Australia Targets Google, Meta With 2.5% Levy Over Local News Payments
Synopsis
New legislation will impose a 2.5% advertising-revenue levy on major technology companies that fail to reach commercial deals with Australian media, with proceeds directed to local news organisations.
Australia’s news levy on major digital platforms has passed Parliament, imposing a tax on commercial dealings with news publishers or domestic ad sales.
News Bargaining Incentive is available to commercial entities that possess a significant search or social media presence in Australia and derive over $250 million in local advertising revenue. The list of platforms that have to pay the levy includes Meta, Google, TikTok, and LinkedIn from Microsoft.
The news levy that Australian firms have to pay for any content created from their platforms is the most important aspect for both publishers and advertisers. A platform’s liability can be avoided if it reaches an agreement with at least eight publishers by the end of the reporting period.
2.5% charge tied to publisher agreements
If no agreement is reached, the levy is applied to the qualifying ad revenue from the relevant advertisement. The offsetting rules also favor small publishers.
An offset of 150% is available for spending with a big publisher and 200%, with a small or medium one. Additionally, a single publisher’s agreement cannot offset more than 25% of a platform’s levy liability.
The new law requires ad agencies to have a contract to provide news or to provide access to news via their platforms.
Big tech advertising exposure
The Australia news levy of 2.5% is yet another tax on the companies that continue to make billions of dollars in advertising revenue worldwide.
Meta expects to generate US 200.97 billion in revenue in 2025,with US 196.18 billion in advertising revenue. Microsoft’s revenue for fiscal 2026 (ended June 30, 2026): US$331.8 billion.
The News Bargaining Incentive is based on the News Media Bargaining Code, which was introduced in Australia in 2021 and set out the rules for commercial negotiations between the big tech firms and news outlets.
The government announced that the revenues from Australia’s news levy, which amount to 2.5%, will be distributed to the local news providers.
Source: Reuters
Pooja Malik is a business journalist with over six years of experience covering startups, entrepreneurship, and emerging trends. She has previously worked with leading media platforms such as YourStory Media and BW BusinessWorld, where she reported on business, policy, and market developments. Currently, she serves as Editor at The Inspirepreneur Magazine, where she writes and edits stories across business, lifestyle, and travel, with a focus on clarity, accuracy, and reader relevance.
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