Media Release

Screen Producers Australia (SPA) has today lodged two applications with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), seeking authorisation to collectively bargain on behalf of its members with free-to-air broadcasters, subscription television broadcasters and streaming services.

The applications, made under sections 88 and 91 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, seek approval for SPA to negotiate model terms of engagement for Australian screen producers.

SPA Chair Kate Carnell AO, a long-standing advocate for fairness for small business said: “I know from my work with the sector’s business leaders at SPA that doing deals in the current environment has been extremely tough for many years now and that something has to give or too many creative entrepreneurs will be driven out of the industry. 

“Most screen businesses are small operators and run on a shoestring. The pressures they face in trying to negotiate commercial terms with big corporate players are untenable and put their ongoing existence at risk. Recourse to the ACCC is the logical next step needed to try to address this market imbalance. I’ve seen this scenario play out in many other sectors, including pharmaceuticals and groceries and I believe this ACCC application is necessary to bring fairness back to the Australian screen industry.” Ms Carnell said. 

SPA CEO Matthew Deaner said the ACCC applications represent a critical next priority in strengthening the foundations of Australia’s independent production sector.

“With the Streaming Regulation legislation now in place, Australia has taken an historic step in recognising the importance of local content and local production,” Mr Deaner said. “However, despite years of campaigning by SPA, the legislation was not able to deal with the important issue of the ownership and control of rights which are the key to the monetisation of any screen project. This ACCC application aims to ensure that Australian producers can operate with the fair commercial settings they need to deliver that content sustainably. The ACCC process will enable us to engage further with key stakeholders as we work towards our goal of ensuring we have a sustainable screen industry.”

Addressing entrenched power imbalances

Under current competition law, SPA members are prohibited from engaging in conduct that could be considered anti-competitive, including coordinating negotiations. SPA’s applications seek a targeted exemption to allow collective bargaining for baseline commercial terms.

Most Australian production businesses do not have the scale or resources to repeatedly negotiate complex bespoke agreements on a project-by-project basis. Model terms would establish a baseline set of negotiated rights that producers and buyers can work from, while still allowing flexibility to agree terms that suit individual productions.

These reforms would:

• Help rebalance the significant power disparity between producers and their much larger customers
• Promote greater consistency, efficiency and fairness in contracting
• Reduce legal, financial and administrative costs for smaller businesses
• Support a broader, more sustainable and more diverse Australian production sector

“Collective bargaining is about fairness, sustainability and efficiency,” Mr Deaner said. “Without this capacity, the risk is a market dominated by fewer, larger businesses, with fewer Australian stories being told.”

Market pressures backed by recent industry data

SPA’s applications are supported by clear evidence of intensifying pressures on the local production sector.

The most recent Screen Australia Drama Report revealed that while total drama expenditure increased sharply, driven largely by international activity, the number of Australian titles entering production fell year-on-year - highlighting growing vulnerability for local producers.

Similarly, the ACMA SVOD Report confirmed that although streaming investment in Australian content rose in 2024–25, this growth is concentrated among a small number of global platforms and does not offset the structural power imbalance faced by producers at the negotiating table.

Australia’s status as an English-speaking market further compounds these pressures. Broadcasters and streamers can acquire large volumes of US and UK content at a fraction of the cost of producing new Australian programs. For streaming services in particular, the absence of meaningful transparency around audience data also limits producers’ ability to negotiate fairly when their programs perform strongly.

“Even when Australian programs are successful, producers are often negotiating in the dark,” Mr Deaner said. “That lack of transparency directly weakens their bargaining position.”

Why the ACCC is involved

The ACCC is responsible for assessing collective bargaining applications under the Competition and Consumer Act and determining whether the likely public benefit outweighs any potential detriment to competition.

SPA’s applications contend that clear public benefits include:

• Addressing extreme market power imbalances
• Improving efficiency and reducing unnecessary transaction costs
• Supporting the long-term viability of Australia’s independent production businesses
• Maintaining competition, diversity and innovation in Australian screen content

Comparable authorisations already exist in other sectors where small businesses negotiate with dominant buyers, including dairy farming, healthcare and franchising.

“This is precisely the kind of market the ACCC framework was designed for,” Ms Carnell said. “Small suppliers, powerful buyers, and a clear public interest in fair and sustainable outcomes.”

Who is covered

SPA has lodged two separate applications:

• One covering regulated broadcasters – free-to-air and subscription television broadcasters
• A second covering domestic and global streaming services

These buyers are typically large, publicly listed or internationally backed corporations with significant scale and market power. By contrast, Australian producers largely operate as small, project-based enterprises with limited capacity to absorb commercial and financial risk.

Streamers, in particular, operate with global commissioning options and frequently do not provide producers with access to audience data, further undermining producers’ bargaining position, even when their programs perform strongly.

What happens next

Following formal lodgement, the ACCC will publish the applications and invite public submissions from affected stakeholders, including broadcasters and streaming services. SPA will then have the opportunity to respond before the ACCC issues a draft determination for further comment and ultimately makes its final decision.

The full process is expected to take approximately six to twelve weeks, depending on stakeholder engagement and whether further information is required.

If authorisation is granted, SPA will be permitted to commence collective bargaining discussions on behalf of its members. The authorisation would not compel broadcasters or streamers to negotiate, but it would provide a clear and lawful framework for negotiations to occur.

“Australian producers have shown extraordinary resilience through years of upheaval,” Ms Carnell said. “This process is about giving them a fighting chance to operate on fair terms and continue delivering the Australian stories audiences value.”

For more information, download the SPA Factsheet.