{"id":18,"date":"2026-09-07T08:27:48","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T08:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ausfilm.org.au\/?page_id=18"},"modified":"2026-09-08T17:06:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T06:36:21","slug":"legal-help","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ausfilm.org.au\/?page_id=18","title":{"rendered":"Legal Help for Your Film Society"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap afsf-lede wp-block-paragraph\">The Federation subscribes to the Arts Law Centre of Australia to provide legal advice to AFSF members \u2014 real legal support, not just general guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Two Services Available<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\n<li>Telephone Legal Advice \u2014 a lawyer gives general legal advice without reviewing any documents. Estimated turnaround: 2\u20133 weeks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Document Review Service \u2014 a lawyer reviews your documents (e.g. contracts) and gives specific advice. Estimated turnaround: 4 weeks.<\/li>\n\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Access to this service must go through the Federation \u2014 get in touch if you&#8217;d like to use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/ausfilm.org.au\/contact\/\">Contact the Federation<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity afsf-sprocket-divider\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other Common Legal Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Does my film society need a constitution?<\/summary>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not unless you want one, though we recommend it. A constitution is necessary if you ever want to become an incorporated association, and most state fair trading departments (e.g. NSW Fair Trading) supply a model constitution to adapt.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Does my film society need to be incorporated, or registered as a not-for-profit?<\/summary>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No to both \u2014 you can operate as a film society without either. Incorporation gives your group its own legal identity, worth looking into via your state&#8217;s business registration body once you&#8217;ve grown past the very early stage; not-for-profit registration is optional and depends on whether the specific benefits apply to your group.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Screening rights and copyright<\/summary>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Screening a film anywhere outside your own home requires permission from the Australian distributor who holds the rights \u2014 see our <a href=\"https:\/\/ausfilm.org.au\/screening-rights\/\">Screening Rights &#038; Copyright<\/a> page for the full explainer.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Public liability insurance<\/summary>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You don&#8217;t need it to function as a society, and many venues already carry cover that extends to you \u2014 but some venues will insist on your own. See our 60 Questions guide for current recommended providers and pricing.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity afsf-sprocket-divider\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"afsf-muted wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This page is general information for AFSF member societies and is not a substitute for professional legal advice.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Free legal advice for AFSF members via the Arts Law Centre of Australia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-18","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Free Legal Advice for Film Societies | AFSF<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"AFSF members get free legal advice via 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