The Department of Communications and the Arts, Screen Australia and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) have launched a consultation paper inviting industry input towards the Australian and Children’s Screen Content Review.
If the government were to adopt the recent House of Reps inquiry’s recommendations to level each of the offsets to 30 per cent and decouple the Location and PDV Offsets, the total value that offset-supported production adds to the Australian economy every year would grow by almost 35 per cent to $1.6 billion by 2021-22.
Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance chief executive Erin Madeley argues that with the Australian screen industry on the cusp of a growth period, it can’t afford to forget the workforce who drives it forward.
Cuts to ABC programs and services appear inevitable after the government’s decision to slash the broadcaster’s funding by $84 million over three years.
The local production offshoot of US studio Warner Bros has received $10.69 million in Australian government tax offsets since 2009
The Federal Government has revamped the PDV and Location rebates in an effort to attract offshore productions to Australia
Industry guilds and the free-to-air broadcasters alike have expressed dismay over the Federal Government's move late last week to extend the Post, Digital and Visual (PDV) and Location Offsets to online platforms, arguing the government has missed an opportunity to introduce further policies that could benefit the local industry.
The Producer Offset for Australian live action children's drama should be raised to 40 per cent and all platforms including streaming services be mandated to produce or co-fund children’s
content, according to the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance.