Australia is moving ahead with new legislation designed to make major digital platforms contribute financially to the country’s news industry — but the plan is creating an unusual divide between the government and the very media organisations it says it wants to protect.

The Albanese government’s News Bargaining Incentive (NBI) is being introduced to Parliament with the aim of encouraging large technology platforms to strike commercial agreements with Australian news publishers for the use and distribution of their journalism. Platforms that do not make qualifying deals would instead face a financial charge.

Under the latest version, affected platforms will need to reach agreements with at least eight Australian news publishers, while the potential charge has been set at 2.5 per cent of their Australian digital advertising revenue. Up to 25 per cent of the liability can be offset through individual qualifying deals, while 5 per cent of money collected will go to the Australian Associated Press.

The government says the policy is intended to strengthen public-interest journalism, support smaller and regional publishers and ensure digital platforms fairly compensate media organisations whose content they benefit from. The framework also includes additional support for smaller publishers and journalists serving regional and underrepresented communities.

But major media companies have raised concerns that the revised structure could generate less funding than expected. They fear that a weaker financial incentive for technology platforms could ultimately contribute to job losses and further pressure on newsrooms.

That creates the central question behind Australia’s new media battle: Can a law designed to save journalism deliver enough money to actually protect the journalists producing it?