Australia’s national and community broadcasters have all received extra funding in the federal budget, delivered by Treasurer Jim Chalmers last night.

AFTRS also got some more funds, while the National Film & Sound Archive and other public institutions such as the National Gallery and National Library were cut in this budget.

Moves to abolish non-compete clauses in contracts will also have an effect on commercial radio companies that routinely insert these clauses in staff contracts. The banning of non-compete clauses will apply to all workers earning under $175,000 and will leave them free to move between companies more easily.

With an election likely to be called within weeks and due by May this year, the budget is only as good as the current government’s ability to pass its budget measures through Parliament before the eleciton and to be re-elected. Opposition leader Peter Dutton will give his budget reply on Thursday, which may give some indication of the Liberal Party’s budgetary intentions if it is elected in May.

In the estimates, the current financial year is the first column shown in the charts (Financial Year July 2024 – June 2025), followed by next year’s allocation (25-26) then subsequent years to 2029.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The ABC gets a boost of just over $30 million and staff numbers are expected to remain steady at 4,413 people.

Current financial year funds from government were $1.196 billion for the national broadcaster. Next financial year (July 2025 – June 2026) the amount of government funding will increase to $1.229 billion, with further increases of about $30 million in each year after that until 2029.

Within the budget, more money ($6 million) has been allocated for transmission, reflecting additional costs of digital streaming for radio and tv, plus other increased costs of delivering content on platforms beyond the traditional analog and  digital transmitters. As well as government funds, the ABC is estimated to earn about the same amount of income from independent sources, such as program sales, as it did this current financial year ($68 million) but will see a decrease in revenue from bank interest.

Friends of the ABC and other national broadcast supporters have argued for more funding to catch up with indexation deficiencies and have also noted that steady staff numbers is a decrease in real terms given the amount of redundancies that took place in previous years.

The ABC’s biggest expense is wages. In the current financial year the national broadcaster spent $608 million on employee costs, but, after a robust round of bargaining, staff received a pay rise which now has to be paid for. ABC employee costs (wages and oncosts) will increase to $632 million in the next financial year, and continue to rise in the out years after that.

Special Broadcasting Service

Australia’s other national broadcaster, multi-lingual service SBS, has also had an increase of about $9 million. This financial year SBS received $350.3 million from government and next financial year (July ’25-June ’26) it will receive $359.1 million. Funding will increase by about $6 million every year within the forward projections to 2029.

SBS is allowed to take advertising and is expected to earn its own commercial revenue as well as its government allocation. The corporation’s revenue target for this year was $$147 million. Next year that target is increased to $177 million. Staff numbers are expected to remain steady at 1,369 people.

The SBS wages bill will rise from its current $193 million to $198 million next financial, wth small steady rises expected to continue after that for the corporation’s 1,369 staff. Revenue targets will also steadily increase until 2029 by about $2 million each year.

Community Broadcasting

The budget confirmed what had already been announced for the Community Broadcasting Sector: the three-year commitment made in the mid year financial estimate (MYEFO) is reflected in the forward estimates.

This commitment included an additional $15 million over three years ($5 million per year) for the Community Broadcasting Program, distributed by the Community Broadcasting Foundation, and an additional $12 million over three years ($4 million per year) to support First Nations broadcasting and media through the Indigenous Broadcasting and Media Program, distributed via the National Indigenous Australians Agency.

The portfolio details of the Federal Budget show the 2025/26 budget and forward estimates for the ‘Community Broadcasting Program’ (funds distributed via the Community Broadcasting Foundation) are $27.8 million for financial year 25-26, with slight increases of about $1 million each year after that (underlined in red within the ACMA budget allocations).

In the fourth year of the forward estimates, funding drops back to the baseline of $24 million, after the conclusion of the three-year funding commitment.

The CBF’s Jo Curtin has told radioinfo: “The additional funding will start to address the critical needs of hundreds of community broadcasters who reach out to us for support and are aiming to deliver on the sector’s aspirations to have even greater impact in their communities, as expressed in Roadmap 2033.”

The CBF is already assessing the first round of grant applications and will allocate the bulk of the first year’s additional funding to community stations in early June.

Multicultural and Indigenous broadcasting will also receive additional funding next financial year.

Also note some of the other elements listed for funding within the ACMA’s allocation of funds to be distributed to media entities (underlined in yellow):

Amplifying Australia’s Voice in the Pacific is funding that goes mostly to the ABC for its international development activities.

The News Media Assistance Program is funding for a range of public interest journalism initiatives supported by ACMA and the Federal Government.

Supporting Australian Associated Press is special funding for Australia’s international newswire service  that was likely to close down in the face of the changing business model for news media and competition from social media and search companies. In 2020 it transformed into a non-profit business and now receives some government funding to supplement its other revenue activities.

Regional Broadcasting is a category of funding to support regional commercial broadcasters. The figures are commercial in confidence and not for publication.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) itself gets over $3 Billion for its regulatory and media support activities. Last year its allocation was 3.126 Billion and this financial year (’25-’26) the allocation will increase to $3.145 Billion.

Australian Film Television and Radio School

AFTRS has had a small increase in funding, up from $27.9 million this financial year to $28.3 million next financial year (’25-’26) and small growth every year to 2029.

Staffing is expected to increase by one person to 160 people next financial. Staff costs for the national media training university were $22.8 million this year and will increase to $24.4 million next financial year. AFTRS earns about $9 million fron its own funds, mostly course fees and program sales.

National Film and Sound Archive

The NFSA was cut this year as part of a range of cuts across most national institutions in Canberra.

The Film and Sound Archive recevied $47.8 million in government funds this financial year, which will be reduced to $43.6 million next financial year (’25-’26). Funding will increase again from 2027.

Staff numbers will reduce from the current 250 to 231, so redundancies are expected at the NFSA next financial year.