There was some welcome relief for journalism in last week’s Budget ’25 announcements. NZ On Air will have $1.6m more each year from 25/26 for four years, to be directed into support for local journalism with a particular focus on reporting on local democracy and justice matters.
This $1.6m is additional to the $7.8m we had already identified for supporting journalism in our projected funding allocations, as published a couple of weeks ago in our 2025-26 Funding Priorities: Advance Planning Guide for Scripted and Non-fiction content. That document had identified that we would prioritise supporting journalism that delivered nationwide coverage of New Zealand’s key democratic and judicial institutions excluding national politics.
We’ll call for applications in Round Rua which opens on Thurs 21 August. Please keep an eye out for the Information for Applicants (Round Guidelines) that will come out in advance of the round opening as we will be clear in those guidelines what we will consider for funding.
Round Tahi has closed
Congratulations to everyone who successfully submitted applications for Round Tahi, through our new funding portal.
We received 115 applications from 95 production companies requesting $66.1m in funding.
Funding decisions are due Fri 1 August.