Australian local content quotas: Homegrown stories already on streaming services
After years of promises, talk and negotiations across two successive governments, Australia will impose a local content quota on all streaming services.
How it works is that any streaming service with more than a million subscribers will be obligated to invest either 10 per cent of their total expenditure in this market or 7.5 per cent of its revenue on local drama, children’s, documentary, arts or education productions.
The Australian screen industry have been agitating for this for a long time, although many parties had advocated for a higher quota both for the health of the sector and for the cultural impact of Australian storytelling.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The one million subscriber benchmark means that not every streamer will initially fall under the scheme’s aegis, with HBO Max and Apple TV (which is in production on its first Australian series, The Dispatcher) still beneath the threshold, according to third-party data from Telsyte.
The quota has been telegraphed for a long time, so the streaming platforms have already been playing in that space, some more than others.
We take a look at some of the more memorable – for good and bad – local streaming originals already out there.
TIDELANDS (Netflix)
This crime drama was actually Netflix’s first original series in Australia, although it would rather you forget it ever existed. With all the nuance of a daytime soap opera, it starred Elsa Pataky and Charlotte Best as drug-dealing mermaids (ahem, sorry, sirens). A big miss.
THE ARTFUL DODGER (Disney)
If you thought Oliver was always kind of a pill, and that the Artful Dodger was the real life of Charles Dickens’ book, then this was the story for you. An imagined continuation of the story finds Dodger transported to the Australian colonies where he finds a new career as a surgeon, until trouble arises in the form of Fagin. Be warned, there’s a fair amount of body horror.
BOY SWALLOWS UNIVERSE (Netflix)
The acclaimed drama won hearts and a haul of AACTAs and Logies for its high-end adaptation of Trent Dalton’s best-selling semi-autobiographical novel. Set in the suburbs of Brisbane in the 1980s, the coming-of-age story follows Eli as he tries to survive his turbulent childhood. The series discovered the undeniable talent of youngster Felix Cameron.
DEADLOCH (Prime Video)
When a comedy-crime-thriller is as specific in its absurd sense of humour as Deadloch and still manages to make waves internationally, you know that the old adage “comedy doesn’t travel across borders” is wrong. Created by Kate McLennan and Kate McCartney, it lovingly subverts genre tropes with a mystery about dead men in a Tassie town.
HEARTBREAK HIGH (Netflix)
Heartbreak High introduced the world to the concept of eshays, and spread the lyricism of Australian slang to farflung corners. The high school comedy-drama had sass and heart, and showcased the stories of a new generation of hot messes, but lovable ones.
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL (Stan)
As an Australian streamer, Stan has been the most aggressive in commissioning local originals, and the best one it has in its stable is Thou Shalt Not Steal, a comedic caper from co-creator and director Dylan River. It follows an Indigenous teenager who breaks out of juvie and ends up on a journey across central Australia with a runaway, while being chased by a sex worker and a religious fanatic. Excellent stuff.
THE LAST DAYS OF THE SPACE AGE (Disney)
With a cast that includes Jesse Spencer, Radha Mitchell, Deborah Mailman and Thomas Weatherall, this historical drama is set during a turbulent week in 1979 in Perth when a space station crash-lands just outside town at the same time the city is hosting the Miss Universe competition.
TOP END BUB (Prime Video)
If you were left happy crying by Miranda Tapsell’s beloved rom-com film Top End Wedding, then you were frothing for Top End Bub, a sequel series that brings Lauren and Ned back to Darwin after they unexpectedly take guardianship of Lauren’s niece. It’s a warm family comedy that hangs on the truth that family is hard, but it’s even harder without them.
NO ACTIVITY (Stan)
Stan come out of the gates strong with its first original commission, No Activity. A very chilled-out comedy where, as the title suggests, not much happens, the show is centred on two cops on a stakeout. Starring Patrick Brammall, it was later remade into six different international editions, including an American one produced by Will Ferrell.
THE CLEARING (Disney)
There’s something about cults that still hold fascination for a lot of people, and Australia has the dubious honour of having produced one of the very few female cult leaders in world history. Miranda Otto is chilling as Adrienne Beaufort, a thinly veiled version of Anne Hamilton-Bryce, who led The Family in Victoria. It also starred Teresa Palmer and Guy Pearce.
BYRON BAES (Netflix)
A reality TV series so controversial the town of Byron Bay actually revolted against the production. The show was supposed to follow local influencers around the beachside community but it couldn’t really get any townies to be involved. Ultimately, it was a bust, and had the unfortunate timing of premiering while most of the region was battling floods.
BUMP (Stan)
With five seasons and an upcoming Christmas special, Bump is one of the great success stories of Australian streaming. An affable family drama, it kicks off when high achieving student Oly unexpectedly falls pregnant while still in high school. Their families are surprised but come together to form a new community.
FAKE (Paramount+)
Based on a real-life story, the Asher Keddie-led drama is centred on Birdie, a writer and journalist who is wooed by a new beau, grazier Joe (David Wenham). He seems like a dreamboat, but soon things start to smell whiffy. A chilling cautionary tale of deception, manipulation and dating.
BALI 2002 (Stan)
To coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Bali bombings, this sombre four-part miniseries tracked the events of the horrific terror attack through the lens of different people, including victims and responders. Richard Roxburgh played Graham Ashton, who was the operational commander that oversaw the joint international investigation.
THE SURVIVORS (Netflix)
Adapted from a novel by Jane Harper (The Dry) and created by Tony Ayres (The Slap), the six-part drama is set in Tassie and tracks a small community dealing with a recent death of a young woman, triggering the memories of a past tragedy the town has yet to properly reckon with.
THE LOST FLOWERS OF ALICE HART (Prime Video)
It may have been anchored by a splashy American star (Sigourney Weaver) but the rest of the local cast including Alycia Debham-Carey, Leah Purcell and Tilda Cobham-Hervey, more than hold their own. The show is adapted from a Holly Ringland novel about a flower nursery and women’s refuge, and explores the shared pain of trauma and abuse.
PLAYING GRACIE DARLING (Paramount+)
If Ouija boards spook you, this supernatural series may be a little too much. It starts with the disappearance of teenager after a séance goes wrong (side note, can a séance go right?), and then flashes forward to years later when another member of the same family goes missing.
MATILDAS (Disney+)
When Disney commissioned this docuseries on our women’s national football team, they probably didn’t know just how much of a sensation the Matildas would become during the 2023 FIFA World Cup. Premiering a few months before the tournament, the show tracked the team’s preparation for the big competition.
