Netflix Australia: Price, Features & What To Watch

Sick of free-to-air television or just wondering which is the best streaming service to invest in? Netflix Australia is definitely one of the best and well worth considering. Not convinced? Here’s everything you need to know about the streaming giant, Netflix Australia.

What is Netflix?

It almost feels as if this question is redundant now, such is Netflix’s notoriety. But, for the uninitiated, or if you just want a brief explainer, Netflix is the world’s most popular streaming service. However, it hasn’t always had its fingers in the on-demand streaming pie.

Netflix was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. The company initially launched as a video subscription service, whereby customers could buy or rent DVDs that were delivered by mail. The company soon dropped the sales side of this model and focused solely on DVD rentals. DVD rentals were initially offered on a single basis, i.e. you could rent just one DVD at a time. However, Netflix dropped this model in favour of a monthly subscription in 2000.

It was until 2007 that Netflix dipped its toes into online video streaming and expanded into a few more countries – Canada and Latin America, for example – before diversifying itself even further by starting up its own video production business.

Netflix’s first in-house produced series, House of Cards, was launched on the Netflix streaming service in 2013.

January 2016 saw Netflix expand on a global scale, arriving in 130 countries, bringing its total number of operating countries up to 190.

Today, we imagine you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard of Netflix, and in Australia, it is easily the biggest streaming service going. Netflix didn’t launch in Australia and New Zealand until 2015 and, at launch, the library of content wasn’t exactly worth shouting about. However, with the addition of Netflix Originals and securing licensing deals with movie and TV production studios, the catalogue of content is now excellent.

This is thanks in no small part to its incredible range of movies, television shows and documentaries as well as plenty of Netflix Originals; films and TV shows that are exclusive to and that are made solely for the platform.

Netflix has recently seen a decline in subscribers, however, largely due to an increase in subscription prices and the cracking down of customers who share their passwords with people outside of their own households. To help save costs, Netflix has had to start cancelling some of its Original content.

How much is Netflix in Australia?

Monthly prices start at $10.99
4K streaming costs $22.99

Netflix Australia works on a subscription model; meaning you pay for it monthly. Netflix AU has three plans to choose from – Basic, Standard and Premium – and whatever plan you chose will determine your monthly fee.

Basic costs $10.99 per month and lets you watch Netflix content on 1 screen at a time. Content can only be streamed in standard definition.
Standard costs $16.99 per month and lets you watch Netflix content on 2 screens at the same time. You can also download content onto 2 separate phones or tablets. Content can be streamed in high-definition quality.
Premium costs $22.99 per month and lets you watch Netflix content on up to 4 separate screens or devices at the same time. You can also download content on up to 4 separate phones or tablets and content can be streamed in ultra-high-definition quality.

Netflix Australia Features

One of the most attractive features of Netflix Australia is its ease of use when navigating the library of content, and the fact you can set up multiple profiles for everyone in your family. Having separate profiles means each user will get recommendations of what to watch, based on their individual viewing habits.

Separate profiles also mean that, if you’re several seasons into a series, but somebody else wants to start watching it from the beginning, they can do so on their own profile and not interrupt your progress.

Because there is such a vast quantity of content, navigation has to be impeccable, and fortunately, it is. Content can be viewed by movies or TV shows, and kids get their own section too. Netflix then groups content into categories, such as comedy movies, or horror shows. Some content groups are a little more obscure, such as ‘award-winning quirky TV comedies.’

What devices can I use to watch Netflix Australia?

In Australia, Netflix can be accessed on a huge range of devices, including:

Smart TVs
Smartphones
Tablets
PC
Mac
Media streaming devices and set-top boxes
Games consoles
Blu-ray players

A full list of supported devices can be found on the Netflix website.

How can I download content on Netflix?

If you know you’re heading away somewhere that doesn’t have internet, or you’re getting onto an aeroplane and want to continue watching your shows, Netflix lets you download content for offline viewing.

Content can be downloaded to smartphones, tablets and PCs running Windows 10. It’s worth noting that you can’t download everything available on Netflix, as it all depends on licensing rights. If content can be downloaded, then you will see a download button underneath the play button, when browsing on a compatible device.

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