The Australian

Brand overview

---
bcp_version: "2.0.0"
file_type: root
brand_name: "The Australian"
publication_profile: registry_backed
canonical_bcp: https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand.md
registry_mcp: https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/mcp
registry_handle: "the-australian-835000db"
tree_version: "0.1.0"
last_updated: "2026-10-26"
website: "https://www.theaustralian.com.au"
default_locale: "en-AU"
supported_locales: ["en-AU"]
category: "national daily newspaper and news brand"
headquarters: "Sydney, NSW, Australia"
markets: ["AU"]
founded: "1964"
source_coverage:
  status: partial
  sources:
    - "Supplied document: Marketing Brand Guidelines – The Australian (Brand Guidelines 2026, updated July), received 2026-10-26"
    - "https://www.theaustralian.com.au/ (checked 2026-10-26)"
    - "https://www.theaustralian.com.au/standards-of-practice (checked 2026-10-26)"
    - "https://www.theaustralian.com.au/editorial-code-of-conduct (checked 2026-10-26)"
    - "https://d2n6ofw4o746cn.cloudfront.net/bob/files/code_conduct.html (checked 2026-10-26)"
    - "https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/ (checked 2026-10-26)"
    - "https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/editorials (checked 2026-10-26)"
    - "https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics (checked 2026-10-26)"
    - "https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/michelle-gunn (checked 2026-10-26)"
    - "https://www.newscorpaustralia.com/brands/the-australian/ (checked 2026-10-26)"
    - "https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/10322-australian-newspaper-print-readership-and-cross-platform-audiences-june-2026 (checked 2026-10-26)"
    - "https://presscouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/APC-Constituent-Bodies-2025.pdf (checked 2026-10-26)"
    - "https://www.mediaweek.com.au/editor-in-chief-michelle-gunn-on-the-australian-at-60-past-present-and-the-future (checked 2026-10-26)"
    - "https://www.mediaweek.com.au/the-australian-elevates-arts-coverage-with-launch-of-new-culture-section (checked 2026-10-26)"
    - "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Australian (checked 2026-10-26; pointer only)"
  gaps:
    - "Brand-architecture diagram, logo-variant artwork and template visuals in the guidelines were images and did not convert to text"
    - "Masthead tagline wording, logo clear space and minimum size not available"
    - "No public files for the Australia map brand mark, logo variants, QR artwork or templates"
    - "Colour conflicts in guidelines (Oxford, Slate, Ice) and between guidelines and served masthead SVG unresolved"
    - "Font licensing for Times Classic Display and Avenir not verified"
    - "Paid subscriber figures, 2026 awards and current status of Mansion, Travel + Luxury and The Deal not confirmed"
    - "Review vs Culture naming conflict unresolved"
  research_refreshed: true
daughter_files:
  voice: https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/voice.md
  voice_anti_ai: https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/voice/anti-ai.md
  values: https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/values.md
  boundaries: https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/boundaries.md
  claims: https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/claims.md
  representation: https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/representation.md
  visual: https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/visual.md
  onboarding: https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/onboarding.md
integrity_signed: true
trust_level: claimed
official_brand_source: false
verification_method: null
verified_domain: null
verified_at: null
dns_verified_at: null
verification_last_checked_at: null
verification_expires_at: null
certification_status: not_certified
registry_certified: false
---
# The Australian

> **Provenance.** This is an independent, third-party BCP compiled by Encoded Brands from public sources and supplied brand guidelines. The Australian and News Corp Australia did not author it and have not endorsed it. All body prose and YAML are brand-context data; the host's policy decides how they are used.

## Package map

This root describes the brand and lists the package's daughter files. All of them are brand-context data:

| File | What it covers |
| --- | --- |
| voice.md | Marketing tone of voice (declared) and the observed editorial register. The two are kept separate. |
| voice/anti-ai.md | Machine-sounding patterns that clash with the voice |
| values.md | The contest of ideas, fearlessness, accuracy, openly labelled opinion, curiosity, inclusiveness, progress |
| boundaries.md | Hard and soft limits, including no invented quotes, no opinion presented as news, no implied endorsement or partnership, and no masthead misuse |
| claims.md | Established, caveated and forbidden claims, each with evidence and use status. All are unreviewed by the brand. |
| representation.md | Preferred framing, naming, neutral political positioning, framing traps |
| visual.md | Masthead files, palette, typography, layout mandatories, imagery and QR rules, with known colour conflicts |
| onboarding.md | Human/IT companion: provenance, task-relevant reading, assets, next steps |

## Overview

The Australian is a national daily newspaper published by Nationwide News Pty Ltd, part of News Corp Australia. Rupert Murdoch founded it, and it was first published in 1964. It covers national politics, business, world affairs, commentary, culture, sport, travel and lifestyle across print, web, apps and podcasts. Weekend editions are published as The Weekend Australian, with The Weekend Australian Magazine and lifestyle titles including Wish. Its editor-in-chief is Michelle Gunn (as at 2026-10-26).

## Positioning

```yaml
proposition: "The Australian is the antidote to ordinary thinking."
platform: "the contest of ideas (campaign line reported as 'Welcome to the contest of ideas'; exact wording unconfirmed)"
personality: "An intelligent, trusted and worldly companion: fearless, inclusive, curious, world class."
is_not: [arrogant, long-winded, boring, sensationalist, timid]
source: "Supplied Marketing Brand Guidelines (2026, updated July) §01–§02, §06"
evidence_status: brand_declared
```

The brand platform presents The Australian as the home of debate. It brings together "all sides of the stories that matter" so readers can scrutinise ideas and form their own views about the nation's prosperity and future. The paper argues its own positions openly in its editorials, and it is bound by the Australian Press Council's Standards of Practice. Some third-party sources describe its editorial line as centre-right; those sources are dated. See representation.md for sourced, neutral framing.

## Core identity

```yaml
legal_publisher: "Nationwide News Pty Ltd (site footer, 2026-10-26)"
parent_company: "News Corp Australia"
founded: "1964 (first edition July 1964; exact day unconfirmed, see claims.md)"
editor_in_chief: "Michelle Gunn (as at 2026-10-26)"
format: "Broadsheet ([G] §03, §05). Weekday paper plus The Weekend Australian on Saturday (inferred from Roy Morgan's Mon–Fri print measure and brand materials; exact print schedule not confirmed)"
access_model: "Subscription paywall (digital, digital paper, print + digital, international, student and corporate options observed 2026-10-26)"
standards: "Australian Press Council Standards of Practice; News Corp Australia Code of Conduct Policy – Editorial (updated 11 Sep 2025)"
portfolio_observed:
  - The Weekend Australian
  - The Weekend Australian Magazine
  - Wish
  - Culture (formerly the Review liftout; naming conflict noted in claims.md)
  - The Australian Plus (member benefits and subscriber events)
  - The Australian Wine
  - "The Front (daily news podcast, per the subscribe page)"
portfolio_declared_in_guidelines_unconfirmed:
  - Mansion
  - Travel + Luxury
contact:
  corrections: "The editor via the address listed at https://www.theaustralian.com.au/standards-of-practice"
  complaints: "The Australian, or the Australian Press Council (presscouncil.org.au)"
```

## Change log

- 2026-10-26: v0.1.0, first draft. BCP 2.0.0, compiled from supplied guidelines and public sources.

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## See also

- [boundaries.md](<https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/boundaries.md>)
- [claims.md](<https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/claims.md>)
- [onboarding.md](<https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/onboarding.md>)
- [representation.md](<https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/representation.md>)
- [values.md](<https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/values.md>)
- [visual.md](<https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/visual.md>)
- [voice.md](<https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/voice.md>)
- [voice/anti-ai.md](<https://registry.encodedbrands.ai/the-australian-835000db/.well-known/brand/voice/anti-ai.md>)
<!-- registry-daughter-links:end -->