Understanding how Australians access, engage with, and trust the news

The Digital News Report: Australia 2025 presents comprehensive insights into changing news consumption habits. It is the result of a global and longitudinal study of news and media use exploring audience perspectives on a range of issues such as trust in news, social media, AI, misinformation, local news, and media literacy. This year’s report explores over 10 years of data from Australia and 47 other markets across 6 continents, alongside commentary from media and news industry experts.
Key findings include:
- One in four say social media is their main source of news, overtaking online news websites.
- Instagram (40%) and TikTok (36%) are the top two platforms for news among 18-24-year-olds.
- Only 24% of Australians have received news literacy education.
- 29% are interested in personalised AI news summaries.
- Facebook and TikTok are seen as a major misinformation threat among social platforms.
These findings provide valuable evidence for journalists, media organisations, policymakers, and professional communicators seeking to understand Australia's dynamic news environment.
The N&MRC offers customised briefings to help newsrooms, policymakers, professional communicators and organisations interpret and apply the findings of the Digital News Report: Australia, and other related research.