In a major overhaul of the regulatory system, the Federal Government is scrapping the fixed quotas for local drama, children's programming and documentary and harmonising the film and TV Producer Offsets at 30 per cent.
The Federal Government has revamped the PDV and Location rebates in an effort to attract offshore productions to Australia
The Interactive Games and Entertainment Association is lobbying the government to establish a direct funding program similar to the now-defunct Australian Interactive Games Fund in order to support independent game developers.
The George-Lucas founded Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is setting up shop in Australia, which will create employment opportunities for VFX artists.
The screen sector is hoping the appointment of Paul Fletcher as Minister for Communications and the Arts will signal an end to government policy paralysis towards the industry.
Production in Australia is booming. In the last four years, the Producer Offset, PDV Offset and the combined Location Offset and Incentive have resulted in a whopping $16.5 billion of economic output, and in the last financial year alone, created 20,600 jobs. However, a new report from Olsberg SPI suggests uncertainty about the future of the Location Incentive risks continued growth and infrastructure investment.
New South Wales has joined South Australia in widening its 10 per cent post, digital and visual effects (PDV) rebate to include game development.
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.