The announcement of successful News Innovation Fund recipients has thrown some Australian news publishers a vital lifeline and left others facing an increasingly uncertain future. 

The News Innovation Fund’s $31.5 million will be divided among 54 organisations across Australia, with successful applicants receiving between about $12,000 to $2.2 million. 

Deaf Connect was awarded $1.4 million to expand Auslan90, a service delivering daily news and weekly deep dives in Australian Sign Language (Auslan).  

The funding will ensure the news service will run for at least two more years, Deaf Connect chief services officer Brent Phillips tells PIJI.  

“It is a significant win for Auslan and the deaf community,” he says. 

“Deaf Australians have the right to access and understand the news in our first language.  

“There are so many ways that people can listen; while they’re driving, to the radio or podcasts; watching ABC24 and having their breakfast while getting the kids ready. With deaf people, we’re seeing that they have more barriers to freely accessing, watching and understanding what’s happening in the world around them.” 

The funding decision marks a major turnaround for Auslan90, which had been teetering on the brink of closure earlier this year as its original 18-month run of government funding was scheduled to end on 30 July. 

News of the imminent closure sparked a community campaign to save the service, amplified by media coverage from the likes of the ABC and 9News. 

Phillips says during this time, the community were vocal about the importance of Auslan90’s services, with stories including deaf schoolchildren being shown Auslan90 content in class, gaining a similar introduction to news as Australian hearing students who are commonly presented with programs like Behind The News. 

The campaign resulted in a 12-month lifeline from the government, giving Deaf Connect enough time to apply for the News Innovation Fund. 

Phillips says the success of that application shows Auslan90 is firmly in the mix with other news providers.  

The successful News Innovation Fund application, along with previous funding granted under the Journalism Assistance Fund, comes from the Department of Communications, whereas earlier financial support for Auslan90 – which the organisation was “grateful” for – came from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. 

He says Auslan90 will use the new funding to build on its existing digital news services with a new standalone website and platform, as well as expand production of youth-focused segments, add capacity to the Auslan90 team and find ways to better engage with, and include, First Nations communities. 

Boon for Indigenous and regional publishing 

Allocated $2.2 million, National Indigenous Times was awarded one of the largest grants under the News Innovation Fund.  

NIT Group managing director Reece Hartley tells PIJI this will “supercharge” the publisher’s already-rapid growth. The funding will allow it to double newsroom capacity and establish new bureaus, covering 40 regional and remote local government areas; employ more Indigenous journalists; and create structured pathways for emerging journalists and community contributors. 

“Indigenous communities in regional and remote Australia deserve news reported by journalists who live in their towns and understand the issues they face, and opportunities that exist,” he says. 

“Many parts of Australia are becoming news deserts – with newsrooms retreating, advertising tightening, redundancies playing out and rising costs squeezing budgets.  

“This means large parts of the country seldom see journalists turn up to community events. Journalists drop in and fly out – with little local knowledge or relationships. Nothing beats a local journalist living and working year-round in community.” 

Hartley says the new funding will help National Indigenous Times build a network that lasts well beyond the grant period and allow its content to remain paywall-free, supported by pre-existing partners, subscribers, donors and advertisers.  

Country Press Australia was also allocated $2.2 million under the News Innovation Fund.  

In a media release, the organisation said this will fund a “major national initiative” bringing together independent Australian publishers “to develop shared technology, improve digital capabilities and explore new commercial opportunities, including emerging markets for licensing news content to artificial intelligence and other technology companies”. 

 “Independent regional publishers collectively produce an enormous volume of original journalism that is trusted by communities and increasingly valuable in the digital economy,” Country Press Australia president Damian Morgan said. 

“By working together, we can create the scale and infrastructure needed to participate in these emerging markets and ensure that publishers have opportunities to receive appropriate commercial returns for the content they produce. 

“Rather than having individual publishers navigate these challenges alone, we can develop practical solutions that benefit the industry collectively.” 

Interest outpaces opportunity 

Hundreds of organisations reportedly submitted applications for the News Innovation Fund; with only 54 successful applicants, many would have been left disappointed. 

But 360info founder and editor Andrew Jaspan felt the sting of rejection much earlier, when he was informed his organisation did not qualify to apply for the News Innovation Fund because it was a wire agency.  

360info was similarly ineligible for the Journalism Assistance Fund in 2025. 

Without such funding, Jaspan is unsure whether 360info can continue beyond the end of 2026. 

The Australian Associated Press (AAP) was also out of the running of the two funding rounds, but unlike 360info, has received significant government financial support separately. The government has committed $48 million over three years from 2025–26 to support the AAP, including $15 million announced in the 2026–27 Budget 

Prior to the 2025 federal election, Jaspan says the team under then-Communications Minister Michelle Rowland understood the value of 360info as a wire agency that complemented, but did not compete with, the AAP. 

He understood funding would be available to 360info after the election, but the Department of Communications changed leadership, and he has since struggled to get a similar “commitment”. 

“It’s not as though we’re asking the government or anybody else to fund a new competitor that would compete with all the existing players,” he says. 

“It’s quite the reverse; we support everyone … we’re a supplier of content, we’re a wholesaler. There is no competitive side to it.” 

Jaspan is currently awaiting funding decisions from two Australian entities, along with a large UK-based foundation.  

He says 360info may “pivot” away from Australia if local funding doesn’t come through, and instead focus on the UK and small university-funded operations in India and Indonesia. 

This could be a loss of crucial stories many Australian newsrooms don’t have the time to produce; Jaspan says 360info supplies about 350 newsrooms across the country, with the biggest pickup seen amongst small, regional and independent outlets. 

“It’s just been very, very difficult to persuade a government that is meant to be concerned about the future of public interest journalism to give us the support,” he says. 

“We are providing the one thing [small, regional and independent outlets] all require: extra capacity, so that they can have a better offering to their readers, which is a way of keeping readers and hopefully building their own resilience in terms of staying in business.” 

The News Innovation Fund is the second of the long-awaited News Media Assistance Program’s funding rounds and follows the 2025 launch of the $67.6 million Journalism Assistance Fund. The news industry is also waiting to see the outcome of the News Bargaining Incentive, which cleared parliament in August. 

– Sezen Bakan