Australia has enacted a 2.75% charge on qualifying digital advertising revenue for major social media and search platforms, with companies able to offset their liability by reaching commercial agreements with at least eight local news publishers.
Australia’s parliament passed the News Media Bargaining Charge Bill 2026, the News Media Bargaining (Administration) Bill 2026, and the Treasury Laws Amendment (News Media Bargaining) (Consequential) Bill 2026 on 20 August 2026, which imposes financial penalties on tech companies that refuse to pay local publishers for news.
The law would impose a potential 2.75% levy on qualifying Australian digital advertising revenue generated by platforms providing social media or search services with annual Australian digital advertising revenue exceeding AUD 250 million.
The measure applies to Meta, Alphabet’s Google, TikTok, and Microsoft’s LinkedIn—specifically those with significant social media or search operations in Australia. The government expects this structure will redirect money to local news businesses whose content drives user engagement and advertising returns on these platforms.
Treasury’s April 2026 exposure draft initially proposed a 2.25% charge. The rate was later increased to 2.5% during the legislative process and ultimately raised to 2.75%.
The legislation tightens the conditions for avoiding the charge by requiring affected digital platforms to enter qualifying agreements with at least eight Australian news businesses, up from six. It also raises the maximum amount attributable to any single agreement from 16.67% to 25% of a platform’s potential liability.
How platforms can reduce or avoid the levy
Companies can offset their tax obligation by striking deals with at least eight different publishers before their financial reporting period ends. Agreements that support news production or make publisher content available on the platforms count toward this requirement.
The offset structure favours smaller outlets. Spending with large publishers generates a 150% credit against levy liability, while deals with small and medium-sized outlets receive a 200% credit. No single agreement can reduce a platform’s liability by more than 25%.
Government’s enforcement position
The Australian government stated that platforms must finalise commercial arrangements within their reporting periods to use those deals to reduce liability in that period, signalling that the legislation now stands as binding regulation.
