Australia has a new strategy to win over its Pacific neighbours: reality television.

Key points: A $17 million program designed to connect Australia more closely with its neighbours was announced last year

A $17 million program designed to connect Australia more closely with its neighbours was announced last year The broadcast package will include all programs on Australian networks

The broadcast package will include all programs on Australian networks Targets for programming include Nauru and Papua New Guinea

Last year, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a $17 million package to broadcast commercial television throughout the region as part of Australia's Pacific Step-Up.

The Government has framed it as a soft power push that will lift Australia's profile by beaming top-rating programs into Pacific nations.

Department of Communications and the Arts secretary Mike Mrdak told a Senate hearing on Tuesday the package would include "the full suite of programs that are available on Australian networks".

"That would cover the variety of programs that are available on commercial networks, ranging from drama, Australian comedy, Australian documentaries and Australian reality television programming," he said.

Reality television exports

Reality programs Married At First Sight, My Kitchen Rules and The Block were Australia's most popular television shows last year, according to audience measurement group OzTam.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young seemed incredulous when Mr Mrdak raised the prospect of reality TV being beamed around the Pacific.

Davina Rankin from Married At First Sight could soon appear on screens across the Pacific. ( Supplied: Davina Rankin )

"Who makes the decision as to what's appropriate, if this is part of a soft diplomacy attempt?" she asked.

"Surely it isn't left to commercial broadcasters or the producers of Married at First Sight."

Officials told the hearing they would go through "a discovery process" to understand what the Pacific broadcasters found "useful and valuable".

"The judgement will be first informed by what the broadcasters in the region are seeking for their communities," Mr Mrdak told the committee.

"We'll be doing an assessment with FreeTV and those broadcasters about what their needs are."

A hastily conceived thought bubble?

The commercial television lobby group FreeTV will coordinate negotiations with Australian TV rights holders.

But many television industry insiders have dismissed the initiative, calling it a hastily conceived thought bubble.

The ABC already broadcasts internationally, beaming both commercial and ABC programs throughout Asia and the Pacific.

Mr Morrison announced the broadcast package last year as part of Australia's Pacific Step-Up ( ABC News: Matt Roberts )

It maintains it's "the best-positioned media organisation to contribute to Australia's presence in the region".

The ABC has also pointed out that the ABC Act specifically states that the Government must use the national broadcaster for international broadcasting services.

But Mr Mrdak insisted that the Government's Pacific initiative was not in breach of the Act.

"We are not broadcasting material. We are effectively purchasing content from the producers … and making that content available to other national broadcasters in the region," he said.

"It's not an attempt to move around the obligations of the Act."

The program aims to deliver Australian television content to all major Pacific neighbours including Papua New Guinea and Nauru.