News Media Bargaining Code

Written by Claude Haiku 4.5 from the extracted text on 28 Feb 2026. It can miss or misread redacted and scanned pages. Check the source before relying on it.

This ministerial submission from March 2024 concerns Treasury's response to Meta's announcement that it would remove Facebook News from Australia in early April. Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones sought urgent advice from the ACCC regarding the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code, which gives the Treasurer power to designate digital platforms as subject to mandatory bargaining requirements with news publishers. The submission recommends that Jones sign letters to the ACCC requesting its advice on the Code's implications following Meta's decision, and separate letters to Australian news media publishers notifying them of Meta's withdrawal and the government's engagement with the regulator. A factsheet on the Code was prepared for potential public release. The ACCC was consulted on the letter drafts, and the department noted Meta's position that its decision does not remove Facebook users' ability to access news content generally on the platform.