How the federal budget became unlocked – and allowed the digital world in

As Treasurer Jim Chalmers prepares to hand down another federal budget, attention is once again turning to one of Canberra’s most tightly controlled democratic traditions: the budget lock-up.

For decades, journalists from legacy media organisations have gathered in a secure room, phones confiscated, to scrutinise the government’s fiscal blueprint before its public release.

Last year, this norm was disrupted. The 2025 budget lock-up was unprecedented because the Albanese government invited digital creators (so-called “influencers”) into the room alongside legacy media mastheads.