Film Budget | Film Tax Incentives - Australia Update

Screen Australia has updated its guidelines to increase film traffic to downunder.

The Hollywood Reporter article on June 17th details these changes.

Australia has a variety of film tax incentives to help one's film budget including a 40% Producers Offset and Regional film credits as well as VFX production incentive.



SYDNEY -- Screen Australia plans to change the requirements for its international co-production program in an effort to increase the level of production in Australia, with new draft guidelines issued for public comment Thursday.

“Screen Australia wants to ensure that Australian filmmakers have the greatest possible chance of working with the best international talent to produce stories that engage and entertain global audiences,” said Ruth Harley, Screen Australia CEO. 


The increased flexibility of the new guidelines combined with a co-production’s access to Australia’s 40% tax rebate, known as the producer offset, will “make working with Australian practitioners on official co-productions internationally appealing,” she said. 


The key changes include: allowing a writer from outside the co-producing partner countries to contribute to a screenplay as long as he or she is not a credited writer of the screenplay; allowing an increase in the total number of points for qualifying productions including an increase in discretionary points for the contribution of creatives such as visual effects and sound designers, as well as allowing the nationality of the source material to be taken into account; and giving producers an early letter of compliance from Screen Australia confirming that the production meets the co-production guidelines, allowing producers better access to finance. 


Read the Hollywood Reporter Article