The Government has finalised new legislation that will see big tech companies pay fees if they don’t strike deals with Australian news publishers.
Under its updated plans, the Government will charge tech companies a levy on their Australian digital advertising revenue if they don’t set up their own agreements.
Originally, it proposed a levy on tech companies’ overall Australian revenue.
LinkedIn will now also be included in the scheme, alongside TikTok, Meta, and Google.
Background
In 2021, the News Media Bargaining Code came into effect, which required tech companies to pay news companies for the content on their platforms.
Many news publishers (though not TDA) made deals with social media companies including Meta and Google so their content could be shown on the sites.
In Canada, the Online News Act came into effect in 2023, requiring social platforms to pay publishers for news.
Meta responded by banning access to news on its platforms for Canadians.
To this day, news companies can’t be seen via Instagram in Canada.
Back in Australia, in 2024, Meta announced it would not renew its deals with publishers such as NewsCorp, Nine, Seven, and Ten, saying: “People don’t come to Facebook for news and political content”.
Google, on the other hand, renewed many of its agreements.
In April 2026, the Government proposed a draft of the News Bargaining Incentive (NBI).
It offered platforms the option to strike commercial deals with publishers, or otherwise pay a levy directly to the Government.
Publishers and tech companies had until 18 May to respond to the proposal.
New law
On Monday, the Government announced the final details of the new legislation.
Under the original draft legislation, companies would have been forced to strike deals with publishers OR pay a levy equal to 2.25% of ALL their Australian revenue.
Tech companies argued not all their revenue comes from news.
Instead, the new levy will be equal to 2.5% of their Australian digital advertising revenue only.
The Government expects it will still raise a similar amount.
The NBI now also applies to LinkedIn.
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Platforms can skip paying the levy by striking deals directly with publishers instead.
Here’s how it works:
Say a platform owes $25 million under the levy.
It can pay that straight to the Government, which will pass it on to publishers.
Or it can spend $16.7 million on deals with big media companies, since every dollar spent cancels $1.50 owed.
Or spend just $12.5 million on deals with small, local publishers, since every dollar there cancels $2 owed.
Platforms will need to make deals with at least six publishers to qualify.
“An important change is the doubling of the distribution loading for smaller and regional publishers.”
“This acknowledges both the challenges smaller outlets face, but also the incredible contribution they make to the communities they serve.”
Communications Minister Anika Wells in a press release on Monday.
Response
In April, a Meta spokesperson said: “News organisations voluntarily post content on our platforms because they receive value from doing so.”
On Monday, News Corp Australasia’s Executive Chairman Michael Miller told The Australian the new changes make it too easy for platforms to avoid the levy, saying “tech giants cannot keep dodging their obligations”.
However, Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino said the changes to the NBI “do not alter the intent of the legislation and remain true to the policy rationale”.
TDA
So... does this affect The Daily Aus?
We won’t know until the legislation has passed Parliament and is enforced.
On one hand, social media companies will now receive extra discounts to offset the levy if they sign deals with small- to medium-sized news businesses (like us!), rather than just large ones.
On the other hand, hypothetically, social media companies could either fully withdraw from the Australian market or block all news services on their platforms (as Meta has done in Canada) to avoid paying the levy or to force a change in the law.
Anyway.
That’s why our relationship with you away from social media is so important to us.
