Australian Parliament(both houses) passed the News Media Bargaining Bill on August 20, 2026, which was later assented to by the Governor-General on August 26, 2026, becoming a Law. This legislation is introduced to protect local media outlets from digital platforms that provide social media or search services and are a major revenue source for advertising services.
News Media Bargaining Law
To safeguard domestic media outlets, Australia decided to introduce a set of laws. One piece of legislation is the News Media Bargaining Law. This law permits the revenue authorities to claim a potential 2.75% charge from major digital platforms, based on their Australian digital advertising revenue.
The law applies to platforms that provide social media or search services and have Australian annual digital advertising revenue of more than AUD 250 million.
The “tax” income generated by the newly imposed levy is going to be channeled to protect the Australian news media sector, whose content is widely distributed through these platforms, and increases the platforms’ advertising revenue through user engagement.
Digital Platforms in Scope
Some of the major platforms that are in the scope of the new levy are:
- Meta
- Alphabet
- Microsoft
Platforms that are in the scope of the new levy have an option to avoid paying the levy directly to the country’s coffers by making service agreements with at least eight different media outlets by the end of the reporting period.
The “value” of these deals would be offset from the “expected” total amount from the levy that the platforms in scope need to remit.
The platform has the opportunity to conclude these financial deals, as an alternative route, to be “free” of the direct payment of the levy.
The legislation becomes effective from August 27, 2026, and applies from the 2025-26 financial year.