Australia Finalizes a 2.5% Charge to Push Tech Platforms Into News Deals

Australia has finalized a bill designed to make large digital platforms choose between paying news publishers and paying a government charge. The revised News Bargaining Incentive targets major search and social platforms, but it is not law yet: Parliament must still debate and approve it.

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The proposed charge is 2.5% of qualifying platforms' Australian advertising revenue, replacing an earlier plan based on 2.25% of their wider local revenue.

Why Australia changed the formula

The government first proposed the incentive after earlier bargaining rules proved vulnerable to a simple response: a platform could reduce its exposure to news instead of negotiating. The new structure tries to make withdrawal less attractive by leaving qualifying companies liable for a charge even if they refuse publisher deals.

Following consultation, ministers narrowed the calculation to advertising revenue rather than all Australian business revenue. Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino said the rate was raised from 2.25% to 2.5% so the expected value of publisher agreements would remain broadly similar while the charge focused more directly on the business that benefits from content and attention.

That revision is meaningful, but the larger percentage does not necessarily mean a larger bill. A 2.5% rate applied only to advertising may produce less than 2.25% applied across software, devices and other revenue. The policy's real strength will depend on the advertising figures, the offset rules and the deals platforms decide to sign.

Which platforms could be covered?

Reuters reported that the measure applies to companies with significant search or social-media services and more than A$250 million in Australian revenue. That is expected to capture Meta, Google and TikTok.

The final version also removes an exclusion for professional networking services. LinkedIn could therefore enter the scheme if it meets the thresholds, reflecting the government's view that news sharing on the platform has become more important.

Platforms would reduce their liability by entering commercial agreements with publishers. Current reporting says six qualifying deals would be needed to discharge the obligation fully, up from four in the consultation version. Smaller and regional outlets receive extra weighting, intended to prevent the largest media groups from absorbing all the negotiating value.

Where the money would go

According to the government's finalization statement, any charge collected would be returned to the news sector rather than kept as general tax revenue. The distribution loading for regional journalists, smaller publishers and media serving underrepresented communities would double from 10% to 20%.

The package also proposes grants for publishers earning less than A$150,000 a year and expands the definition of eligible journalism work to include freelancers and additional essential newsroom roles. These details matter because funding journalism is not the same as funding only the country's biggest newspaper owners.

Why the plan remains controversial

Supporters argue that search and social platforms gained enormous distribution power while advertising revenue moved away from newsrooms. They see mandatory bargaining as a correction to an uneven market, especially when platforms can determine how prominently journalism appears.

Critics dispute the link between displaying or linking to news and owing publishers money. Media executives have also argued that narrowing the charge to advertising revenue may weaken the scheme even though the headline rate increased. The final outcome could depend less on the statutory percentage than on how easily platforms qualify for offsets.

There is another conspicuous gap. In an official August 3 interview, Mulino confirmed that AI services remain excluded because copyright questions are being handled separately. That leaves a fast-growing route for reusing journalistic material outside the bargaining mechanism.

What happens next

The government expects to introduce the legislation when Parliament resumes later in August. Platforms and publishers will then scrutinize the thresholds, eligible agreements and distribution rules, while lawmakers decide whether the revised design truly supports diverse journalism.

NewTqnia's reading is that the bill matters less as a simple 2.5% levy than as an attempt to close an escape route in Australia's earlier bargaining system. Whether it works will be measured by durable publisher deals and newsroom employment, not by the size of the percentage printed in the law.