Tonight, 7 pm to 11 pm
The ACCC calls 7 pm to 11 pm the busy evening period: the hours its guidance asks internet providers to use when they advertise a plan’s typical speed. So the guide runs to the same hours.
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7.00Feature
Ch 1
Free trials that roll over
In August 2026 the Federal Court found an online membership business misled people about automatic renewal, minimum terms and monthly prices, in a case brought by the ACCC. What the case says to look for before you start a trial.
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7.30Money
Ch 2
Cancelling, and getting money back
When a service has a major problem you can cancel and get a refund, less a reasonable amount for what you already received as expected. Plus how to stop a direct debit: once your bank has your request, it has to stop the payments.
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8.30Family
Ch 3
G to R 18+, decoded
G, PG and M are advisory. MA 15+ and R 18+ are legally restricted, to people 15 and over and adults 18 and over. The table, the consumer advice and who rates a streamed episode.
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9.00How-to
Ch 4
Profiles and parental controls
Most streaming services provide age-based parental controls, and many let you block content by its rating. eSafety’s advice: set them on every device a child uses, and review them as children grow.
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9.30Science
Ch 5
How much speed a stream needs
The ACCC’s labels pair HD streaming with at least 15 Mbps in the busy evening hours, and 4K with at least 30 Mbps. Then the router, the cables and the oldest device in the house.
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10.30Local drama
Ch 6
The Australian content rule
Streaming services with at least one million Australian subscribers must now invest at least 10% of their program spending for Australia, or 7.5% of their Australian revenue, in new local drama, children’s, documentary, arts and education programs.
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11.00Close
Station close. Every page lists its official sources at the foot.
Puzzle corner, solved
Four words this guide keeps coming back to, with the clue each one earns.
Across
2 G, PG and M are the advisory ones; MA 15+ and R 18+ are restricted by law (6). RATING Ch 3: the ratings
Down
1 With a major problem, you may do this to a service and get a refund (6). CANCEL Ch 2: cancelling
2 What a court found some memberships did automatically, for 12 locked-in months (5). RENEW Ch 1: free trials
3 Even a free one makes you a paying subscriber in the ACMA’s count (5). TRIAL Ch 6: the content rule
Notes
About this guide
StreamingServices.com.au is a guide to the rules around streaming in Australia, published by Dotto. It covers the category as a whole and never names, ranks or recommends a streaming service. Each page answers one question from official sources: the ACCC, the Australian Classification website, the eSafety Commissioner, the ACMA, Moneysmart, nbn and the state consumer agencies.
When something goes wrong with a subscription, the first stop is the business itself, then your state or territory’s consumer agency, which the ACCC lists by state.