The initial findings of Screen Producers Australia's survey on the impact of COVID-19 estimate the damage to the sector is greater than $2 billion, affecting more than 20,000 employees, freelancers and contractors.
In a bid to present a holistic picture to government of how COVID-19 has impacted the screen industry, Screen Producers Australia (SPA) has called on the entire sector to share how coronavirus has affected their production slate and release schedule, and launched an industry survey.
Amid ongoing debate over local content quotas, the Seven Network has threatened to halt the production of children's programs and to scrap plans for new adult drama, raising the ire of producers.
Screen Producers Australia (SPA) has launched a campaign to rally production businesses to choose bushfire and drought affected areas - as well as crew members from these regions - when planning shoots.
The Federal Government has committed to a staged process of media regulation reform, ultimately culminating in what it hopes will be "platform-neutral regulatory framework covering both online and offline delivery of media content."
While Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts Paul Fletcher is keeping mum as to whether the government will adjust the screen industry's regulatory framework, in his address to the Screen Forever conference on Tuesday he emphasised government has a role to play in supporting the industry to capture global opportunities.
Screen Producers Australia would like to see a unified, singular industry strategy to help take Australian stories to the world.
Ed Punchard, John Hughes, Jenni Tosi, Dan Read, Rebecca Summerton, Tracey Vieira and Suzanne Ryan will join the Screen Producers Australia (SPA) council for 2019-2020.