Public Domain Day 2026

Happy Public Domain Day!

1 January 2026, Ali Smith.

In 2026, Australia will see new creators and authors entering the public domain for the first time since 2005, specifically those who passed away in 1955. This means that notable Australian writer Charles Shaw, as well as artists John Radecki and Antonio Dattilo Rubbo, will no longer be under copyright.

In addition to Australian content, the earliest version of Betty Boop will enter the public domain in 2026, and it will also be the first time since 1977 that a new decade of works, the 1930s (see related links), will begin to uniformly enter the public domain in the United States.

Australian artists who died in 1955:

Antonio Dattilo Rubbo (1870–1955), Italian-born artist and art teacher active in Australia from 1897
John Radecki (1865–1955), master stained glass artist
Max Meldrum (1875-1955), Australian painter
Lilian Marguerite Medland (1880–1955), Australian illustrator of books on birds.
Sydney Long (1871-1955), Australian artist
Alice Marion Ellen Bale (1875–1955), Australian artist
Normand Henry Baker (1908-1955), Australian artist
Mildred Esther Lovett (1880–1955), Tasmanian-born artist
Dora Meeson (1869-1955), painter and women’s suffrage activist
Arthur Baker-Clack (1877-1955), Australian artist

Australian authors who died in 1955:

Charles Shaw (1900–1955), Australian journalist and novelist.
Max Afford (1906-1954), author of Blood on His Hands which introduces the detective Jeffery Blackburn