The Federal Government has passed the Communications Legislation Amendment Bill 2025, landmark legislation placing a quota on Australian streaming content from video streaming titans including Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+.

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Streaming services with more than 1 million subscribers must now invest 10 percent of their Australian expenditure (or alternatively, 7.5 percent of their gross Australian revenue) in the production of new Australian drama, documentary, arts, educational or children’s programs.

The law catches streaming services up to the standards that free-to-air and television subscription broadcasters are currently held to.

The bill’s explanatory memorandum notes that by international standards, the commissioning of new Australian content on major streaming platforms is low in comparison to international figures: between 2021–2024, streaming services’ Australian expenditure averaged at $333.5 million; while Netflix has committed to investing AU$1.7 billion in new content in Spain across 2025–2028.

The amount of local content is also “relatively modest” – Australian works comprised 4.1 percent of Netflix content, 5 percent of Paramount+ content , 3.6 percent of Amazon Prime content and 0.2 percent of Disney+ content – and tended to be older, rather than newly commissioned, works.

“Australian stories play...