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the challenges for industry and government

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Appendices

Section 12.0

The following Section provides an overview of 

public film support in seven territories that are 

referred to in the text of the report: Australia, 

Brazil, France, Germany, Singapore, Sweden and 

the UK. Each section comments on each country’s 

approach to public intervention; describes some of 

the national and regional support that is currently 

on offer; the role broadcasters play in supporting 

film producers; what key issues are currently 

being debated, and to what extent public film 

policy addresses the creation of sustainable film 

businesses. 

12.1 

Australia

Summary

Country indicators:

OUTPUT 

Production volume  2010/11  (€m)                

89

Number of films  2010/11                                  

17

Average budget 2010/11  (€m)                     

5.3

Domestic film share 2011 (%) 

3.9

Country Approach

Since the formation of Screen Australia and the 

launch of the Producer Offset in 2008, Australia 

has created a simple system of film support based 

on automatic rebates for expenditure, with a 

reduced budget for selective funding. Australia also 

operates an Enterprise Program, attempting to focus 

production companies on long-term corporate 

development, rather than simply short-term  

project finance. 

National Level Support 

The Australian national agency Screen Australia 

was established in 2008, combining the functions 

of the Film Finance Corporation of Australia, Film 

Australia, and the Australian Film Commission. Its 

remit is to support the development, production 

and distribution of Australian film and TV content, 

and the business development of production 

companies. In addition, it also provides support for 

the development of video games and interactive 

media by film and TV companies.

Automatic support for film productions is provided 

via the Producer Offset, which provides a 40% tax 

rebate on qualifying Australian expenditure for

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Section 12.0  

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  Appendices

features with significant Australian content, subject 

to a minimum expenditure of A$500,000 (€394,061). 

To date, 633 film, TV, and documentary projects 

have applied for the Producer Offset, representing 

A$4.2 billion (€3.3 billion) worth of production. 

The Australian government has awarded A$471.3 

million (€371.4 million) worth of funding through 

the scheme so far. In April 2012 the Australian 

government announced it was to provide a one-

off cash incentive of A$12.8 million (€10 million) 

to ensure Fox’s The Wolverine continued to shoot 

in Australia; this has led to suggestions that the 

Producer Offset might in future be increased for all 

big-budget non-Australian films. 

Alternative (and mutually exclusive) forms of 

automatic support are provided by the Locations 

Offset and the PDV Offset, aimed at foreign 

productions shooting in Australia. The Locations 

Offset gives a 16.5% rebate, subject to a minimum 

spend of A$15 million (€11 million). The PDV 

Offset gives a 15% rebate on post-production 

costs, subject to a minimum spend of A$500,000 

(€365,000). Initially the PDV offset required an A$5 

million (€3.65 million spend, but this was reduced in 

May 2010 to stimulate demand.

Selective support is provided by Screen Australia via 

its Feature Film Production Programme, with awards 

based on a mixture of creative and commercial 

criteria, and provides for a maximum investment 

of A$2.5 million (€1.83 million) per project. To 

be eligible applicants must demonstrate market 

interest, in the form of an Australian distribution or 

foreign sales deal, or formal interest in both. Screen 

Australia approved 20 films for selective funding 

in 2009/10, with total awards of A$31.2 million 

(€22.8 million); in the same period, 21 films started 

shooting with $39 million (€28.5 million) of FFPP 

funding.

Screen Australia provides corporate development 

funding for film and TV production companies via 

its Enterprise Program, which gives grants of up 

to €350,000 (€274,285) per year for a three-year 

period, partially as working capital and partially 

as investment. The program supports companies 

which have identified opportunities to expand 

their turnover, range, and number of projects, or 

their range of business activities. It is intended 

for companies that do not yet have the ability 

to access private capital to fund their growth 

or diversification, and can be awarded either to 

existing companies or new partnerships. The 2011 

funding round awarded A$3 million (€2.35 million) 

to four companies, and the Program has awarded 

A$15 million (€11.8 million) to 21 companies in total.

Other public agencies providing modest levels of 

production finance include the Australian Children’s 

Television Foundation, and the Adelaide and 

Melbourne Film Festival Funds.

Regional Support 

Australia’s seven State and Territory screen agencies 

play an important role in funding film production 

though a wide variety of local mechanisms, 

including payroll tax rebates, incentives, selective 

equity investment, and distribution guarantees. 

Between them, Screen NSW, Film Victoria, South 

Australian Film Corporation, Screen Queensland, 

Screen West, Screen Tasmania, and the Northern 

Territory Film Office spent A$12 million (€8.8 million) 

on 22 features in 2009/10. The biggest funder was 

Film Victoria, which provided 40% of that total.

Role of Broadcasters  

Australian broadcasters are not legally obliged to 

contribute to film financing, and therefore play a 

limited role in the film industry. Feature films fall 

within the Australian drama quotas for commercial 

TV networks, and the Australian drama expenditure 

quotas for pay-TV networks. Total investment 

by Australian broadcasters in film production is 

estimated to be around €3 million a year. 

Other Current Issues  

The Australian Government conducted a review of 

the screen production sector in 2010, publishing its 

conclusions in February 2011. While this painted a 

rosy picture of the effect of the Producer Offset in 

boosting production levels, this was largely due to 

the impact of just three big Hollywood-financed 

films shooting in Australia, and there has been some 

suggestion that inward investment has since dried 

up because of factors such as adverse exchange 

rates. Reflecting concerns that the Producer Offset 

is failing to encourage the production of larger 

Australian films, the Screen Producers Association 

of Australia has proposed the creation of a new 

Commercial Film Fund. This would be a three-year, 

A$60 million (€47 million) undertaking which 

would offer matching loans of up to A$10 million 

(€8 million) to distributors investing in Australian 

projects budgeted between A$7-30 million (€6-24 

million). This proposal has won political support 

from the opposition Liberal-National coalition, 

but not from Screen Australia, which has instead 

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the challenges for industry and government

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