Iranian state broadcaster Press TV has been formally registered under Australia’s Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme (FITS) as an entity acting on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Attorney General’s Department told Iran International.
According to an email sent by the Attorney-General’s Department to Iran International, Press TV received a provisional transparency notice on 21 October 2025, which was finalized on Tuesday after the network failed to provide evidence rebutting the designation within the 28-day period.
Under the scheme, Press TV must now register on the public FITS portal and submit periodic reports on its activities in Australia. Failure to comply can result in prison terms of one to five years, heavy fines, or further prosecution under national security laws.
Press TV is only the third organization to be compulsorily registered under FITS. The two previous entities were Chinese. The Confucius Institute at the University of Sydney and the Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China.
The scheme, in force since 2018, aims to increase public awareness of activities conducted in Australia on behalf of foreign governments.
Australia previously sanctioned Press TV in September 2023 over its role in broadcasting forced confessions and aiding the suppression of dissidents, one year after the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in morality police custody in 2022.
Despite the sanctions, the network continued filing reports from Sydney via its correspondent Shahane Batt until at least February 2025.
The registration comes as Australia’s Foreign Minister warned on Monday that Iran, Russia and North Korea continue to engage in sabotage and destabilization, while China seeks to reshape the region in its own interests.
Australia's Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme (FITS), launched in 2018 amid concerns over Chinese interference, is a more targeted and strictly enforced version of the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) of 1938.
While both require public registration and disclosure for activities on behalf of foreign principals to promote transparency, FITS focuses narrowly on political and governmental influence with clearer exemptions and criminal penalties up to five years in prison.
