The ABC faces challenges on multiple fronts – if it’s to succeed, it must first win back the public

It was the expensive own goal that’s made a mockery of Australia’s national broadcaster. But this week’s Federal Court finding against the ABC is not its biggest problem.

It was the expensive own goal that’s damaged the reputation and finances of Australia’s national broadcaster. But this week’s Federal Court finding against the ABC, which will see it pay $70,000 to sacked journalist Antoinette Lattouf, is not its biggest problem.

The court heard a pro-Palestinian tweet from Lattouf had triggered a flurry of complaints, sending the broadcaster into a panic that ultimately saw it tell her not to show up for the final two days of a five-day casual stint in December 2023.

In trying to prove its impartiality, it did the opposite – in spectacular fashion – with Justice Darryl Rangiah finding the unlawful sacking followed “an orchestrated campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists”.

The broadcaster spent more than $1m on the case and may face more financial pain if the court decides it also deserves a fine for breaking the law.

An employee walks past the logo of the ABC located at the main entrance to the ABC building located at Ultimo in Sydney.

Crisis of trust

Trust is the cornerstone of the ABC’s strategy and, indeed, its existence.

The word appears 18 times in its current corporate plan and sits at number one atop the “strategic pillars” of the organisation’s vision.

Yet this week it trampled on the footpath outside the Federal Court, which found the ABC had breached the Fair Work Act and unlawfully terminated Lattouf.

Most of the executives involved in the events of 2023 have since left, and new managing director Hugh Marks was quick to acknowledge and apologise – but said he saw no need for new processes to be created.

In the words of the ABC’s own media writer Vivienne Kelly this week: “the ABC has damaged its reputation, and public perceptions around its ideals, integrity and independence”.

The issue goes beyond the wider public trust to another problem the ABC itself has identified in its corporate plan – expected “skill shortages for the roles it needs to operate into the future”.

The ABC knows it must “attract and retain employees with the right skills in a competitive market”, but that challenge has not been helped by what’s just been proven in court.

Journalists in particular value employers who will have their back – not punt them when it gets too hot.

The ABC did not respond to a question on how it planned to restore its reputation and public trust.

Journalist Antoinette Lattouf arrives at court. Picture: Nikki Short

Financial strain

The ABC is set to receive Federal Government funding of $1.2bn for 2025-26, a bump of $33.1m on the previous year.

It has budgeted an for operating deficit of $1.2m in 2025-26, which includes changes in the way leases must be accounted for.

The ABC’s total expenses are expected to reach $1.3bn in next financial year.

Employee benefits are set to rise by $24m in 2025-26 – despite the total number of staff not increasing – with the employee costs topping $608m.

Despite the ABC announcing 40 redundancies in a restructure that saw 18-year-old current affairs panel show Q&A sent to scrap, its budget documents show the average staffing level is set to remain steady at 4413 positions.

Meanwhile, the ABC’s own-source revenue – that is income it makes by hiring out facilities, commissions and interest – is set to go down by $7m year-on-year.

Also coming out of that budget will be the $70,000 awarded to Lattouf following her court win. Another $1.1m that was spent on legal bills for that case alone.

There does not appear, in public documents, to be an itemised amount set aside to draw upon in the event it is also ordered to pay a fine for breaching the Fair Work Act.

Frustratingly, the ABC had earlier rejected an offer from Ms Lattouf’s team to settle for $85,000.

Hugh Marks, new managing director of the ABC. Picture: NewsWire

Marks’ comments that “many millions of dollars have been spent that shouldn’t have been” in defending legal actions, reveal material problems in how the organisation prioritises cash flow.

Even the journalists’ union, The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance has sounded alarm bells, saying earlier this month that “the mismanagement of our ABC needs to end”.

“ABC management are simultaneously wasting public money on limousines, and expensive lawyers while cutting staff jobs and pushing all budgetary risk on to low paid, insecure staff who work hard to hold the line on editorial standards.”

The ABC did not respond to a question on how it would fulfil its strategic goal of making “sustainable choices in allocating resources” by preventing future financial blunders.

The logo of the ABC adorns the main entrance to the ABC building located at Ultimo in Sydney. Picture: David Gray

Shifting audience

The ABC – while immune from the whims of fickle advertisers – is not untouched by the flux of the external media landscape, where it notes “audience behaviours are increasingly fragmented”.

The biggest casulaty of the shift so far was the axing of weekly panel Q&A earlier this month, which ABC news director Justin Stevens said was not a reflection of the content itself.
“We always need to keep innovating and renewing and, in the two decades since Q+A began, the world has changed,” he said at the time.

“It’s time to rethink how audiences want to interact and to evolve how we can engage with the public to include as many Australians as possible in national conversations.”

Media organisations worldwide – even those without the benefit of public funding – are grappling with how to attract younger audiences while hanging onto the existing older ones.

The ABC faces the challenge of remaining Australia’s “most important cultural institution” while also being “relevant to all Australians”.

Its strategy is to become an “integrated digital operation” by 2028, pinning its hopes on its digital offerings like Iview, Listen, and News apps.

The ABC’s corporate plan also highlights the capital spend needed for “modernisation of infrastructure, systems, and capabilities”, saying there was potential to find savings using AI, but that the changes would likely cost time and money.

Unlike other media organisations, it is obliged to fund this modernisation while still maintaining traditional broadcast operations.

The ABC did not respond to a question about how it planned to strike his balance or how it planned to ensure its digital offerings were both financially sustainable and reaching a significant audience.

It also did not answer a question on if it had a quantifiable strategy to ensure its content investments delivered sufficient public value and audience engagement.

Former ABC chair Ita Buttrose leaving court after she gave evidence in the Antoinette Lattouf case. Picture: Jonathan Ng

It did, however, direct News Corp to an Ipsos survey which showed its free website had the highest audience of any Australian news site during May.

Despite the positive survey, the ABC’s combined weekly reach has dwindled to 62 per cent – down from 69.4 per cent just three years ago, thanks to a precipitous drop in free-to-air TV viewing and the rise of “news avoidance”.

While the ABC would have likely have preferred to avoid the news of the past week, it now faces an uphill battle to rebuild the trust of the public, or it risks becoming a relic, funded by taxpayers who no longer believe in its mission.

Originally published as The ABC faces challenges on multiple fronts – if it’s to succeed, it must first win back the public