Attorney-General George Brandis has heralded the end of a golden era for online piracy in Australia, declaring Australia the "worst offender" in the world.

Governments everywhere are legislating limits to the distribution of illegally sourced songs and movies to help copyright holders promote, and protect, their legitimate content sales.

Senator Brandis is working with Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull to formulate a crackdown in which a number of options are under consideration, technology publication ZDNet revealed.

When the New Zealand government introduced online anti-piracy measures, similar to those being considered here, what followed was some unknowing parents were shocked to receive fines for thousands of dollars .

It is the internet account holders who are ultimately responsible – even though it may have been the kids who were sharing pirated music produced by the likes of Rihanna, Ke$ha, and Lady Gaga. Under New Zealand's "three strikes" law, internet service providers are required to issue offenders with two warnings before a tribunal levies financial penalties.