The full details of shock jock Kyle Sandilands' $100 million contract with Kiis FM have been made public after a federal court lifted a restriction on access to the document. The contract, which includes lavish perks such as a Mercedes Sprinter airport transfer, five-star hotel suites, and a $120,000 annual flight allowance, lies in tatters after ARN Media terminated it over Sandilands' on-air behaviour towards co-host Jackie O Henderson and the audience. Sandilands is now suing for the remaining $85 million of the 10-year deal, which was torn up just over a year into its term.
The confidential exhibit reveals that Sandilands demanded a car parking space at the North Sydney studio and, when broadcasting from Melbourne, required airport transfers in a Mercedes Sprinter. Return business air fares and a suite at a five-star hotel were mandatory, along with a flight allowance of $120,000 a year, payable at $10,000 a month. The contract also stipulated that Sandilands would not be required to read news reports, as the program was described as 'not a news program', though he could provide his response and opinion on news content aired during the show.
For an annual payment of $7.4 million in cash, a consultancy fee of $200,000, and $500,000 in contra air time, Sandilands was required to deliver live programs, 'best of' programs, 797 live reads, comedy segments, public appearances, pre-recorded commercials, and social media posts. He also had the right to audit the station's books to determine if he was owed bonuses based on performance. If Henderson negotiated an improvement of her terms, Sandilands had to be informed. The contract was signed before the show breached decency rules again in 2025 by broadcasting explicit sexual content.
ARN insisted Sandilands broadcast from the Sydney studio or a location with broadcast-quality sound, and he had to give seven days' notice of international travel. If any programming was 'defective', he had to redo it, and he was required to pre-record 10 'emergency programs' a year in case of illness. The company also provided a censor to operate a 30-second dump button. Justice Angus Stewart has set a 10-day hearing for October. Meanwhile, Sandilands teased a new project on Instagram, telling fans he was 'coming back, bigger than ever', though he provided no details on the platform or format.
