Federal Budget 2025: How to give your press release the best chance of success

The 2025 Australian Federal Budget is set to be released on Tuesday, 25 March 2025. With a Federal Election anticipated in May 2025, this year's budget is expected to be crucial in shaping national policies and public sentiment. As media interest surges around budget announcements, businesses and organisations must strategically prepare their press releases to ensure their commentary stands out.

The night of "the budget" is a landmark day in the media relations calendar. It is certainly a busy day at Medianet as we process hundreds of media releases during the lead-up and the days after the announcement. With so many voices wanting the attention of the media in such a limited amount of time, it is essential your press release ticks the boxes that will increase its chances of success.

Here are four key tips for optimising your press release to catch the attention of the media:

Present information clearly and succinctly. 

Journalists will only spend a few moments glancing over your release, so it’s important that the most newsworthy information is highlighted at the top. Use concise language and structured formatting to ensure clarity.

Using bullet points to briefly summarise your key points can also be effective.
 

Don’t underestimate the power that well presented data can have too. If explained in a way that highlights their relevance and importance, numbers and stats can be used as the key feature or selling point for a journalist highlighting an issue to their audience, and consequently, for PR agencies and professionals to pitch their stories to the media. 

An example of presenting information in a compelling format will assist in drawing journalists’ attention. Source: New York Times. 

Make your spokesperson available.

The news cycle is quick enough on a normal day, but with everyone campaigning to share their take on the budget, interest will move even faster on the budget announcement day. If a journalist tries to contact you for a story but you’re not available or you can’t find the information they need, there’s a pretty high chance they’ll be moving on immediately to another person or topic. 
Before sending your release, double-check that your media contact details are correct and that a spokesperson is ready to respond quickly. 

If your spokesperson is out of reach or tied up in meetings all day, your story could be dropped before it even gets a chance to air.

In our Journalist Spotlight interview, ABC Radio Presenter Warwick Long reinforced the importance of accessibility:

“The biggest frustration I have as a radio reporter is when a release is sent out but the talent is unavailable."

 

“All too often I will be interested in pursuing a story but the talent listed in the release is on holidays or in meetings for the rest of the day. So I’ll drop the story,” Warwick said.

Tell the story from a fresh angle.

Your Federal Budget press release doesn’t need to focus on the economic breakdown alone. While business, political and finance journalists will cover the major headlines, there are plenty of other angles that may be of interest to different audiences. Think about how the budget impacts specific industries, communities, or social issues, and frame your commentary accordingly.

Providing a unique perspective—one that hasn’t been widely covered—can give your release a much better chance of standing out.

Target your pitch.

Once you have an angle, consider carefully who you want to pitch your story too. In our 2021 survey of almost 1,000 Australian journalists, we discovered the biggest “bugbear” of journalists when it comes to PR is receiving press releases not relevant to their specific work or subject areas.

Journalists are far more likely to respond to consider your release if they feel your contact with them is exclusive or at least somewhat personalised and considered. Medianet’s PR software includes a media contacts database with the profiles and pitching preferences of thousands of Australian journalists, and distribution services with over 200 lists of relevant journalists which you can use to target your campaign appropriately.

How Medianet can help with your Federal Budget press release

Medianet is offering several services to support businesses and organisations in their Federal Budget media strategy. Our Federal Budget NewsMatch Alert gathers budget-related releases to be sent directly to the inboxes of thousands of Australian journalists, producers and editors that have willingly opted-in to these notifications. In addition to the alerts, Medianet also provide curated media lists and automated distribution tools to help you reach the right audience quickly and effectively.

Once your campaign is ready, log in to your Medianet account to distribute your release. Your submission will automatically be considered for inclusion in the Federal Budget NewsMatch Alert and featured on our News Hub for additional visibility.

The budget announcement is a key opportunity to showcase your organisation’s insights and expertise. With the right approach, your press release can cut through the noise and make an impact in the media landscape.

Inform your upcoming pitch and get the best chance of cut-through with our list of the top political journalists in Australia, what they write and talk about and what they are looking for in a pitch from PR.

Book a demo today.

This article was originally published in 2022 and has been updated for 2025.