Australia / Streaming & Production Quotas!

Joseph Chianese

The Australian government is moving forward with legislation that will require streaming platforms with more than 1 million Australian subscribers to invest at least 10% of their local expenditure, or 7.5% of revenue, in new Australian drama, children’s, documentary, arts, and educational content. 

In short, we can expect a significant surge in Australian production activity as streamers prepare to meet the new local-content obligation.  

For the global production community, this signals: 

• A sharpened focus on Australia as a viable production hub, not merely for location attraction but as a formal content partner. 
• Increased importance of navigating Australian incentive regimes, local cast/crew sourcing, pay structure, and production-service set-ups.
• The potential boons of having a local footprint. 

At Entertainment Partners, we already maintain a full-service office in Australia dedicated to handling production finance, payroll, local incentive administration, and regulatory compliance—enabling producers and streamers to move swiftly and confidently. 

To those actively producing or developing in Australia (or considering it): this is the moment to solidify your local strategy, production supply chain, and payroll/incentive readiness.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7emk7mgy0o

Joseph Chianese

Could the U.S. do the same thing?

Legally, it would not be easy.
The First Amendment protects against “compelled speech,” meaning the government can’t require companies to produce specific types of content — a safeguard of creative and corporate expression.

Unlike its counterparts, such as Australia, Canada, and the EU, the U.S. lacks cultural exemptions in its trade agreements that would permit such local-content quotas.

And historically, American media policy has been market-driven, favoring tax incentives and state-level credits over federal mandates.

Rather than imposing quotas, the U.S. could strengthen its position by expanding and harmonizing production incentives nationwide—rewarding companies that invest in American stories, locations, and talent. A coordinated incentive framework could achieve many of the same goals as content mandates, while remaining fully aligned with U.S. law and market principles.