Ausfilm celebrates the results in Screen Australia’s drama report highlighting foreign production spend in Australia for post, digital and visual effects (PDV) work in 2021/22 reached a record high of $335 million.

Foreign spend on PDV-only titles rose to an unprecedented high of $335 million from 57 titles in 2021/22, an increase of 22% from the previous year and an incredible increase of 189% over the last five years, a testament to the talent and reputation of Australia’s screen businesses and a direct result of the Australian Government’s permanent 30% PDV Offset.

In the last five years, Ausfilm PDV membership has increased by more than 52%, demonstrating the potency and growth of the sector and the opportunities these businesses see from international productions.

“This is a phenomenal result for Australia’s film and TV services businesses, and proves the success of the Federal and State incentive programs. I congratulate all Ausfilm members on their success. This investment illustrates that Australia continues to offer a highly skilled workforce and expert screen sector services and infrastructure. Australia is now well placed to continue to build on this momentum to secure an ongoing and consistent pipeline of production which will support sector-wide growth.”

Kate Marks, Ausfilm CEO

Some of the foreign productions that undertook post, sound, music and visual effects work only in Australia include: Ant Man and the Wasp, The Gray Man, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Being the Ricardos and The Lincoln Lawyer 2.

Total spend on foreign shoot and PDV-only titles totalled $777 million in 2021/22. Spend on foreign titles that were filmed in Australia reached $442 million, above the 5-year average and directly attributable to the globally competitive suite of Australian and State government screen tax offsets and grants on offer. International productions that commenced filming in 2021/22 include: Ticket to Paradise, La Brea 2, Nautilus and Young Rock 2.

The steady increase of PDV activity is further proof that a competitive and automatic incentive drives long term growth and investment into the sector. Marks adds, “A permanent 30% Location Offset would ensure a consistent pipeline of both physical production and PDV into the future and cement Australia’s position as a leader in the global screen industry.”

The Screen Australia Drama Report was released on 10 November 2022, and can be viewed here.