a snapshot of opinion at one point in a live policy process, not a law itself.

Earlier in October, dozens of Australian media organisations wrote to senior politicians opposing a proposed opt-out model, under which firms could train on work unless creators objected in time. The ARIA poll asks a different question, about keeping a permission requirement, but it is part of the same argument about who should act first.

What to watch next

On those questions, at least in this survey, Australians gave a firm answer: ask first.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did the ARIA poll actually find?

The poll found 78 per cent of Australians would keep the requirement for AI companies to get permission before using Australian creative work, even if some firms chose not to train models in Australia, while 9 per cent would change the law. It also found 74 per cent believe creators should have the right to decide whether their work is used to train AI models.

Who conducted the poll and when?

RedBridge Group conducted the poll for the Australian Recording Industry Association. It surveyed 1,524 adults online from 8 to 10 October 2026, and ARIA released the results on 26 October 2026. The poll was commissioned by the music industry, so it should be read with that context in mind.

Does this poll mean Australian AI copyright law has changed?

No. The poll measures public opinion at one point in time. No final AI training copyright framework has been confirmed in reporting on the debate, and a committee report was due in November 2026 with government legislation aimed for early 2027. The poll may influence that process, but it does not change the law by itself.