The best free movie streaming sites in Australia

Ever since the Australian government started cracking down on file-sharing websites and BitTorrent clients like Popcorn Time and Putlocker, streaming movies for free has become a tad trickier Down Under.

We’ve all used one of these sites in our most desperate moments. Maybe that movie you wanted to see before the internet spoiled it for you was delayed in Australia, or maybe you just don’t want to pay for another streaming service. Both valid reasons but it’s fair to say, we should be paying for our movies and TV shows where we can. It’s just that paying for it can prove difficult in Australia.

There are plenty of paid streaming services readily available in Australia (maybe too many) but far fewer opportunities to stream for free these days. Thankfully, the following services will allow you to stream an outstanding selection of TV shows and movies without any price barriers. 

You can read on for more information on each free streaming site but if you just want the key details, take a look at the list below. 

Tubi is a free-to-use streaming site that was purchased by Fox in early 2020. It was first launched in the US back in 2014 but only made its way to Aussie shores in late 2019. And, in case you were wondering, it is 100% legal to usel. Unlike most services’ subscription models, Tubi is 100% ad-supported. Here in Australia, giving Tubi a go won't cost you a thing.

Despite this, there aren’t quite as many ads as you might expect. According to Tubi’s support centre, their ad breaks are short (one to two minutes long) and only interrupt your stream every 15 minutes or so. To test it, we watched a movie and a couple of TV episodes and only experienced about half a dozen ads. That’s still nowhere near as many ads you’d have to sit through watching an episode of Masterchef.

Tubi’s no-cost admission is its biggest selling point but its massive library of movies is its second strongest draw. As you could probably guess, its catalogue of movies isn’t short of a few duds and B-grade bangers but that’s part of the charm. You can stream award-winning films like Brokeback Mountain and Birdman, bonafide classics like Metropolis and Nosferatu, as well as some of the worst and best-of-the-bad flicks like Samurai Cop and Plan 9 From Outer Space.

Kanopy houses over 6,000 movies and over 100 TV shows but more important is the quality of movies you can find there. A huge number of Kanopy's movies hold an IMDB score of 7 or above. It’s also the only place you’ll find masterpieces like Kurosawa’s Rashomon or Tarkovsky’s Solaris, which is why it’s considered an invaluable free resource for anyone studying film.

But therein lies the biggest problem (and catch) with Kanopy. To access it, you need an eligible library card from a library that pays for it. While it might be free to you, a subscription to Kanopy can cost your library a small fortune, and depending on what plan your library pays for, you might be limited to ten streams per month.

Those caveats make it hard to recommend to a broader audience. Kanopy’s competitor Beamafilm offers a similar service but also gives the general public the option to pay for a subscription. That said, paying for it means it no longer qualifies as a free streaming service.

Where Kanopy is free with a few strings attached, SBS On Demand is a bonafide free movie streaming service so long as you’re willing to put up with the ads. SBS On Demand might not have the biggest movie library out there (just over 1200 movies at last check) but it does offer a curated collection of some truly outstanding films. On the fresher side of its collection, there’s Bong Joon Ho's award-winning Parasite, 2018 cult-horror flick In Fabric, and Barry Jenkin's drama If Beale Street Could Talk. There are a few quality classics too, like Rabbit-Proof Fence, Lion and Fitzcarraldo.

As you can probably tell by now, it’s not typically the place you go for action-packed comfort viewing but it’s not all so serious. I mean, it’s got the Timecop, The Fifth Element and cult-classic Near Dark at the moment but you probably won't find the latest Fast and the Furious movie streaming on SBS On Demand. 

SBS On Demand's better strength is the access it gets to critically acclaimed television. Donald Glover's Atlanta has long called SBS home here in Australia, but it's currently joined by comedy sci-fi The Orville. comedy quiz show Taskmaster, Fear the Walking Dead and AMC all-timer Halt and Catch Fire. 

ABC iview and SBS On Demand are birds of a feather. Two of Australia's most cherished TV networks, evolved for the on-demand age. While SBS On Demand has a focus on highlighting multicultural voices in Australia, and more mature, high-brow content, ABC iview's focus is on family programming and locally produced comedy and drama. It's partnership with BBC also makes it Australia's closest thing to a free-to-air UKTV. Amongst the best of the Brits, you'll find popular crime shows like Midsomer Murders and Broadchurch, as well as modern hits like Killing Eve, Schitt's Creek and of course, everyone's favourite, Bluey. 

Bluey itself is more than enough to draw most Australian families in, but ABC iview is a veritable treasure trove for kids of all ages. The little ones will squeal with joy at the site of Peppa Pig, Octonauts, Bing and Sesame Street, whereas young teens will dig the selection  cartoons available; Dragon Ball Z, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Avatar: The Legend of Korra, just to name a few. 

And, of course, ABC iview is always worth signing up to if you follow the network's various national and regional news programs.

When it comes to the sheer number of movies available, it seems you can’t go past Prime Video. Amazon’s streaming service had over 7,000 movies available when we last checked. More importantly, it seems they are the movies people want to watch.

Here's just a sample of some of the most popular movies on Amazon Prime Video at the moment:

• Spider-Man: No Way Home
• Last Night in Soho
• Venom: Let There Be Carnage
• House of Gucci
• 007: No Time to Die
• The Godfather
• Dear Evan Hansen
• Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
• Nobody
• Get Out

And that's just the movie offering. Some of Prime Video's most popular titles are its exclusive, original TV shows, such as The Boys, The Terminal List, Fleabag, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Bosch.

Of course, it only comes for free for the first 30 days, after that you will pay $9.99 per month if you would like to continue streaming. But that $9.99 gets you a lot. Not only do you get access to Prime Video, but you also get all the regular benefits of being a Prime member (including exclusive Prime Day deals).