The Australian government is boosting local content production and simplifying regulations around screen content after ongoing pressure from the media industry.
In an announcement today, the government said it will inject $53 million into the development and production of local film and television as part of the 2020-21 Federal Budget.
Additionally, it will “streamline and simplify” the drama, documentaries and children’s content sub-quotas for broadcasters which were temporarily suspended during COVID-19 but will be reintroduced from January 1, 2021.
Content will count towards the new requirement if it is either drama, children, or documentary content. However, there is a cap on the number of hours of documentary content that can be counted towards meeting the requirement.
Commercial broadcasters will continue to be required to provide 55% of overall Australian content on their primary channels between 6am and midnight, and to provide 1,460 hours of Australian content per year on their multi-channels.
The points scheme underpinning the sub-quotas will give more points to higher-budget productions, creating a stronger incentive to commission bigger budget drama which is more likely to be sold globally rather than only be seen in Australia.
The government will also legislate to reduce the existing Australian content spend obligation on selected subscription television channels from 10% to 5%.
“The government is providing $30 million in funding to Screen Australia over two years to support the production of Australian drama, documentary and children’s film and television content,” says communications minister Paul Fletcher.
“Screen Australia will also receive an additional $3 million over three years to establish a competitive grants program to cultivate quality Australian screenwriting and script development.
“We are also providing $20 million to the Australian Children’s Television Foundation over two years to boost the development, production and distribution of high-quality Australian children’s content.”
As part of the changes, the Producer Offset – a key screen funding mechanism through which producers receive a refund of part of the production budget through the tax system - will be set at a harmonised 30% for all domestic film and television production.
“The old approach of treating film and television differently no longer makes sense,” Fletcher says.
“Increasing the offset to 30 per cent for television will mean additional funding for Australian television production – and in turn support higher production values and programs with a better prospect of being sold into the global content market, taking advantage of the opportunity created by the explosion of streaming video services like Netflix, Disney+, Stan and Amazon Prime.”
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