Australia announced it will raise the levy on Big Tech companies’ Australian digital advertising revenue to 2.5% from platforms earning over A$250 million annually. This aims to encourage commercial agreements with Australian news publishers and support local media, including regional and smaller outlets [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

The levy applies strictly to digital advertising revenue, not total business income within Australia. Platforms included under the legislation will be Meta Platforms (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram), Alphabet’s Google, TikTok, and Microsoft’s LinkedIn, which recently lost its exemption [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

If these companies enter into content payment deals with Australian news organizations, estimated payments will reach between A$200 million and A$250 million annually. Without agreements, levy fees could initially exceed A$350 million to A$400 million [1, 2].

The Australian government expects the funds collected to help sustain the news media industry, particularly smaller and regional outlets. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the news industry "is an important pillar for a healthy democracy," and the new measures "will help regional and small media continue operations" [2, 3, 4, 5].

The law replaces a previously voluntary code that failed as major tech companies did not renew agreements with Australian media [1, 3]. Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino said, "The legislation is designed to strongly encourage big technology companies to enter into commercial deals with media companies" and affirmed the legislation aligns with free trade obligations despite Meta’s criticism [1, 2].

Meta criticized the bill as "poorly designed, grossly unfair, and will fail to deliver a diverse and sustainable news industry," and claimed it violated the US-Australia free trade agreement. Mulino rejected these claims, stating he believed the legislation complies with the trade treaty [1, 2].

The revised code extends the definition of "news workers" to include key production staff and freelancers. It also allocates 5% of levy revenue to support small and newly established media organizations [3].

Minister Mulino announced the increase from an earlier proposed 2.25% levy on total revenue to 2.5% on digital ad revenue on August 3. The updated legislation is expected to be formally introduced to the Australian Parliament during the upcoming session in August 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].