The ABC is getting $50 million to make more Australian content and streaming services now have to carry it

Bananas in Pyjamas are coming back down the stairs, and taxpayers are picking up part of the bill.

The ABC has confirmed a live-action reboot of the beloved kids' show, produced in South Australia by Windmill Productions. It's the first project to land under a $50 million funding boost handed to the national broadcaster over three years, starting from 2026, specifically earmarked for new Australian children's and drama content.

The money didn't just appear out of goodwill. It was a side deal struck between the Greens and Labor in late November 2025, the price of getting the Australian content requirement bill through the Senate.

Once that passed, streaming giants with more than one million Australian subscribers, think Netflix, Disney and Amazon, are now legally required to spend at least 10 per cent of their local budget, or 7.5 per cent of their revenue, on new Australian drama, kids' programming, documentaries, arts and education content.

For years, local production has watched budgets shrink while streamers filled schedules with cheap international content or shows barely counting as Australian at all. This law tries to close that loophole with an actual number attached to it.

ABC boss Hugh Marks had already flagged at Senate estimates that classic local IP was on the cards. Bananas in Pyjamas is just the opener, with more shows reportedly in the pipeline. ABC CFO Melanie Kleyn has confirmed the funding lands in equal instalments across the three years, so this isn't a one off cash splash before an election.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called it a win for storytellers and for kids who deserve to see themselves and their communities reflected on screen. Fair call, though it is also a reminder of how much leverage a minor party can wield in a hung Senate when public broadcasting funding is on the table.

Nostalgia reboots make an easy headline, but the real test is whether this cash also backs new Australian stories nobody has heard yet, not just the ones we grew up with.

Either way, if streaming services are legally on the hook for local content now, the least we can do is actually watch it.