9Now, 10Play, 7Plus, SBS On Demand, and ABC iView check your location before they play. Step outside Australia and the streams stop. Expats, travelers, and anyone following the footy from overseas hit the same wall. The way past it is an Australian IP address, which means a VPN with servers in the country. Not every provider has them.
How to Watch Australian TV Abroad in 2026: Quick Summary
- Pick a VPN with Australian servers. NordVPN is our first choice and is currently up to 75% off.
- Install the app on your phone, laptop, or TV.
- Sign in and connect to an Australian server.
- Open 9Now, 10Play, 7Plus, SBS On Demand, or ABC iView and press play.
Why You Can’t Watch Australian TV Channels Abroad
Geo-restrictions come from licensing agreements. Australian broadcasters don’t own most of what they air, and the copyright holders set the terms, including which countries the stream reaches. There’s a commercial reason on top of the legal one. These platforms sell ads against an Australian audience, so viewers in Europe or North America bring them nothing.
Almost every channel blocks overseas traffic on purpose. The block reads your IP address and nothing else. Take an Australian IP address and the platform treats you as a local viewer, which is the whole basis of the workaround below.
How to Access Australian TV Outside Australia
Plenty of VPNs list Australian servers, though the number that get past the broadcasters’ checks is smaller. The setup takes minutes either way.
VPN Setup Guide
Start at the provider’s site and pick a plan. NordVPN’s 2-year deal runs up to 75% off, and every plan includes a 30-day money-back guarantee, so a short trip abroad can end with a refund request.
Download the app next. It covers Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Android TV, and Linux, and signing in brings up the dashboard. Now find Australia. Open the server list, press More Connection Options, then Countries. Click Australia once, and the connection completes in seconds.
Unblocking Australian TV Channels Abroad
Testing from Europe, 9Now loaded immediately, and other channels followed soon. The same connection opens SBS On Demand, 7Plus, ABC iview, and Kayo Sports for live AFL and NRL. One Australian server covers the lot.
Best VPNs for Watching Australian Television Live Overseas
Speed and unblocking decide this. All 3 below were tested against Australian platforms, and each has servers in the country.
9200 servers
128 covered countries
30 days money-back guarantee
10 simultaneous connections
9.4 /10
20396 servers
148 covered countries
30 days money-back guarantee
10 simultaneous connections
9.2 /10
3000 servers
105 covered countries
30 days money-back guarantee
10 simultaneous connections
9.1 /10
1. NordVPN: Best Overall
Pros
- Hundreds of Australian servers
- Smart DNS covers smart TVs
- Opened 9Now and 10Play instantly
- 10 devices on one plan
Cons
- Costs more per month
- Server list feels crowded
NordVPN takes first place for its Australian coverage and speed. It operates 9,500+ servers across 149 countries, with hundreds in Australia, and it opened every local platform we tried alongside the Australian Netflix catalog. Speed comes from NordLynx, its WireGuard-based protocol, and 10 Gbps server ports.
Streaming on several devices at once caused no buffering in testing, which matters given the 10-device allowance. Smart DNS is the feature that earns it the top spot. It sets up on smart TVs and consoles that can’t take a VPN app, so Australian channels work on the main screen.
Meshnet, Threat Protection Pro, and Double VPN come with the plan, and restricted networks give way through obfuscated servers. Every plan includes a 30-day money-back guarantee, plus a 3-day free trial on mobile.
2. Proton VPN: Best for Privacy
Pros
- 281 AU servers across 5 cities
- Adelaide and Perth included
- Source code open to inspection
- No data retention in Switzerland
Cons
- Australian servers are paid-only
- Kayo on TV needs extra setup
Proton VPN has the deepest Australian presence: 281 servers spread across Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. Connecting close to the broadcaster keeps latency low on live sport. Privacy is its other argument. Swiss jurisdiction imposes no data retention, the apps are open source and independently audited, and NetShield blocks ads and trackers.
Its wider network reaches 20,000+ servers in 148 countries. Australian servers are a paid feature, so the free tier won’t get you 9Now. And there’s no Smart DNS, which means TVs and consoles need a router setup. Plans start at $2.99/mo on the 2-year term, with 30 days to claim a refund. Proton VPN offers no free trial.
3. ExpressVPN: Best for Simplicity and Speed
Pros
- Handled live AFL in HD
- Set up in under a minute
- Works on hardware without VPN apps
- Same client on desktop and mobile
Cons
- Higher cost on renewal
- No Double VPN/MultiHop
ExpressVPN spans 214 locations across 113 countries, Australia included, and its Lightway protocol connects quickly and holds steady. Netflix catalogs opened in testing from Australia, the US, Canada, and Japan, and the Australian broadcasters gave it no trouble. MediaStreamer is its answer to the TV problem.
Smart DNS works on hardware with no VPN support, which covers most smart TVs and older consoles. Post-quantum encryption is included, and P2P traffic is allowed on every server. Its apps are the simplest, near-identical across platforms. The Basic tier covers 10 devices at $2.99/mo across a 28-month term.
It’s $83.72 up front in total, renewing at $99.95 a year. A 30-day guarantee and a 3-day mobile trial apply to all plans, long- and short-term.
Watching Australian TV Channels Overseas for Free
Free VPNs rarely help here. Most concentrate their small server pools on the US, the UK, and Western Europe, and without an Australian IP address, nothing loads. Even the exceptions disappoint. Data caps end a stream mid-episode, congested servers slow playback, and broadcasters screen for VPN traffic that free tiers can’t disguise. TunnelBear’s 2 GB monthly covers ~15 minutes of video.
Hola VPN has more countries but keeps logs. Proton VPN’s free tier deserves a mention because it’s the strongest free plan available and still won’t work for this. Australia is a paid-only location. The practical free option is a paid VPN used inside its refund window. A 30-day guarantee covers a holiday, and short mobile trials exist too: 3 days on NordVPN and ExpressVPN, 7 on PIA and Surfshark.
Final Words
Australian broadcasters restrict by country, so watching overseas comes down to holding an Australian IP address. Everything else follows from that. NordVPN is our recommendation on the combination of speed, Australian coverage, and Smart DNS. Proton VPN answers a privacy brief and has more Australian servers than both. ExpressVPN suits a first-time user, and MediaStreamer covers older televisions.
All 3 include a 30-day money-back guarantee, long enough to test one against 9Now or Kayo before committing. Whichever you choose, 7Plus, 10Play, ABC, SBS, and 9Now all open on the same connection.