Statement on royalty payments and collection

As separate companies incorporated in Australia, both APRA and AMCOS are obliged to prepare and lodge annual financial reports with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).  

In its statutory accounts for FY25, APRA declared a figure of $214.657m in ‘royalties payable’. These amounts are a snapshot of a moment in time and are simply royalties that are being held in trust at the time the statutory accounts were lodged and are awaiting distribution in accordance with APRA’s payment cycle when they will be paid out directly to rights holders. We reject any suggestion that APRA AMCOS either cannot or will not pay out these royalties. 

When APRA does report in its statutory accounts an excess of ‘current liabilities’ over ‘current assets’, which in the financial year 24-25 was $55.341m, it does not mean that APRA is not able to fully pay its debts. APRA holds sufficient ‘non-current assets’ to ensure all outstanding royalties are paid as and when necessary.   

APRA and AMCOS are different legal entities but operate and often report results jointly under the group name APRA AMCOS.  

Last financial year, APRA AMCOS’s combined revenue and costs resulted in a cost-to-revenue ratio of 13.26% - down from 14.32% the previous year. This 13.26% covers the cost of administering royalties, including staff as well as significant investment in technology to process data more efficiently and accurately. 

In FY25 more royalties from international sources were paid to more members than ever before, in part due to improved technology for automatic ingestion and matching of works, and processing of international royalties. 

APRA AMCOS’s published cost-to-revenue percentage is calculated on total costs for both entities (in the case of FY25, $104.5m) as a proportion of total revenue for both entities (in the case of FY2025, $787.9m). Our 24-25 Year in Review statistics are HERE. 

For the purposes of the Year In Review statistics, the total revenue figure for APRA AMCOS includes all revenue received by APRA and AMCOS from all sources, including licensing revenue and other associated revenue such as interest. The total operating costs FY25 of $104.5m are all costs incurred to operate and manage the combined APRA AMCOS business. 

Both APRA and AMCOS members are entitled to seek access to information that we hold regarding their personal and works information. Access is provided to members both in accordance with their rights under Australian or New Zealand privacy legislation and both constitutions. 

Clause 99B of both Constitutions provides members with access to records “as they relate to that member’s works”. This includes all data that we have in respect of a member’s musical works, subject to confidentiality considerations.  

Members can notify us to inspect these records and we comply with these requests at all times, noting we need at least seven business days’ notice to make this happen. This need for advanced notice is clearly communicated with everyone who requests access to their records. If necessary members can make a suitable appointment to view these records in person once they have been prepared. 

While both APRA and AMCOS Constitutions provide a seven-business day notification period, APRA AMCOS does not have an obligation to provide access on the date that a member specifies. APRA AMCOS’s position is that the time frame for providing that access will be as soon as practical and reasonable in the circumstances. At this stage, given the sheer volume of data that APRA AMCOS has in its possession and control, the time period for full compliance with a notification under 99B may be several weeks, and will be impacted by the volume of separate notifications received within similar periods. 

Clause 91(c) of APRA’s Constitution and clause 86(c) of AMCOS’s Constitution obliges APRA AMCOS to make the minutes of general meetings available for inspection between the hours of 2 and 4pm on each business day. If physical access is required to an APRA AMCOS premises, an appointment is required. Our membership team can assist any member wishing to make an appointment to inspect the minutes of APRA’s or AMCOS’ Annual General Meetings (AGMs). 

All members entitled to vote at APRA’s and/or AMCOS’s AGMs receive the previous AGM’s minutes on the Voting Portal as a matter of course. 

APRA AMCOS is open to granting any APRA or AMCOS member digital access to the minutes of relevant AGMs, and we are looking at ways that members can readily access these documents remotely to avoid the need to make an appointment and attend the office. 

We strongly refute any suggestion that our minutes are not available to members in accordance with our Constitution.  

APRA and AMCOS have robust corporate governance arrangements, including in respect of Board appointments and conflicts of interest.  

Members are given an opportunity and encouraged every year to vote on the members of the Boards. 

More information regarding corporate governance is available on our website, with APRA’s Corporate Governance Statement available HERE and AMCOS’s Corporate Governance Statement HERE. 

APRA is currently awaiting the Final Determination for its Authorisation from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). This process has been standard practice for APRA since 1998 and since that time we have been granted six Authorisations by the ACCC. 

APRA is currently operating under an Authorisation granted by the ACCC in 2020, and we expect the ACCC to make its determination for the next Authorisation period very soon. A Draft Determination was published by the ACCC in November 2024, which includes a number of draft Conditions under which APRA will be expected to operate during the next Authorisation period. Currently, these conditions impose a number of additional transparency and consultations on APRA with respect to members and licensees, as well as continuing to ensure that anyone that interacts with APRA has access to a robust, inexpensive and independent alternative dispute resolution service.  

The ACCC’s Authorisation process is open to the public, with applications, decisions and non-confidential communications and submissions available on the ACCC’s website HERE.