ACMA Must Tell the Communications Department When News Businesses Are Registered or Cancelled
News Journalism Payments (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2026
House of Representatives
Senate
Assent
Topics
communications regulation government accountability government transparency information sharing journalism payments news media
Introduced by: The Hon Anika Wells MP (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Melissa McIntosh LIB
“I rise to speak on the News Journalism Payments Bill 2026. The coalition supports a strong, sustainable and independent Australian news media sector. Quality journalism is one of the foundations of our democracy. It informs public debate. It holds governments and institutions to account. It gives voice to communities that might otherwise go unheard.”
Basem Abdo ALP
“I rise to make a contribution to the news bargaining incentive bills before the House. I often speak in this place about the importance of backing Aussie made, often in the context of Australian industry and manufacturing, as many of us do on this side of the House. But this principle that we hold isn’t limited to just physical goods and components.”
Sam Birrell NAT
“I, too, rise to speak on the News Journalism Payments Bill 2026 and the associated bills, which together establish the news bargaining initiative. I want to start somewhere very specific. In my electorate, there is a newspaper called the Shepparton News.”
Carol Berry ALP
“By introducing the News Journalism Payments Bill 2026 and related bills, the Albanese Labor government is supporting local journalism and standing up for some key pillars of Australian values and society. We are protecting the news that matters, we are protecting Australian jobs, we are promoting fairness and we are supporting a healthy democracy.”
Anne Webster NAT
“At its heart, this debate is not about tax settings, offsets or administrative frameworks; it’s about whether Australia continues to have a diverse, independent and sustainable media landscape. A healthy democracy requires informed citizens, vigorous public debate and journalists who are willing to ask difficult questions.”
Kate Thwaites ALP
“A strong democracy depends on a strong and independent media. It depends on journalists who investigate, scrutinise and ask difficult questions. It depends on Australians having access to reliable information about their communities, their governments and the world around them.”
Dr RYAN
“The News Journalism Payments Bill 2026 and related bills come at an important moment for the future of public-interest journalism in Australia. At a time of misinformation, disinformation and declining trust in institutions, robust public-interest reporting is more important than ever before.”
Tom French ALP
“I rise to support the News Journalism Payments Bill 2026 and the associated bills. Politicians and journalists have a curious relationship. As a relatively new backbencher from Western Australia, I cannot claim to spend my days surrounded by the press gallery, but I certainly read what journalists write and say about politics, and I suspect they occasionally notice what people like me say and do.”
Murray Watt ALP
“I table a revised explanatory memorandum relating to three of the bills and I move: That these bills be now read a second time. I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard. Leave granted. The speech es read as follows— NEWS JOURNALISM PAYMENTS BILL 2026 Introduction Journalism matters.”
Sarah Henderson LIB
“It’s my pleasure to rise and speak on the news media bargaining incentive package of bills. I start by saying that the coalition supports a strong, sustainable and independent Australian news media sector. Quality journalism, Australian journalism, journalists telling Australian stories—that is one of the foundations of our democracy. It informs public debate.”
Charlotte Walker ALP
“I think most Australians can agree that having good journalists around is very useful. They sit through council meetings most of us would struggle to get through. They spend days digging through documents. They turn up to court. They talk to people, check claims and work out what’s happening. They come into this building and ask politicians questions that we may or may not be thrilled to answer.”
“I rise to contribute to this debate today. I understand that this legislation will pass this morning. I think we need to be really clear about the state of media not just in Australia but around the world. Things have changed rapidly in the last few years.”
Kerrynne Liddle LIB
“The coalition is proud to support a strong, sustainable and independent Australian news media sector. It’s important that a strong, independent, sustainable media holds government and institutions to account, gives communities voice and gives access to accurate and diverse sources of information. That’s especially important in regional communities. Media has been under attack for years.”
Tammy Tyrrell ALP
“Journalism is an essential pillar of Australian democracy, helping to strengthen social cohesion and uphold democratic accountability. But quality journalism is costly to produce. While the commercial revenue that has traditionally supported news production has declined, digital advertising has shifted to a small number of global platforms like Facebook and Google.”
Alex Antic LIB
“I rise to speak against the News Media Bargaining Charge Bill and the consequential amendments. This is not the first time. We’ve been here before. In 2021, the news media bargaining code promised to rebalance the relationship between platforms and publishers and that it would sustain journalism across the country. What actually happened?”
Josh Dolega ALP
“Every day, Australian journalists do the hard work of finding facts, testing claims and telling the stories that matter. Reporters knock on doors, sit through council meetings, attend court hearings and spend weeks or months investigating issues that impact our local communities.”