Under-investment, inconsistent government decision-making and strategic missteps by the national broadcaster have plagued Australia's efforts in international broadcasting for more than a decade. This is despite it being a potent tool for diplomacy in a region that is fast becoming a major focus for world powers.

The federal government will again review the efficiency of the national broadcasters—the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Special Broadcasting Service—ahead of their next round of funding. The Commonwealth funds the national broadcaster on three year contracts and the next funding will be announced for the three years from 2019–20.

Against a backdrop of calls from Liberal Party members to privatise the national broadcaster, Sinclair Davidson, an RMIT academic and adjunct fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs, claimed ABC employees were five times more likely to be Greens voters

Editorial independence is hard won and under constant pressure from outside the newsroom. In public-sector broadcasting, the pressure comes from the federal government, which provides the funding and has powerful means of subjecting the broadcaster to intense political pressure, writes Denis Muller.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC’s) management of complaints.