Summary of Media Reform

What is Media Reform?

Media Reform is a consultation document that outlines five draft proposals to create modern legislation for New Zealand’s media and content production sector.

The aims for the proposed changes to media legislation are to:

• create a modern and fit for purpose regulatory and funding environment, and
• support a healthy and sustainable media and content production sector that delivers for New Zealand audiences.

The proposals are high-level, and the Government has not decided whether to progress them.

The purpose of this consultation is to hear your feedback on the proposals and how we could improve or change them to support the best outcomes for the sector and audiences.

Why are we doing this?

The current legislation for the media and content production sector is outdated. It does not align with how media content is now produced or consumed. Modernising regulation and content funding arrangements can make room to address the challenges and the opportunities of ongoing change in the media landscape. Further analysis of key issues and reasons for change are detailed in Media Reform.

What are the draft proposals?

The draft proposals that we seek your feedback on are:

1. Ensuring accessibility of local media platforms: Require TV manufacturers to ensure local media services are prominent and visible to audiences on devices such as Smart TVs so they can be easily found by audiences.
2. Increasing investment into and discoverability of local content: Require streaming platforms and TV broadcasters to invest in local content and help audiences to find it, supporting more production of and engagement with New Zealand stories on the platforms New Zealanders use.
3. Increasing captioning and audio description: Require more captioning and audio description of content that is broadcast or streamed to ensure access for disabled New Zealanders
4. Modernising professional media regulation: Revise the broadcasting standards regime (including the Broadcasting Standards Authority) with platform-neutral regulation of professional media that focuses more on system-level outcomes.
5. Streamlining Crown content funders: Consolidate NZ On Air and the Film Commission into a single entity, supporting more efficient and strategic administration of government funding for local content and industry development.

How to have your say

All submissions are due by 11.59 pm, Sunday 23 March.

Make a submission by completing our online survey.

Media Reform for New Zealand survey (Survey Monkey)

You can also make a submission by email or post.  

Alternatively, you can provide a more detailed written submission by either:

Sending your submission to: [email protected].

Mailing your submission to:

Media and Screen Policy
Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage
PO Box 5364 
Wellington 6140

If you have any questions about the submissions process or would like to request a phone call, please contact [email protected].

New Zealand Sign Language version