The legislation prescribes a number of matters to be considered in determining reasonableness, including the nature of the work, the purpose, manner and context of its use, relevant industry practice and whether it was made in the course of employment. For instance, just as copyright works can range from high art to very mundane, functional materials, so do the obligations vary as to the degree of recognition and respect which users of works must accord the authors. These could range from full respect for the works of established authors to minimal or no recognition of the authorship of material such as some computer programs and written instructions on the operation of household appliances. In cases where it would be inconvenient to give the required degree of recognition or respect, the legislation provides for obtaining the written consent of the author to non-compliance. There are very precise provisions about the permitted scope of a consent.
Persons employed to create works can give a comprehensive consent in favour of their employer.
The legislation expressly states that consent obtained under duress or by a false or misleading statement will not be valid. The legislation recognises that moral rights present special difficulties for buildings and art works associated with them or sited in public places. It makes detailed provision for the architect or artist to be consulted before any change to or demolition of a building or removal of a public site-specific art work, without impinging on the right of the owner to deal with their property. The legislation also recognises the different nature of films compared with literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, consistently with the treatment of such subject matter elsewhere in the Copyright Act. While the right of integrity of authorship will apply to literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works made before 21 December 2000, it will apply only to films made after that date.