Screen Australia

Screen Australia aims to inspire, inform and engage screen audiences through compelling Australian storytelling.

Subscription television broadcasters

Subscription broadcasters are also governed by a code of practice, available on the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) website.

The ACMA’s subscription television regulations encompass minimum expenditure requirements for Australian drama production and anti-siphoning provisions for sporting events, which are summarised below. They also encompass measures relating to anti-terrorism. For more information, see the ACMA website.

New eligible drama expenditure scheme

The Broadcasting Services Act 1992 prescribes that a subscription television licensee (subscription television broadcaster) that provides a drama service and channel is required to invest at least 10 per cent of the channel’s total program expenditure on new Australian drama. This requirement is referred to as the New Eligible Drama Expenditure (NEDE) scheme.

The NEDE adopts the definition of ‘Australian program’ as set out in the Broadcasting Services (Australian Content and Children’s Television) Standards 2020. Expenditure on ‘new’ content can include spend on script development, acquisitions, investment, pre-production or production.

The scheme accommodates the dynamics of production schedules by allowing broadcasters and channel providers to operate under an ‘accrual-type’ system under which obligations that arise in one reporting period that are not acquitted, must be fully acquitted in the following period.

Subscription television broadcasters report to the ACMA on NEDE spend. The ACMA publishes aggregated compliance data on its website.

Anti-siphoning scheme

The anti-siphoning scheme is designed to protect Australians’ free access to live broadcasts of culturally and nationally significant events. From 17 December 2024, the rules extend to online streaming services in addition to traditional broadcasters.

Key points include:

  • The anti-siphoning list identifies major events that should be freely available on television
  • Free-to-air broadcasters get priority in acquiring broadcasting rights before subscription or online services
  • Broadcasters are not required to purchase event rights, and if they do, they may provide partial, delayed, or no coverage at all
  • Events are removed from the list 6 months before they occur, lifting the anti-siphoning restrictions
  • Media content services like streaming platforms may only purchase rights if:
    • A commercial broadcaster can televise the event to over 50 per cent of the population, or
    • The ABC or SBS holds the rights to televise the event.