Must I register my works with the Australian copyright council if I want them protected by Australian copyright laws? Why/Why not?

Answer:  It is important to understand how copyright works. Registering or not registering the works won’t affect the ownership and copyright of the work created. Technically to understand, copyright protection exists from the time the work is created and fixed in an accessible medium. So technically you do not need to register your work with the Australian Copyright council to have your work protected. But there are many other benefits of registering your work. The advantages include that it gives you proof of ownership and also the when it is registered the copyright claim has weight and the person violating the copyright law will be subject to felony depending on the degree of misuse/abuse of copyright. Whereas if the work is not registered you may claim copyright but the consequences for offender are not same. The bottom line is to get your work registered or not, you have the protection but registering gives you more legal options and legal protection.