Labor increases ABC funding and moves to legislate five-year financing terms
Funding for the ABC and SBS will be decided for five years at a time, rather than three, under new laws federal Labor says will help prevent “political interference” within the broadcasters.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has also announced a lift in funding for the ABC worth more than $40 million a year from 2026-27.
The funding boost effectively addresses a shortfall created by a freeze on indexation, introduced and eventually lifted under the former Coalition government.
Labor is promising to legislate to ensure governments commit to five-year funding cycles with both the ABC and SBS in future, rather than the previous convention of three years.
Given the new laws need to be drafted and consulted on, it is unlikely they can be acted on before the next election.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has announced the federal government wants to legislate five-year funding deals for the public broadcaster. (AAP: Mick Tsikas)
Since 1989, both the ABC and SBS have routinely had their funding worked on in three-year terms, which roughly aligned with election cycles.
The three-year terms gave the broadcasters more funding certainty than having their funding worked out annually, and allowed new governments to set their own funding arrangements.
Ahead of the last election, Labor promised to shift to five-year funding terms, which took effect for both broadcasters from mid-2023, arguing the longer terms would provide more stability and reduce the possibility of political interference.
The government also commissioned a review of how the broadcasters were funded and how board appointments were made. It will be released on Tuesday morning.
Ms Rowland said Labor would now look to legislate to ensure five-year funding terms remained.
“The Albanese government is committed to supporting the independence of the ABC and SBS, and funding stability is an important safeguard,” she said.
“The review has identified options to further support the independence of the ABC and SBS by strengthening funding and governance arrangements.”
“The national broadcasters are important cultural institutions and pillars of our democracy, providing world-class news and entertainment in accordance with their statutory charters, for the benefit of all Australians.”
The review raised options such as preventing governments from tinkering with funding arrangements during the five-year funding window, such as by revising them up or down.
The government has said it will consult on the final form of the new laws to settle those kinds of questions.
Funding boost to restore indexation losses
The new funding announced by the minister amounts to a one-off top-up of $83.1 million over two years from the 2026-27 financial year, and then an ongoing commitment of $43 million a year in additional funding.
The ABC had been carrying a funding shortfall created by an indexation pause introduced in 2018, where the ABC’s funding would no longer increase in line with inflation.
That pause was lifted in early 2022, but the ABC gave evidence to Senate estimates at the time that a “gap” of roughly $42 million in annual funding had been left unfilled.
It was addressed in part by a funding increase in the Albanese government’s October 2022 budget, with an $83.7 million lift in funding over four years.
ABC managing director David Anderson welcomed the new funding commitment and said the ABC would work with government on the new laws around funding terms.
“The ABC welcomes the additional investment announced by the government today which will provide improved financial certainty and stability,” he said.
“We look forward to working with the government on the proposal to provide enhanced legislative protection for funding stability.
“At a time when trusted news and information, quality Australian content and connecting communities is more important than ever, continued investment in the ABC is critical to support the democratic process, reflect our unique culture and build our national identity through Australian stories.”
But the ABC’s chair, Kim Williams, has used recent public addresses to highlight larger ongoing funding shortfalls at the broadcaster.
In a recent speech to the National Press Club, he suggested the ABC had cumulatively seen funding fall by the equivalent of $150 million a year over the past decade.
The ABC has been reckoning with other funding blows too, like Meta’s decision not to renew deals with Australian media organisations worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The federal government last week announced its plan to try to force Meta and other tech giants to continue those deals or create new ones through a new tax.
