Jenny Ringland: The budget no one in media is asking for
By Jenny Ringland, Head of Product and Impact at Rumblings, Investment Adviser at Trampoline, former journalist and founder of G+S Communications
The marketing and media industry is entering the biggest shift in a generation. AI is reshaping how agencies work, how brands reach audiences, and how content is created at scale. The question isn’t whether this transformation is coming, it’s whether Australia will build the companies leading it, or become consumers of technology built elsewhere.
I think about this a lot. I’m Head of Product and Impact at Rumblings, an Australian AI company built for marketing and communications teams. I sit on the investment committee at Trampoline, backing early-stage founders. Before that, I spent years as a journalist and founded G+S Communications. I’ve seen this industry from multiple angles, media, comms, startups, investment.
I love advocating for change. I believe in equality, in rewarding effort, not just ownership, and I’ll happily fight for it when I see something that isn’t fair.
That’s why I’m watching this week’s federal budget closely. Not for the political commentary, but for what it signals about Australia’s appetite to back local innovation.
Every agency I talk to is grappling with the same question: how do we use AI without losing what makes us valuable? The answer won’t come from licensing another offshore platform. It’ll come from Australian companies that understand our market, our talent, and our clients, and can build tools that actually fit how we work.
But building AI companies here is hard. (And by the way building any company is hard, but in this instance my focus is on AI). It requires founders willing to take years of risk. Operators willing to leave secure jobs for equity and uncertainty. Investors willing to back ideas before they’re proven.
The new capital gains settings, a 30 per cent minimum tax on exits, replacing the 50 per cent discount, change the equation for all three groups. For founders and operators especially, this is the mechanism through which years of risk get rewarded. If that reward is halved, the incentive to build here weakens.
Recent research found that founders of companies earning under $1 million in revenue paid themselves an average of $122,987 a year, and that figure barely moves until revenue hits $10 million. But ask any early-stage founder and the reality is often starker: no salary at all, or a token amount to cover rent. The real payoff isn’t in the salary. It’s in the exit. That’s the mechanism through which years of risk finally get rewarded, and it’s exactly what the new CGT settings target.
Here’s the tension I see: Australia desperately needs productivity growth, new industries, and innovation in sectors like media and marketing. AI is the obvious lever. But AI companies are globally mobile, founders can incorporate anywhere, talent can work remotely, and capital flows to wherever the conditions are best.
If we make it harder to build and scale AI companies here, we won’t stop the transformation. We’ll just ensure it happens with technology built in San Francisco, London, or Singapore, and we’ll pay licensing fees instead of creating jobs.
I don’t think that’s what anyone wants. But it’s the risk if we get the incentive settings wrong.
It’s about what kind of industry we want to be in five years. Do we want Australian agencies using Australian AI tools, built by people who understand our market? Do we want the next generation of marketing technology founders building here, employing here, paying tax here?
If the answer is yes, we need to make sure the policy settings support it. That means distinguishing between passive investment and active company-building. That means recognising that founders and operators who sacrifice salary for years, betting on upside, aren’t in the same category as someone whose shares quietly appreciate.
The government has left the door open for consultation. I hope the marketing and media industry engages, not to protect our own interests, but because we’re the ones who’ll feel this shift first.
Australia has the talent to build world-class AI companies in marketing and media. We have agencies that understand the craft. We have founders willing to take the risk. We have a window to lead, not follow.
But windows close. And incentives matter.
If we genuinely care about equality, about rewarding effort, creativity, and risk, we should get this right. The future of our industry depends on it.
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