PIPI maintains this changelog to document material changes and clarifications to its methodology and data structure.

Entries record changes that materially affect how PIPI data is assessed, classified, structured or interpreted, as well as clarifications where documenting the intended application of an existing rule will assist users in interpreting the data.

Where relevant, entries identify:

  • the date of the change;
  • the methodology or classification affected;
  • the previous and revised approach;
  • the reason for the change;
  • whether existing records were reassessed; and
  • any resulting limitations on comparison between historical records.

Not every editorial change to the methodology documentation is recorded. Changes to wording, layout or explanatory material that do not affect the meaning or application of the methodology may be made without a changelog entry.

September 2026: Professional standards criterion clarified

The wording of the professional standards criterion was revised to more accurately reflect existing PIPI practice.

The requirement that eligible outlets “adhere to” identifiable professional or ethical standards was changed to require that they be “subject to” such standards. PIPI assesses whether an outlet is covered by an applicable professional or ethical standard; it does not independently assess compliance with that standard.

The phrase “substantially equivalent editorial standards relating to the provision of quality journalism” was also simplified to “substantially equivalent editorial standards”. The concept of “quality journalism” has not been separately assessed or operationalised as part of PIPI’s eligibility test.

These changes clarify the existing methodology and do not alter the eligibility test previously applied to PIPI records. No historical reclassification is required.

September 2026: Stable public identifiers introduced

PIPI introduced a new set of human-readable identifier codes for outlets, operating entities and LGAs. These codes operate in parallel with the existing internal identifiers and do not alter the underlying records or classifications.

Outlet codes use the format PIPI-O-XXXXXX, where O identifies the record as an outlet and the six-digit component incorporates the existing numeric outlet ID with leading zeroes. For example, outlet ID 1 is represented as PIPI-O-000001.

Operating entity codes use the same structure with E identifying the record as an entity: PIPI-E-XXXXXX.

LGA codes use L to identify the record as a Local Government Area. The six-digit component incorporates the ABS LGA Code with a leading zero, producing identifiers in the form PIPI-L-XXXXXX.

The new codes were introduced alongside the development of dedicated public pages for individual PIPI records. They provide stable public identifiers that can persist across different interfaces and outputs and support reliable matching of PIPI records across releases and with other datasets.

October 2025: Inactive status and closure thresholds formalised

PIPI formalised the use of Inactive as an intermediate outlet status from 1 October 2025, following a transition period described in the Q2/25 reporting.

Under the approach adopted, an outlet with no eligible publishing activity for one quarter is classified as Inactive. If inactivity continues for a second consecutive quarter, the outlet is classified as Closed, unless there is evidence that the standard timeframe would not accurately reflect the outlet’s publishing pattern.

The rule formalised the treatment of news outlets that ceased publishing without announcing a closure or temporary suspension. The Q2/25 reporting described the approach with specific respect to an inactive outlet, and provided an additional quarter before the rule took formal effect across PIPI.

The rule was developed in part through assessment of outlets with irregular publishing patterns. In applying it, I may allow a longer period before closure where there is evidence that an outlet has historically returned from extended periods of inactivity or otherwise publishes on an unusually infrequent basis.

An outlet classified as Inactive may return to Open once eligible publishing activity resumes. Because Inactive outlets have not been removed from PIPI on eligibility grounds, a single new eligible story may be sufficient to restore Open status.

A Closed outlet is treated differently. If publishing resumes after an outlet has been classified as Closed, the outlet must be reassessed against PIPI’s eligibility criteria before it can return to Open, including higher coverage thresholds.

July 2025: Operating entity data introduced

From the Q2/25 release, PIPI began publishing operating entity data alongside outlet records.

Entities represent the registered businesses responsible for operating news outlets. The entity data was rebuilt from the available PIJI data and supplemented using information from the Australian Business Register, publications themselves and, where necessary, direct correspondence with publishers.

The Q2/25 release added operating entity information to outlet records and introduced a separate entity dataset containing entity identifiers, ABNs, ABN status information, entity type, main business location, parent and child entity relationships, and associated outlets.

This change expanded PIPI’s public data model beyond outlet-level records and enabled outlets to be linked systematically to the organisations responsible for operating them.

At the time of introduction, entity coverage was not yet complete. Eighteen records, representing approximately two per cent of the dataset, had not yet been allocated to an operating entity. These included some outlets not operated by registered businesses and historical outlets for which entity information was difficult to establish.

July 2025: Version ID sequencing revised

PIPI revised the sequencing used in the Version ID field from the Q2/25 release onwards.

Version ID combines an outlet’s numeric ID with a sequential version number in the format ID.XX. In the first PIPI data release, version numbering commenced at .00. For example, the first Version of outlet 782 was recorded as 782.00, with the second Version recorded as 782.01.

Beginning version numbering at .00 proved unintuitive and also created display problems in spreadsheet and database software that did not consistently display a fractional component where it equalled zero.

From the Q2/25 release onwards, Version numbering therefore commences at .01: the first Version is .01, the second .02, and so on.

All records in the Q2/25 release were updated to use the revised sequence. The Q1/25 release was also reissued in July 2025 using the same convention.

This change affected Version identifiers only. It did not alter the underlying outlet history, Version dates or classifications.