The Australian Writers' Guild (AWG) is the professional association for all performance writers, that is, writers for film, television, radio, theatre, video and new media. It was founded in March 1962 by a group of 17 radio writers who met at the Australia Hotel in Sydney and decided to form a guild to represent their professional interests. Initially called The Australian Radio, Television and Screenwriters' Guild (ARTSG), the first committee comprised Don Houghton, Richard Lane, Ric Aspinall, Kay Keaveney and Lyle Martin. The committee decided to register the organisation with labour Council of New South Wales in late 1962 because it provided recognition and support from other trade unions within the industry, notably Actors' Equity and the Musicians' Union.
A member of both the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds and the Australian Council of Trade Union, the AWG gives writers an active political voice by lobbying government on such issues as copyright protection and the provision of adequate support for film and theatre funding bodies and the ABC and protecting Australian content. The AWG is a democratic organisation run by its members, who each year elect a National Executive Council and State Branch Committees. The Australian Writers' Guild receives assistance from the Literature Fund of the Australia Council, the State Arts Ministries in New South Wales and Western Australia, the Australian Film Commission, the Film Finance Corporation, Cinemedia, the South Australian Film Corporation, Pacific Film and Television, ScreenWest and the NSW Film and Television office. Since 1967, the AWG confers the AWGIE Awards for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing.
