Australians may have to pay to access 'free' TV

Watching free TV could soon require an internet connection, the ATO is making it harder to pay your tax bill, and more foreign investors face hefty penalties for land banking. Here are five money stories you may have missed this week.

What if watching free TV cost you $80 a month?

The federal government is considering allowing free-to-air TV providers to stop broadcasting their channels over the airwaves and just offer them online instead.

But social support groups say some Australians would struggle with the cost and technical skills to start streaming if they lose free-to-air services.

Most TV companies are already paying to maintain broadcast and streaming networks and these costs have remained high, despite less people watching free-to-air services.

Meanwhile, telcos are keen to get access to some of the airwaves TV uses to roll out new mobile services, such as 6G.

The government is considering letting broadcasters stop offering some or most channels over the air.

Another option is to keep broadcast networks, but make them more efficient.

Most Australian TV channels are already available to stream for free, but the loss of antenna services would make people more reliant on their internet service provider.

Internet bills can cost as much as $80 per month or more and Anglicare CEO Rob Stokes says many of the people his not-for-profit supports have limited funds to put towards such expenses.

"These people are on fixed incomes and reliant on free services," he says, adding free TV can be their "lifeline" to the wider world.

"It's one thing to know how to connect online, but another to have the skills to determine what's the right streaming service".

ATO to stop accepting credit card tax payments

It's been a busy week for the ATO.

On Thursday, the body announced it would no longer let Aussies make payments on its website with a credit card from November 30.

Some small business owners have taken to social media to point out the change comes just as they've been asked to absorb the cost of card payments due to the surcharge ban.

The tax office says it's removing the credit option in accordance with the Reserve Bank's ruling that card surcharges can't be passed onto consumers from October 1.

Business owners add that paying GST and other bills via credit card also helps their cashflow.

But the tax office says only 2.3% of tax payments were made with credit cards in 2024-25.

It says 60% of these payments were "made by privately owned and wealthy groups and public and multinational businesses".

Foreign investor fined $508,000 for land banking

The tax office has penalised a second foreign property investor for taking too long to build on vacant residential land they'd bought.

The ATO announced this week the federal court had fined the landholder $508,000, less than a month after it charged another foreign investor $370,000 for the same offence.

Foreigners who buy residential land in Australia have to build a house on the plot within four years under rules designed to boost housing supply.

Continuing to hold the plot without building on it is considered "land banking".

"[This] limits housing supply for the Australian community and will be met with significant consequences," said ATO assistant commissioner Jennifer Moltisanti.

"Foreign investors need to understand that buying residential land in Australia comes with clear obligations".

Retailers fined over allegedly misleading Black Friday sales

Two furniture retailers have been fined a total of almost $60,000 after they allegedly misled consumers during the biggest sales of the year.

The ACCC has accused Vuly Play Group and James Lane of claiming their Black Friday discounts were more time-limited than they really were.

As part of Black Friday and Click Frenzy sales last year, Vuly advertised discounts of up to 45% tied to a countdown timer.

But the ACCC alleges the children's play equipment supplier kept resetting this timer, while the deals stayed in place.

Furniture seller James Lane is accused of advertising its 2025 Black Friday sale as ending on December 3, all the while planning to keep discounts in place for another week.

The ACCC says these tactics give shoppers a false sense of urgency and pressure them to make quick purchases.

Vuly has been fined $39,600, while James Lane has paid a penalty of $19,800.

Job seekers warned to beware of North Korean hackers

If you're ever taking part in an online job interview and asked to download software, watch out.

That friendly recruiter could be trying to steal your data and assets to help fund the world's most notorious dictatorship.

National cyber safety bodies say North Korean hackers are luring people into fake job interviews.

Australia's signals directorate and cyber security centre say these tricky criminals are then gaining access to personal computers and stealing private data and cryptocurrency.

In a warning, co-signed by other countries' agencies, the groups say hackers have transferred over $15 million worth of crypto to North Korea.

Software and IT professionals anywhere in the world are their targets.

Victims are invited to virtual job interviews, where they're asked to download files that give the hackers secret access to their computer.

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