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Australian Writers’ Guild

A leading organisation that represents Australian writers

The Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) is a professional association that promotes and safeguards rights for writers, especially in performance areas. In addition, the association helps writers adjust to the performance written style, provides assistance for improving their expertise, and aids the members in negotiations of collective bargaining.

The association specialises in various performance media. The members of the association have benefits such as standard contrast in series and serials, in merchant and supportive theatre, and across-the-aboard model rates and agreement in the motion picture industry. These agreements were set up to provide the minimum restrictions to the members.

The AWG is a bridge between writers and governments. The association assists writers to get an active political voice from the government on key issues such as copyright protection, regulations of support for motion picture and funding bodies.

The association is very comprehensive and cooperative with other associations and organisations that are professional in relative areas such as the art or film industries. The guild also joins in international technical organisations, for instance, the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain.

The AWG was founded in March 1962; 17 radio writers met in Sydney and planed a form to introduce their professional interests. The original title of the association was The Australian Radio, Television and Screen Writers’ Guild. However, this was amended to the Australian Writers’ Guild in May 1962.

The association grew up in 1969, setting up eight dissimilar contracts and agreements with separate networks and production companies. In 1980, the guild received the most successful strike in the history. Channel 9 paid sixty dollars for a one hour script to Here’s Humphrey writers.

Last updated by Thomas Stallman (2011-10-25)