Media Release

Screen Producers Australia (SPA) welcomes the announcement that the Australian Greens have secured a $50 million boost to the ABC to invest in Australian children’s, drama and locally produced storytelling, coinciding with the expected passage of the Australian Content Requirement Bill through the Senate today.

SPA CEO Matthew Deaner said the additional funding recognises the ABC’s critical role in the screen ecosystem and reinforces the importance of strong, homegrown public broadcasting at a time of major transition for the sector.

“The ABC has long been the beating heart of Australian storytelling, particularly for children and families,” Mr Deaner said. 

It's important that a significant portion of this new investment is quarantined for children's content to ensure Australian kids continue to see themselves, their voices and their communities reflected on screen.

Mr Deaner said the announcement is also a major win for independent Australian producers, who create ABC’s most iconic children’s and drama titles.

“With the expected passage of the streaming legislation and now this boost in public broadcaster funding, we are finally seeing momentum return to Australian content,” Mr Deaner said. “But the full benefit will only be realised if commissioning terms with the independent sector are fair, sustainable and enable producers to build strong businesses. Independent producers are the creative engine powering this content, and they must be supported accordingly.”

"Producers of children’s content, the businesses they run and people they employ have been amongst the hardest hit in our industry in the absence of supporting frameworks and should be congratulated for their ongoing advocacy to generate this result which is a great initial step."

SPA acknowledges Senator Sarah Hanson-Young's key role in securing the additional ABC investment and Minister for Communications, Anika Wellsand Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke for their support.

"This $50 million commitment recognises that public broadcasting matters, culturally, socially and economically,” Mr Deaner said. “It is a strong signal from the Parliament that Australian stories deserve to be prioritised and protected.”

Mr Deaner said today’s developments build on more than a decade of advocacy from SPA and the wider industry to strengthen the pipeline of local content across all platforms.

“We have fought for years to secure a sustainable, future-focused model for Australian stories,” he said. “Today we see both the public and commercial frameworks shifting in the right direction. SPA looks forward to working closely with the ABC to ensure this new funding drives high-quality Australian content and meaningful opportunities for independent producers.”