Applications open for News Media Relief Program (Australia)

The News Media Relief Program (the program) will run over 1 year from 2024-25. The purpose of the program is to support the sustainability of Australian news publishers in the face of significant disruption to the media sector. Organisations with a primary purpose of producing core news content will be eligible for funding to support a proportion of the salary costs of journalists producing core news content that is distributed digitally.

Objectives

• The objectives of the program are:
  • support the sustainability of Australian news publishers in the face of significant disruption to the media sector
  • support the creation of news content distributed online
  • encourage the continued employment of journalists who primarily produce news that is in the Australian public interest
  • building and maintaining social cohesion in Australia, including for Cultural and Linguistically Diverse CALD communities, First Nations communities and the wider Australian community.

Funding Information

• The Australian Government has announced a total of $15 million in 2024-25 for the program:
  • The grant amount is $13,000 per eligible journalist full time equivalent (FTE).
  • If the journalist is not employed full time with the applicant, the grant amount requested should be based on a pro-rata amount of the FTE.
  • Duration: The maximum project period is 6 months. You must maintain your project, the employment of journalists producing core news content, for a period of 6 months after entering into your grant agreement.

Eligible Activities

• To be eligible your project must support your news organisation to maintain journalist positions and newsroom capacity.
• Eligible activities must directly relate to the project and must include the employment of journalists who create core news content for digital distribution.

Ineligible Activities

• Expenditure items that are not eligible are:
  • any cost which is not related to the payment of journalist salaries
  • salaries for journalists who do not contribute to the creation of core news content for digital distribution.

Expected Outcomes

• The intended outcomes of the program are:
  • support and safeguard news coverage in Australia
  • mitigate the significant risk to the financial sustainability of news publications in regional and outer metropolitan areas of Australia, and publications providing news for CALD and First Nations communities.

Geographical Focus

• Eligible geographic communities are:
  • a regional community – located in a regional area of Australia, i.e. one that is in a location that is not a major city of Australia. The geographic community may be centered on one or more specific towns or local government areas in a regional area with shared communal interests. The publication’s target audience is the regional community and does not target a state or national news audience.
  • a local suburban community – located in a major city of Australia and is centered on one or more specific suburbs or local government areas in a metropolitan area with shared communal interests. The publication’s target audience is the local suburban community and does not target a state or national news audience.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible you must:
  • have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
  • be registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
  • have an account with an Australian financial institution and either:
    • be located in, and provide core news content to, an eligible geographic community, or
    • provide core news content targeted to an eligible audience and be one of the following entities:
      • an entity, incorporated in Australia
      • a company limited by guarantee
      • an incorporated association
      • a co-operative
      • a partnership
      • an incorporated not for profit organisation or registered charity
      • an individual.

Ineligibility Criteria

• You are not eligible to apply if you are:
  • not listed as eligible to apply in section 4.1.
  • an organisation, or your project partner is an organisation, included on the National Redress Scheme’s website on the list of ‘Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme’.
  • an employer of 100 or more employees that has not complied with the Workplace Gender Equality Act (2012).
  • affiliated with a foreign government, political party, union, financial institution, non-government organisation, or policy lobby group where that affiliation would influence or might be seen to influence, the content produced by the applicant.
  • are insolvent.
  • a foreign controlled Australian entity (section 820-780 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997).
  • a Commonwealth, state, territory or local government body (including government business enterprises).
  • a non-corporate Commonwealth entity.

For more information, visit Australian Government.