Albanese Government to establish News Bargaining Incentive

Source: Albanese Government to establish News Bargaining Incentive

The Albanese Government will establish the News Bargaining Incentive to ensure large digital platforms contribute to the sustainability of news media in Australia.

A strong and diverse news sector is vital for a healthy democracy. 

However the rapid growth of digital platforms has disrupted revenues to Australia’s media sector, which threatens the viability of public interest journalism. 

The News Media Bargaining Code was introduced in 2021 to incentivise digital platforms to enter into commercial deals with news publishers. 

The code acknowledged that large digital platforms are unavoidable trading partners for Australian news media businesses in reaching audiences online, and sought to address the imbalance of bargaining power between digital platforms and news media publishers.  

However, the code has limitations. It allows platforms to avoid their obligations by removing news. This is not in the best interest of Australians. A significant proportion of Australians use digital platforms to access news, and we want this to continue.

The Government is acting to address this, by establishing a News Bargaining Incentive to encourage digital platforms to enter into or renew commercial deals with news publishers. 

Australia does not intend to raise revenue from this policy.

The bargaining incentive includes a charge and an offset mechanism. Platforms that choose not to enter or renew commercial agreements with news publishers will pay the charge. Platforms with these agreements will, however, be able to offset their liability.

The incentive will apply to large digital platforms operating significant social media or search services irrespective of whether or not they carry news. 

The Government will consult stakeholders on the final design of the scheme. 

A public consultation paper is expected to be released in early 2025.

The incentive builds on significant work underway to ensure Australian laws keep pace with digital technologies, including the development of a new scams prevention framework, a digital competition regime, implementation of privacy reforms, and ongoing work related to artificial intelligence. 

The Government will have further announcements outlining support for news media.