SBS Commissioning Inclusion Guidelines
What are the Commissioning Inclusion Guidelines?
SBS is committed to ensuring all Australians see themselves, their communities and their stories reflected on screen, and that we are leading the way to a more inclusive future for our industry.
The SBS Charter and our unique purpose are the driving force behind our content, underpinning our legacy of showcasing diversity, telling stories otherwise untold and ensuring diverse voices are heard.
The SBS Commissioning Inclusion Guidelines reflect SBS’s unique place in the media landscape as Australia’s multicultural and Indigenous broadcaster. They also recognise our role in championing ongoing industry change to be more representative and inclusive of our audiences - in front of and behind the camera - which also makes for entertaining, compelling and inspiring storytelling that connects with all Australians. They outline comprehensive multi-year targets for inclusion of talent from historically and ongoing under-represented communities in roles across SBS-commissioned programs, including internal productions.
What are SBS's Inclusion targets?
SBS’s Commissioning Inclusion Guidelines outline targets for on- and off-screen roles, and for career progression, across SBS-commissioned Scripted and Unscripted programs on a show-by-show basis. They also include goals for SBS as a broadcaster, to measure and track representation across our entire commissioned content slate.
These targets are designed to remove barriers and ensure that everyone in the sector can participate, with equal opportunity to succeed. They reflect our goals for representation of people who identify as First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse, non-European culturally and linguistically diverse, people with disability, LGBTQ+ and women - in front of and behind the camera - across a three-year period (from July 2025 to June 2028).
From casting on-screen talent to hiring off-screen crew, SBS works flexibly and collaboratively with each of our production partners to support them in contributing to our goals across our commissioned content slate. SBS is here to provide practical assistance, including funding, training and connections to creative talent from our many career pathway initiatives.
Previous Guidelines
SBS’s published a report on its performance against its first commissioning guidelines - the SBS Commissioning Equity & Inclusion Guidelines (2021-2024) – to demonstrate how SBS had achieved the targets outlined across its content slate. The guidelines were extended for a fourth year (until June 2025), while SBS developed its second iteration, launched in July 2025.