Who owns the code my developer wrote? (Australia)

Also searched as: Who owns the source code · Who owns the code? · How do I startup if I don't own the code?

Updated 3 October 2026

Short answer

In Australia, code is protected by copyright as a "literary work", and the person who writes it owns the copyright, with two main exceptions. Code an employee writes as part of their job belongs to the employer. And copyright can be transferred, but only by a document signed by the person giving it up. So if a contractor or agency wrote your code and nothing in writing assigns it to you, they may still own it, even though you paid for it.

What's the problem

You paid for an app. Now you want to change developers, sell the business, raise money, or simply get hold of the code, and someone says it isn't yours. Or nobody has said anything yet, and you're not sure what you'd find if you checked.

Why it happens

  • Ownership follows authorship, not payment. Paying an invoice doesn't by itself transfer copyright. The default owner is whoever wrote the code.
  • Contractors aren't employees. The rule that an employer owns its staff's work applies to employees, under what the law calls a contract of service. Freelancers and agencies usually aren't that.
  • The transfer has to be written and signed. A verbal "of course it's yours", or an email from you saying you own it, isn't an assignment.
  • Not all of the code is theirs to give. Open-source libraries stay under their own licences. Agencies often reuse their own templates and tools, and their contracts may keep those.

How to fix it

  1. Find the paperwork. The contract, the quote you accepted, or the terms on their website. Look for "intellectual property", "IP", "assignment" or "ownership".
  2. If it assigns the IP to you, often on payment, check you've paid everything it requires, and keep the proof.
  3. If there's nothing in writing, ask the developer to sign a short assignment now, while the relationship is still civil. A lawyer can draft one quickly.
  4. Get a full copy of the code regardless, ideally the repository with its history, transferred to an account you control.
  5. For all future work, use a contract that assigns the IP to you on payment.
  6. If they refuse, or a sale or investment depends on it, get legal advice before you go further.

Australian law

  • Code is a literary work. The definition of "literary work" in section 10 of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) includes a computer program.
  • The author owns it. Section 35(2): the author of a literary work owns the copyright, subject to the rest of section 35.
  • Employees are the exception. Section 35(6): where the work is made under the terms of the author's employment under a contract of service, the employer owns the copyright.
  • Assignments must be in writing. Section 196(3): an assignment of copyright has no effect unless it's in writing, signed by or on behalf of the person assigning it.

Without an assignment, what you may do with the code depends on your agreement and the circumstances. That's a question for a lawyer.

General information, not legal advice.

When to call Preventionlabs

We're not lawyers, and ownership disputes are a lawyer's job. Before we work on a project, you need to own it or have the right to authorise the work, and you confirm that in writing. For the work we do ourselves, ownership is settled up front: on payment in full, all rights in the code and documentation we create are assigned to you, and handover leaves the code in a repository you own or control.

Submit your project for a free assessment

Free assessment. $10,000 AUD flat to get it live, only if we take it on and you go ahead.

Sources

  1. Copyright Act 1968 (Cth): Section 10: definition of literary worklegislation, compilation No. 65literary work includes: (a) a table, or compilation, expressed in words, figures or symbols; and (b) a computer program or compilation of computer programs.
  2. Copyright Act 1968 (Cth): Section 35(2): ownership of copyrightlegislation, compilation No. 65Subject to this section, the author of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work is the owner of any copyright subsisting in the work by virtue of this Part.
  3. Copyright Act 1968 (Cth): Section 35(6): works made by employeeslegislation, compilation No. 65Where a literary, dramatic or artistic work to which neither of the last two preceding subsections applies, or a musical work, is made by the author in pursuance of the terms of his or her employment by another person under a contract of service or apprenticeship, that other person is the owner of any copyright subsisting in the work by virtue of this Part.
  4. Copyright Act 1968 (Cth): Section 196(3): assignments must be in writinglegislation, compilation No. 65An assignment of copyright (whether total or partial) does not have effect unless it is in writing signed by or on behalf of the assignor.

Related

My developer disappeared mid-project. What now? Secure what you can reach today: code, domain, hosting, app store and payment accounts. Then check what you own, and what state the project is really in. What should my developer hand over? The code with its history, owner control of every account, every setting and secret, and notes on how to run, deploy and fix it. A checklist for before they go. My technical co-founder left. What happens to the product? Two problems: the company's (equity, and whether the code was assigned to it) and the product's (who can run and fix it now). Secure access to both today. Who owns code written by AI? (Australia) AI tools generally assign you whatever rights they have. But in Australia copyright needs a human author, so purely AI-generated code may not be protected.
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