Screen Producers Australia is offering to provide producers with a series of new precedent template agreements for contracting as well as access for the first time to recently renegotiated key industrial agreements.
Producers who are not members of SPA will be able to get the precedent contract templates for a $1,000 licence fee with a limit of one project per licence.
Non-members can also access the negotiated agreements when a project is fully financed, for the same licence fee or 0.25% of the budget (whichever is more) due when principal photography starts. There is a limit of one licence per project.
“For more than 30 years Screen Producers Australia has negotiated the benchmark industrial and rights agreements for the benefit of the whole Australian screen content industry,” said SPA Executive Director Matthew Deaner.
“We feel it is time for those who are not currently members to be able to access these agreements and we have therefore devised an easy to use licence system for all.”
The initiative is being driven by SPA’s recently appointed Manager, Business and Legal Affairs, Mark Donaldson, who, together with Owen Johnston, Manager Industrial and Commercial Affairs and Matthew Hancock, Manager, Strategy and Insight, are on call to offer commercial and industrial advice to members.
The licensing system provides access to the latest agreements with the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) for performers on feature films – Actors Feature Film Collective Agreement (AFFCA), for performers on television – Actors Television Programs Agreement (ATPA) and Australian Television Repeats and Residuals Agreement (ATRRA), and for crew on both feature film and television – the Motion Picture Production Collective Agreement (MPPCA).
Also included is access to agreements with the Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) covering the engagement of writers for television – Series and Serials Agreement (SASA), Mini-series and Telemovies Agreement (MATA) and Children’s Television Agreement (CTA).
Deaner said that the suite of production-ready documents has expanded to include precedent contract templates that are compatible with both SPA's negotiated agreements and standard industry practice.
A total of 14 new precedent contracts including a Book Option Agreement, Writer’s Option and Assignment Agreement, Director’s Agreement, Script Editor’s Agreement, Composers Agreement and Producer’s Agreement is available under the licensing arrangement.
“We are seeking to make doing business less onerous for Australian screen producers by providing them with these essential tools, allowing them to focus their attention on the things that matter – getting the best possible Australian stories up on the screen, through their creativity and business acumen,” he said.