''Guardian Australia'' is the Australian website of the British global online and print newspaper, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

''. Available solely in an online format, the newspaper's launch was led by

Katharine Viner Katharine Sophie Viner (born January 1971)Katharine Vine"Dear diary ..." ''The Guardian'', 27 November 2004 is a British journalist and playwright. She became the first female editor-in-chief at ''The Guardian'' on 1 June 2015 succeeding Alan ...

in time for the

2013 Australian federal election The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on 7 September 2013. The centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition led by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of the Liberal Party of A ...

and followed the introduction of ''

Guardian US ''Guardian US'' is the Manhattan-based American online presence of the British print newspaper ''The Guardian''. It launched in September 2011, led by editor-in-chief Janine Gibson, and followed the earlier ''Guardian America'' service, which wa ...

'' in 2011. ''Guardian Australia'' is owned by

Guardian Media Group Guardian Media Group plc (GMG) is a British-based mass media company owning various media operations including ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer''. The group is wholly owned by the Scott Trust Limited, which exists to secure the financial and e ...

, which is in turn owned by the

Scott Trust Scott Trust Limited is the British company that owns Guardian Media Group and thus ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'' as well as various other media businesses in the UK. In 2008, it replaced the Scott Trust, which had owned ''The Guardian'' s ...

, which aims to stay independent and free from 'commercial pressures'. The online publication relies on digital advertising and voluntary reader donations or subscriptions for revenue, eschewing enforced

paywall A paywall is a method of restricting access to content, with a purchase or a paid subscription, especially news. Beginning in the mid-2010s, newspapers started implementing paywalls on their websites as a way to increase revenue after years of ...

s implemented by other news websites. ''Guardian Australias

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

is based in the Sydney suburb of

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surround ...

, with bureaux in Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra. It employs more than 70 journalists, editors and other personnel as of 2020, including

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

Lenore Taylor who assumed responsibilities in 2016.

History

Prior to its 2013 launch the British edition of the website was already popular with Australian audiences, with over 1.3 million users per month helping it rank just outside the top 10 most-visited news websites in Australia. In June 2018 and July 2021, ''Guardian Australia'' was ranked No. 5 among news websites in Australia. Following an investment from businessman Graeme Wood, prompted by

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

, ''Guardian Australia'' was launched on 27 May 2013 in the lead-up to the 2013 federal election. The British team was joined by local journalists, some of whom previously worked at

News Corp Australia News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of the American News Corp. One of Australia's largest media conglomerates, News Corp Australia employs more than 8,000 staff nationwide and approximately 3,00 ...

and

Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased '' The Sydney Morning Hera ...

, including Lenore Taylor, Katherine Murphy and David Marr. ''The Guardian Australia'' has a

Comment is free TheGuardian.com, formerly known as Guardian.co.uk and ''Guardian Unlimited'', is a British news and media website owned by the Guardian Media Group. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', ...

section edited by Gabrielle Jackson, featuring opinion pieces from regular writers, politicians, other public figures and members of the public. In 2016, it was announced that the then political editor Lenore Taylor would take over the editorship following the end of Emily Wilson's tenure. In May 2017, as part of a confidential legal settlement, ''Guardian Australia'' issued an apology to

Noel Pearson Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city * Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * 1563 Noël, an asteroid * Mount Noel, Brit ...

over a story they published in January 2017, which made defamatory claims. The newspaper said it "accepts that the comments regarding Mr Noel Pearson in that article were false, ... unreservedly retracts the statements made in the article regarding Mr Noel Pearson and apologises for the harm and distress caused to him." ''Guardian Australia'' turned its first profit after five years of operations with a balance of $700,000 in financial year 2017–2018. Previously, the online publication posted a loss of 7.5 million against a revenue of 3.79 million in 2013–2014, a loss of 6 million in 2014–2015 and a loss of 14 million in 2015–2016.

Ownership

''Guardian Australia'' is owned by

Guardian News & Media Guardian Media Group plc (GMG) is a British-based mass media company owning various media operations including ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer''. The group is wholly owned by the Scott Trust Limited, which exists to secure the financial and e ...

, (GNM). GNM is owned by Guardian Media Group, which is in turn owned by the

Limited, a limited company which aims to ensure the editorial independence of its publications and websites.

References

{{Authority control Mass media companies established in 2013 The Guardian * Australian news websites 2013 establishments in Australia