Australia’s long-running push to make Big Tech pay for local journalism has reached a major milestone, with the News Bargaining Incentive now through Parliament.
The legislation is designed to close a loophole in the existing News Media Bargaining Code that allowed platforms such as Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, to avoid further payments by removing or de-prioritising news from their services.
The new scheme instead encourages platforms to strike commercial deals with Australian media companies, regardless of whether they carry news.
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The move has been welcomed by Free TV Australia, which represents Australia’s commercial free-to-air broadcasters and says the industry invested $408 million in trusted news during FY24, including $35.2 million in regional Australia.
Bridget Fair, CEO of Free TV Australia, has welcomed the passage of the News Bargaining Incentive, calling it a significant milestone for Australian journalism (image – Free TV Australia / Tony Newby)
In a statement on Thursday, Free TV Australia CEO Bridget Fair (pictured above) described the passage as a significant milestone, saying the new mechanism would ensure global technology platforms contribute to the Australian journalism they benefit from.
“This is a significant milestone. The NBI puts a clear, workable mechanism in place to ensure that global tech platforms pay for the Australian journalism that they profit from.”
Fair also thanked Communications Minister Anika Wells and Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino for delivering the legislation, while saying Free TV looked forward to working with the Government on its implementation.
The legislation passed Parliament on Thursday, following an agreement between the Government and Coalition on changes to the bill. The final negotiations increased the minimum number of Australian news publishers a covered platform must strike deals with from six to eight.
Under the final scheme, major digital platforms with significant search or social media services and more than $250 million in Australian digital advertising revenue can offset their liability by striking commercial deals with eligible news publishers.
Platforms that do not meet the requirements face a charge of up to 2.5% of their Australian advertising revenue.
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No individual deal can account for more than 25% of a platform’s liability, while deals with small and medium-sized publishers receive a larger offset than those with major publishers.
For TV networks, the potential impact extends beyond the traditional evening bulletin, with qualifying commercial arrangements able to support news content produced and made available online.
The same scheme applies to newspaper groups, digital publishers and regional news organisations.
The final model has not been without criticism, with media companies raising concerns that basing the charge on digital advertising revenue could limit how much money ultimately flows back into Australian journalism.
The focus now shifts to whether the new rules actually deliver more commercial deals between the major platforms and Australian news organisations.
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