Australia plans to enact law requiring streaming services to invest in domestic productions

Streaming Platform

Australia is set to introduce legislation requiring digital services to allocate a specified amount of funds in domestic content, as announced by government statements on Tuesday.

Services including Disney+ along with additional providers with over 1M users will need to contribute a minimum of 10% of their local spending or 7.5% of revenue on Australian content.

Legislation will be introduced to parliament this week covering documentaries and informative content.

Government ministers stated the move is designed to safeguard acting jobs within the sector. Streaming services are yet to commented publicly.

'Remarkable productions'

"There are local production requirements on free-to-air TV and pay television, but until now, there has been no guarantee that we could see Australian narratives on streaming services," an official representative stated.

"Since launching in Australia, streaming services have created some extraordinary series. These requirements will ensure that those stories – Australian content – will keep being produced."

According to reports, the law is scheduled for presentation to legislators in the coming days.

These updated content requirements were meant to be implemented in mid-2024 however worries regarding potential conflicts with a free trade agreement with the US led to the initiative being put on hold.

Officials mentioned difficulty engaging in discussions with American counterparts while it was holding electoral process.

After President Trump was elected, concerns emerged regarding if the rules might prompt American officials to implement retaliatory tariffs against Australia.

Currently, following resolution, amid improved relations between the countries, these regulations are now back for consideration.

Although industry groups applauded the announcement, streamers are still to comment regarding this development.

Previously, digital services published documentation emphasizing their cultural and financial contribution on the national creative economy.

However, some observers interpreted this as strategic positioning against any attempt at future regulation.

Production slump

Current Australian shows available online feature multiple programs spanning various categories.

Like many countries, Australia's creative industries have suffered recently, partly because of reduced activity during the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the fiscal period 2023-24, investment in movies and TV series produced domestically decreased by almost one-third, according to sector data.