Generally, if a person wishes to use material where the copyright belongs to someone else, contact should be made with the owner of the copyright.

Information, and in some cases advice, can be sought from the Australian Copyright Council.

In some areas there are a large number of copyright owners and rather than contacting every owner, associations (called collecting societies) have been formed to collect royalty payments on behalf of their members who own the copyright.

In Australia these associations are:

The Copyright Council has a factsheet "Permission: How to Get It" which is a useful guide on how to locate a copyright owner and request permission.