POLITICO expands to Australia

ARLINGTON, Va.  — POLITICO, the global authority on the intersection of power, politics, and policy, has announced it will expand operations to Australia and launch Canberra Playbook when the Australian parliament returns from its winter recess in the third quarter of 2026.

POLITICO’s expansion to Australia will bring its signature ahead-of-the-curve, insider political and policy journalism to help the country’s most influential audiences cut through the noise in a vibrant democracy. The expansion will further POLITICO’s mission of linking global power centers and help readers in North America and Europe understand the decisions made in Australia that affect them and vice versa. Entering Australia reflects how POLITICO’s business model has made it the most successful startup of the digital age and enabled global expansion.

“POLITICO’s expansion to Australia is natural. We will deliver the same essential U.S. and European coverage that our audiences in the Western Hemisphere depend on. And we will be even better positioned to help readers around the globe understand important economic and geopolitical developments in the Indo-Pacific, from trade and defense to energy and critical minerals,” POLITICO Chief Executive Officer Goli Sheikholeslami said. “This investment in a third continent underscores how POLITICO enters its third decade as a strong, successful and growing news organization, committed to linking international power centers and illuminating politics, power and policy on a global scale.”

Leading the Australian expansion is POLITICO alum Ryan Heath, who is returning to the organization as POLITICO Australia’s launch editor to build POLITICO’s presence in his native Australia. A POLITICO original, Heath launched the Brussels Playbook in 2015 and helped establish POLITICO as a must-read source for European politics through a distinctive mix of scoops, voice and insider authority. One of the best-connected and most creative journalistic minds of his generation, he will lead the editorial buildout in-market — assembling the founding team and, in the early phase, serving as the inaugural author of the Canberra Playbook.

“Australians need journalism that both explains power dynamics and connects the dots globally. That's why I'm so excited to help lead POLITICO's expansion into my home country,” Heath said. “In this era of great power and technology upheavals, POLITICO's ability to examine Australia's most important security and trade relationships is unrivaled. We take politicians and policy seriously — it's all we do. We will bring that depth and new angles to political journalism in Canberra, just as we have everywhere else we operate.”

First launched in Washington in 2007, POLITICO quickly became the essential source for information on politics, policy and power. A decade ago, POLITICO made a bold commitment to global expansion and launched POLITICO in Europe. Today, it has the largest newsroom dedicated to covering the institutions governing power centers in North America, Europe and beyond.

Now, POLITICO will enter Australia to provide our indispensable distinctive, non-partisan, fair dinkum inside-the-conversations-that-matter approach to the active, colorful Australian political and policy scene and to our readers around the globe.
 
More details on the Australian expansion, including further staffing and product launch dates, will be announced in due course.  

About POLITICO:

POLITICO is a global news organization focused on politics and policy, relied on by decision-makers and audiences around the world. Founded in 2007, POLITICO has more than 1,000 journalists and publishing professionals based in Washington, Brussels, London, Paris, Berlin, Sacramento and New York. Its reporting explains who holds power, how it is exercised and what it means for governments, businesses and societies.

POLITICO Pro, launched in 2011, is a subscription news service delivering in-depth coverage of the business of government for policymakers, executives and advocacy leaders. These innovations have established POLITICO as the most successful digital news startup of its generation and a rare example of a growing, profitable and sustainable news organization. POLITICO is a subsidiary of Axel Springer SE, a family-owned transatlantic media company headquartered in Berlin and New York. Axel Springer is dedicated to shaping the future of journalism in the free world, believing that a free and informed society is essential to democracy. Learn more about Axel Springer.