Australia’s delayed streaming regulations must be brought in with urgency, the country’s producers’ body has warned, amid the ongoing global chaos brought about by President Donald Trump‘s international trade tariffs.
Screen Producers Australia (SPA) has released findings from a recent member survey highlighting the country’s tough commissioning environment and fears over the delayed streaming levies.
“A high proportion of SPA’s screen-producing members surveyed are telling us that their businesses have been significantly and badly impacted by the delayed local content rules,” said SPA CEO Matthew Deaner.
Though the survey was commissioned before Trump revealed his wide-ranging tariffs on goods exported from most countries around the world (including Australia, which was hit with a baseline 10%), the introduction of content obligations on U.S.-based streamers will not go down well with the administration or the Motion Picture Association, which has been arguing against them.
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Following Trump’s announcement, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese doubled down on his commitment to the local content quotas, even though their introduction has been delayed for well over than 18 months. “We strongly support local content in streaming services so Australian stories stay on Australian screens,” he said.
Last week, Deaner released a statement, saying: “I know that the Australian Government has been under enormous pressure from the USA on this front, amply evident from the aggressive position of the Motion Picture Association, which has sought to resist, delay, and read down the local content rules agreed to in the 2004 Australia-US Free Trade Agreement. It is SPA’s highest priority to secure a robust regulatory framework on streaming platforms.”
Australia’s National Cultural Policy, known as Revive, was singled out by the U.S. Trade Representative’s ‘Foreign Trade Barriers’ report. It pointedly noted the content quota plan and added that the U.S. would “continue to monitor this issue to ensure Australia’s compliance with its FTA [Free Trade Agreement] obligations.”
As of right now, though, no such regs exist, and the SPA claimed this has played a large role in a growing disquiet among Australia’s TV and film production communities. Deaner said the new survey “points to a major loss of optimism about the screen industry compared to a year ago. Given these calculated estimates of the lost work, this is hardly surprising.”
He added: “The impasse over this regulation is given as the reason for a slowdown in project greenlighting, with each stalled, missed or collapsed commission leading to millions in lost investments, job losses, business uncertainty and less local content production that will continue to affect audiences for years.
“Without immediate regulatory action, we risk losing the diverse storytelling that defines our culture, as well as the economic benefits that come with a thriving local industry.”
The SPA survey tells further concerning stories for Australian producers, with more 170 commissions either “stalled, missed or collapsed.” Screen job losses amounted to more than 15,000 across 61 businesses and an estimated A$1B ($630M) has been lost from budgets.
“While audiences are quickly moving to streaming, our local content rules have not moved with them and are stuck in limbo,” said Deaner, who is a fierce advocate for Australian indie production. “The sooner this policy impasse is resolved, the better for Australian audiences, our members and the whole local screen industry.”
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