Australia’s leading film and TV industry services association, Ausfilm, welcomes the results in Screen Australia’s drama production report that outlines foreign production spend in Australia in 2018/19 was three times higher than 2017/18 with foreign TV series the second-highest spend on record.

This can be attributed to the continuing support from the Australian and state governments through globally competitive screen tax rebates and direct investment from international entertainment companies into Australia’s film and TV services’ businesses, cast and crew. Total direct foreign investment (FDI) was AU$410 million.

Ausfilm CEO, Kate Marks said “Screen Australia’s annual survey reports that seven international feature films and four foreign TV series were filmed in Australia in 2018/19 generating foreign investment of AU$297 million in expenditure into the Australian economy. Year-on-year we also see significant investment from international companies into Australia’s Post, Digital and Visual Effects (PDV) industry which attracted AU$113 million on 26 PDV-only productions in 2018/19. This is highly technical and creative work completed by Australia’s leading PDV companies located across Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia,”

“Importantly it is Australia’s domestic screen industry of creatives, actors, crew and screen production businesses that benefit directly from this international investment which creates thousands of long-term jobs and formal training opportunities, expansion of small businesses and the ability for these businesses to grow by innovating their technology and equipment,”

“Ausfilm and its membership applaud the Australian Government’s introduction of the Location Incentive of AU$140 million over four years – Australia has attracted ten international films and television series demonstrating that competitive screen tax incentives bring international work to Australia,”

“Whilst the Location Incentive has been delivering significant work for Australia’s film and TV industry, it is not a long-term solution. A permanent and certain increase must be made to the existing 16.5% Location Offset so that a consistent pipeline of work can be secured for Australia and our screen industry and its associated businesses can invest in new infrastructure, increase new jobs and develop highly skilled technical talent.” concludes Marks.

Australia has great advantages in screen production expertise and infrastructure that attracts foreign investment. Ausfilm’s membership of 49 screen businesses is advocating that the Australian Government evolve the existing Location Offset for a permanent increase from 16.5% to 30%.

Attracting more international projects will only further enhance the positioning of Australia as a world-class filming destination and will continue to enable Australia to compete more effectively against other filmmaking territories like the UK and Canada. Without a globally competitive Offset, international production and the millions of dollars’ worth of investment and thousands of jobs it brings to Australia, could be at risk.

BACKGROUND

The Australian Government offers a Location Offset of 16.5% for a minimum spend in Australia of AU$15 million and a Post and Digital Visual Effects Offset at 30% for projects that have undertaken physical production elsewhere in the world and utilise Australian PDV companies. At 16.5% the Location Offset is one of the lowest in the world.

International productions that were filmed in Australia in 2018/19 include: Dora and the Lost City of Gold; Monster Problems; Godzilla vs Kong; Preacher season 4 (TV); Reef Break (TV); Chinatown Cannon 2; Prem Bondhon, Saba’s Wedding; If Time Flows Back (TV); and Nirasha (TV).

The types of productions that completed post, sound, music and visual effects work include films Aquaman;  Dora and the Lost City of Gold; Godzilla vs. Kong; which were also shot in Australia, as well as projects that shot elsewhere such as Spider-Man: Far from Home; John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum, Men in Black: International; IT Chapter 2; Dumbo; Halloween; Dark Phoenix; Captain Marvel, JoJo Rabbit; and television series such as Preacher season 4, Reef Break, Stranger Things; and The Boys.

Australia has attracted ten international feature film and television series to Australia since the Australian Government’s introduction of the $140 million Location Incentive fund. They are: Legendary Entertainment’s Godzilla vs. Kong; Sony Television and AMC’s Preacher season 4; Paramount Pictures’ Monster Problems and Shantaram (TV) ; ABC Studios’ Reef Break (TV); Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Thor: Love & Thunder; NBC Universal/Matchbox Pictures’ & Netflix’s Clickbait; Dick Cook Studios’ The Rangers’ Apprentice and The Alchemyst.

Ausfilm led its annual delegation of film and television businesses and Australian government representatives to Los Angeles for its 11^th annual Ausfilm Week (21 – 25 October) to ensure Australia continues to be considered for international productions shooting outside of the U.S. Ausfilm had its biggest business delegation on record in 2019, featuring 24 film industry businesses and six federal and state government agencies and a total of over 44 Australian representatives attending the week of events.

Ausfilm Week connects the Australian film and television industry to the U.S. production community and showcases Australia as one of the world’s best filming locations and destinations for post-production and visual effects.

Media enquiries:

Rachelle Gibson
Director of Marketing & Industry Partnerships
Ausfilm
T: + 61 2 9383 4192
[email protected]