NBN Co in Public Hands Forever? | Dirt Report

What has changed

The National Broadband Network Companies Amendment (Commitment to Public Ownership) Bill 2024 was designed to legally reinforce public ownership of NBN Co, the company operating Australia’s National Broadband Network.

The bill amends the National Broadband Network Companies Act 2011 by removing the provisions that created a possible pathway to selling NBN Co. Under the previous law, a sale could have involved declaring the network fully built, conducting a Productivity Commission inquiry and obtaining approval from Parliament.

The amendment removes those sale mechanisms rather than leaving them available to a future government. Its stated policy direction is that the NBN should remain a publicly owned national infrastructure asset.

Why public ownership matters

Keeping NBN Co in public hands is intended to provide greater certainty for the organisations and industries that rely on the network. It also supports the position that broadband is essential infrastructure and a public utility rather than an asset that can be sold for a commercial return.

The legislation is presented as a way to maintain Commonwealth control of the network and support its ongoing operation for public benefit. Public ownership can also allow government policy to continue focusing on universal access, affordability and long-term infrastructure investment, rather than ownership being determined primarily by profit considerations.

The NBN represents a significant taxpayer-funded investment. Removing the existing sale pathway means a future government cannot rely on the previous legislative process to privatise NBN Co.

Can a future government reverse it?

The legislation does not make public ownership permanently immune from change. As with other Australian laws, a future government could introduce new legislation to amend or repeal the amendment, but it would need sufficient support in Parliament, including the Senate.

That means the bill makes a future sale more difficult by removing the existing legal mechanisms, but it does not make privatisation impossible under every future parliamentary arrangement. Any attempt to reverse the change would require a new legislative process and support from the required parliamentary stakeholders.

During the bill’s introduction, the Coalition opposed the measure. Shadow Minister for Communications David Coleman reportedly described it as a “sad stunt” and said nobody was discussing changing NBN ownership. That position indicated there were no stated immediate plans to privatise the network at that time.

What the passage means

The bill passed its final reading in the Senate on 26 March 2025 and passed both houses on the same date. Its practical effect is to establish a stronger legislative commitment to keeping NBN Co in public ownership.

The change gives the NBN a clearer long-term public ownership framework, while retaining the broader principle that a future Parliament can change existing laws. It therefore provides greater protection against privatisation, rather than an absolute guarantee that ownership can never be reconsidered.