Bills — News Journalism Payments Bill 2026, News Journalism Payments (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2026, News Media Bargaining (Administration) Bill 2026, News Media Bargaining Charge Bill 2026, Treasury Laws Amendment (News Media Bargaining) (Consequential) Bill 2026; Limitation of Debate
Senate · 20 Aug 2026 · 13:30
Not passed by a modest majority
10
Yes (ayes)
34
No (noes)
The question is that the amendments on sheet 3999, to the News Media Bargaining (Administration) Bill 2026, and on sheet 4006, to the News Journalism Payments Bill 2026, be agreed to.
See it for yourself
This vote was on these bills. Read the official text:
Official documents from aph.gov.au and legislation.gov.au, checked 21 October 2026.
What was debated: News Journalism Payments Bill 2026
Summarised using AI from the official Hansard transcript of the debate only. It is not a record of the debate and may leave things out. Read the Hansard below to check it.
This bill sets up the News Journalism Payment Scheme, which would hand out any money raised by the News Bargaining Incentive charge to eligible Australian news organisations. Payments would be based on how many journalists an outlet employs, with extra for regional, small and diverse outlets, and set amounts for small publishers and AAP. The debate focused on whether the new scheme improves on the earlier bargaining code and how well it helps small and regional publishers.
Arguments made in support
The Government said platforms profit from Australian news and should either do deals with publishers or pay a charge that goes back to journalism.
Government members said the scheme raises no revenue for government, and payments are tied to keeping journalists employed.
Labor members said a 20 per cent boost for regional, small and diverse outlets would help local news and communities often left out.
The Prime Minister said the bill closes a loophole that let platforms avoid the old code by removing news.
Coalition and independent members supported the goal, and Monique Ryan said the scheme was better than the previous code.
Arguments made against, or for changes
The Coalition moved an amendment saying the scheme may not deliver more support than its earlier code, after two years of delay. It wanted a higher charge rate.
Coalition speakers called for stronger tax office powers to check platforms' advertising revenue, and raised concerns about transparency in government-run media grants.
Monique Ryan said AI companies should be included, and that the $150,000 revenue threshold and small grant stream would leave many small outlets out.
Kate Chaney moved amendments requiring a share of deals to go to smaller publishers. The Government opposed them, saying the bill already strikes the right balance.
Nationals speakers asked that regional loadings go to outlets that employ journalists, and for better data on newsroom closures.
18 speeches by 16 members in the House over 3 sitting days.
What was debated: News Journalism Payments (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2026
Summarised using AI from the official Hansard transcript of the debate only. It is not a record of the debate and may leave things out. Read the Hansard below to check it.
This bill makes consequential amendments linked to news journalism payments. The transcript only records the minister moving the second and third readings, with no speeches on the content of the bill.
2 speeches by 1 member in the House over 2 sitting days.
What was debated: News Media Bargaining (Administration) Bill 2026
Summarised using AI from the official Hansard transcript of the debate only. It is not a record of the debate and may leave things out. Read the Hansard below to check it.
This bill sets up how the news bargaining incentive will run. Large digital platforms with big search or social media services would face a charge based on their Australian digital advertising revenue, which they can reduce by making deals with Australian news businesses. The debate focused on crossbench amendments meant to help small, local and independent publishers.
Arguments made in support
The government said platforms that benefit from Australian news should make a fair contribution, and should not avoid this by removing news.
The government said any money raised goes back to the news sector, and it is not about raising revenue.
The government said requiring deals with at least eight news groups, and a 200 per cent weighting for small and medium publishers, supports media diversity.
Crossbench members supported the bill's aim of fixing a gap in the earlier bargaining code.
Arguments made against, or for changes
Kate Chaney moved amendments to require a share of deal spending go to publishers earning under $20 million, and to widen grant access for small outlets.
Dai Le moved an amendment so no two news groups could receive more than half of a platform's deal spending.
Allegra Spender moved amendments so deals struck with coalitions of small publishers clearly count, and raised concern there was no Senate inquiry.
Crossbench members argued that, without changes, most money could flow to the largest media companies. The government opposed the amendments and they did not pass.
12 speeches by 8 members in the House over 2 sitting days.
What was debated: News Media Bargaining Charge Bill 2026
Summarised using AI from the official Hansard transcript of the debate only. It is not a record of the debate and may leave things out. Read the Hansard below to check it.
This bill sets the charge behind the News Bargaining Incentive: a levy on the Australian digital advertising revenue of large search and social media platforms, which they can offset by doing deals with Australian news businesses. A government amendment raised the rate from 2.5 to 2.75 per cent. The debate, held together with related bills, focused on whether the scheme would help small, local and independent publishers and whether AI companies should be covered.
Arguments made in support
The government said platforms profit from Australian news and should help pay for it, either through commercial deals or by paying the charge.
Government members said the charge fixes a gap in the old bargaining code, because platforms can no longer avoid it by dropping news.
Supporters said money not spent on deals goes back to journalism, with extra weighting for regional, small and diverse newsrooms.
The Coalition supported the package and the higher 2.75 per cent rate, but said the government took too long to act.
Arguments made against, or for changes
Crossbench members said big media companies could take most of the deals, so they sought a share for small publishers and bigger grants.
The Greens said the bills leave out AI companies that use journalists' work, and moved a motion calling for action on this.
Coalition senators questioned how grants would be checked and wanted opinion writers counted as editorial staff.
Senator Alex Antic opposed the bills, saying they protect large legacy media companies rather than journalism or new players.
31 speeches by 24 members in the House and Senate over 4 sitting days.
What was debated: Treasury Laws Amendment (News Media Bargaining) (Consequential) Bill 2026
Summarised using AI from the official Hansard transcript of the debate only. It is not a record of the debate and may leave things out. Read the Hansard below to check it.
This bill makes consequential changes that support the News Media Bargaining (Administration) Bill and the News Bargaining Incentive. The Government said it sets up how the incentive will be administered, collected and enforced, and how it fits with existing tax laws. The bill passed the House without further debate.
Arguments made in support
The Government said the changes are needed to run, collect and enforce the News Bargaining Incentive alongside existing tax laws.
The Government said the bill helps support a sustainable and diverse Australian news media sector.
3 speeches by 3 members in the House over 2 sitting days.