Australian parents are demanding more local stories, with 84 per cent of parents believing Australian content is important for their children, new Swinburne research reveals.

Parents say local content helps foster identity, community connection and everyday learning, with tweens (8-12 years) particularly underserved by current programming.

Lead author, Swinburne’s Cinema and Media Studies Discipline Leader Associate Professor Liam Burke, says parents value Australian kids’ TV more than ever.

“With local kids TV disappearing from commercial free-to-air channels, support for Australian content is rising among parents.”

“Parents believe Australian children’s television plays a vital role in shaping identity and social cohesion,” Associate Professor Burke says. “Ensuring kids can access stories that reflect their lives is more important than ever.”

The four-year research project based at Swinburne’s Australian Children’s Television Cultures is in collaboration with RMIT University and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF).

The research found the qualities of “good” Australian TV to be relatability, humour, and positive messages, with shows like Bluey praised for cultural specificity and global appeal.

The team, alongside the parents surveyed, are calling for support measures to improve discoverability of Australian content and for renewed investment in local children’s drama.

75 per cent of children now watch on-demand TV, with Disney+ emerging as the fastest-growing service for family co-viewing. But parents say Australian content is hard to find on global platforms.

The researchers hope that a new prominence framework for Smart TVs and a local content quota for global streamers like Netflix, to be implemented this year, will help address these issues.

“Representation matters, particularly during adolescence when identity building is crucial,” Associate Professor Burke says.

“Making Australian content accessible for young people is of national importance and requires support from families, government and industry to be achieved.”