Media Release

Screen Producers Australia (SPA) welcomes today’s announcement by the Albanese Government of the planned introduction of long-awaited legislation to apply local content rules to streaming platforms.

This is an enormously significant moment for the Australian screen industry, one that many, including SPA, have been actively working towards for more than a decade.

The monumental effort to ensure streaming platforms are regulated in line with commercial free-to-air, cable and satellite subscription services, has faced years of challenges, delays, and global complexities. With streaming platforms now deeply entrenched in our industry, this task has only grown more difficult over time.

SPA congratulates Ministers Tony Burke and Anika Wells and the Albanese Government on this critical action that reflects years of deep engagement across multiple parliaments and hundreds of parliamentarians with the screen industry. 

SPA acknowledges that this legislation will not solve every issue facing the industry, but it represents a vital and long-overdue step toward rebuilding confidence and creating a more sustainable future for Australian screen production.

Local content rules, or “quotas”, are the foundation of Australia’s screen industry. As a relatively small English-speaking nation, without these protections Australian stories would struggle to be made, and Australian audiences would struggle to see and hear their own voices reflected on screen.

Australian screen stories need a clear cultural mandate from Government to be realised. That is why this legislation is both so important and so welcome.

Just last week in Canberra, SPA led a powerful industry delegation highlighting the growing sense of crisis among businesses, directors, actors, writers, and crew as local commissions continue to decline. Forthcoming data from the ACMA on SVOD expenditure and Screen Australia’s Drama Report are expected to confirm this trend.

Despite the challenges, Australia remains a nation of celebrated storytellers. Our entrepreneurial screen producers are driven by their vision and commitment to bring those stories to life for audiences at home and around the world.

SPA’s core mission has always been to ensure a thriving, resilient screen industry, and we have worked tirelessly to see this long-promised reform delivered.

“This announcement marks a landmark day for the Australian screen industry,” said SPA CEO Matthew Deaner. “For too long, our local production sector has operated in an uneven environment where global streaming services could reap the benefits of doing business in Australia without contributing fairly to the creation of Australian stories.

Today’s commitment from the Albanese Government is the result of years of advocacy. It recognises that Australian stories matter, and that they deserve to be seen and heard on every platform.”

As soon as the bill is available, SPA will carefully examine the measures it contains consult with its members to prepare a comprehensive response to Government.

Link to media image HERE.