Australia’s government has passed some long-awaited legislation that introduces a national requirement for big streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+ to contribute in a significant way to the creation of Australian content. 

This Communications Legislation Amendment (Australian Content Requirement for Subscription Video On Demand (Streaming) Services) Bill 2025 was passed by the Australian senate today. 

And that means global streaming services with more than a million Australian subscribers will be required to invest at least 10% of their total Australian expenditure—or 7.5% of their revenue—into new local children’s, drama, docs, arts and educational programming. 

Local media is reporting that the legislation goes into effect on January 1, and the Australian government expects it will affect basically all of the major streamers, including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+ and Paramount+, as well as Australian platforms Stan and Binge. 

This legislation is groundbreaking in Australia, where there are already similar content investment requirements in place for free-to-air and pay TV. But whereas the new law says big streamers will be required to fund an as-yet-unspecified amount of kids content, the rules for TV don’t include such stipulations.

Australia joins a few markets worldwide that have similar quotas, including Canada (where the largely French-language province of Quebec is also currently considering creating its own French-language quotas) and France. 

“Today is a landmark day for Australian screen storytelling,” said Matthew Deaner, CEO of trade body Screen Producers Australia, in a statement. “It finally puts in place a strong starting point for a regulatory framework that responds to the enormous changes that digital streaming platforms have made to our industry dynamics and viewing habits.” 

Felt around the world, these changes have hit Australia’s kids media industry especially hard. Local broadcasters in the region used to have to air at least 260 hours of kids content and 130 hours of preschool content per year, and more than half (55%) had to be produced in Australia. But in 2020, the government scrapped those quotas, and there was a quick collapse in the level of local kids programming being commissioned and broadcast. In 2022, only 95 hours of locally produced kids content aired on free-to-air channels, representing an 84% decrease from 2019—and streamers never picked up the slack. 

The new quota is the result of years of industry lobbying for more support for local content—but the law isn’t the only milestone Australian producers have to celebrate today. 

Public broadcaster ABC Australia has also received a surprise US$32.6-million funding boost from the government that it will invest in kids, drama and local programming. This funding infusion will be delivered over three years, starting in 2026. 

ABC is the country’s largest kids content commissioner. In August, it greenlit two new Australian kids titles for 2026: an animated series called Happy House and live-actioner Caper Crew. And at the broadcaster’s content showcase last week, other upcoming children’s series including Flower & Flour, It’s Andrew! and Tales from Outer Suburbia (pictured) were highlighted. 

“Producers of children’s content, the businesses they run, and [the] people they employ have been among the hardest hit in our industry in the absence of supporting frameworks, and [they] should be congratulated for their ongoing advocacy to generate this result, which is a great initial step,” SPA’s Deaner said in a separate release.