If you organise an event or concert at which music will be heard in public, you normally must obtain permission from the copyright owners of the music, or have a relevant music licence in place. This is required whether you use live performers or a sound recording of the music, and whether you charge an entry fee or not. Even if students are performing the music as part of their assessment, if parents or other members of the public are admitted, you need copyright owner permission.
Events organised by student organisations such as student unions and guilds that have a separate legal entity from the University are not covered by University licences. Such organisations are responsible for obtaining their own licences.
If you are organising a screening of a video or film, you need to get copyright owner permission. This applies whether you charge an entry fee or not. Apply to the film distributor in the first instance. If you hire the film from the distributor with the stated intention of public screening, the licence fee is usually included in the hire charge.
If you wish to organise a public performance of a play, dramatic musical work, or dance work, you need to get permission from the rights holders. You may have to do some investigation to find out who they are and you should secure the permission well in advance of your planned performance. It would be very disappointing to have your production cancelled at the last minute because rights were not obtained.
Torrens University Australia has an Education and Training Providers Music Licence with the Australian music collecting societies (APRA, AMCOS, PPCA and ARIA) which allows for a range of specified uses of live and recorded music on campuses and at approved events.
However, at this time, the agreed terms of the licence do not extend to the use of music in the formal coursework curriculum, so music uploaded to module content on MyLearn should only be royalty-free, Creative Commons, or used with specific permission of all relevant copyright owners.