Government Overhauls Creative Agency Roster
Droga5 and Think HQ dropped from the federal creative advertising list after a competitive tender, with Dentsu Creative and 303 added as new suppliers.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Advertising
The Federal Government has reshuffled its creative agency roster following a competitive tender process. Droga5 and Think HQ were removed from the creative advertising list, while Dentsu Creative and 303 were added as new suppliers.
Why it matters
The changes reshape which agencies handle the government's communications work, which spent $265.3 million on advertising in FY25. The new arrangement replaces the previous Government Communications Campaign Panel with the Communications Campaign Arrangement.
The government's 24 agencies cover creative, PR, market research and multicultural and First Nations communications, with the new agency village covering campaigns above $500,000. Spending in FY25 totalled $265.3 million, including $204.1 million on media and $61.2 million on campaign development.
The players
Federal Government
The Australian federal government is the commissioning body that runs the advertising and communications procurement.
Droga5
Droga5 is a creative agency that was removed from the government's creative advertising list after the tender.
Think HQ
Think HQ is a communications agency whose multicultural business, CultureVerse, remains on the list while the parent was dropped from creative advertising.
Dentsu Creative
Dentsu Creative is the creative arm of the global Dentsu network, added as a new supplier to the government roster.
The details
VML, BMF, Clemenger BBDO and TBWA were retained among the creative advertising agencies, while Accenture Australia was chosen as one of the suppliers. The Communications Campaign Arrangement requires each of five villages to appoint one agency to each of five service categories.
Timeline
November 2026: New agency village begins operating for government communications campaigns.
FY25: Government spends $265.3 million on advertising.
Mid-2030: New agency village scheduled to end operations.
Roadmap
The new Communications Campaign Arrangement replaces the Government Communications Campaign Panel with a five-village structure requiring one agency per service category. The shift follows the competitive tender that reset the government's creative agency roster.
Agencies that win places on the new roster will handle government campaigns worth more than $500,000, affecting which firms produce public information advertising. Taxpayers will see the $265.3 million annual advertising budget flow through the new supplier list.
The takeaway
Changes to government procurement can quietly redirect large advertising budgets, so tracking which agencies win contracts shows where public communications dollars go. Watching the November 2026 rollout will reveal how the five-village model performs in practice.
What happens next
The new agency village is scheduled to begin operating in November 2026 and run until mid-2030.
Further reading
Explore more Advertising coverage to see how government spending shapes the national agency market.
Source note: This article includes information reported by B&T.
