Filming in WA
Filming in WA
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Incentives & Co-Productions
This information is relevant to international and interstate production companies that are considering filming in Western Australia.Incentives
Non-government subsidised productions
Series and serials
Co-productions
Incentives
Federal
Please note that the 10B and 10BA tax deductions are no longer in effect in Australia. In place of these the Federal Government has introduced the Australian Screen Production Incentive, which has three mutually-exclusive strands: the Location Offset; the Post, Digital and Visual effects (PDV) production Offset and the; Producer Offset.
The Location and PDV Offsets apply no nationality or cultural tests, although there are other criteria for eliibility. The Producer Offset is exclusively for productions with Significant Australian Content (SAC) or official co-productions.
The Location and PDV Offsets are administered by the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA), while the Producer Offset is administered by the Commonwealth screen agency, Screen Australia.
Australia's Federal content attraction organisation, Ausfilm has a fact sheet on the Australian Screen Production Incentive.
State
ScreenWest assesses large scale productions on a case by case basis. Producers should contact ScreenWest to discuss major projects and the potential financial incentives.
Non-government subsidised productions
(excluding series and serials)
Imported actors may be approved to work on projects where reasonable opportunities have already been provided to Australian actors to participate in all levels of the production. The producer must demonstrate these reasonable efforts were made to cast Australian actors at all levels of the production and provide a clear explanation of the need for foreign actors.
The Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA), may stipulate Casting Guidelines be followed, where the producer must provide DEWHA with documentation demonstrating that the foreign investment (or private investment guaranteed against foreign returns) exceeds the proportion of the budget expended on foreign performers. In this case the producer must consult with the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA).
In offshore productions, where non-English speaking actors are to be imported for a portion of a non-English language project, DEWHA, MEAA and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) may apply flexibility to the Casting Guidelines, where a clear benefit can be shown to Australian crew employment.
Where the offshore producer (rather than the local sponsor) is the employer, copies and translations of agreements and employment contracts, will need to be sighted by DIAC, to ensure that employees are working to Australian conditions and wages.
Series and serials
In the case of an unofficial co-production series, where a minimum of 50% of the budget is foreign investment and the budget exceeds $0.5m per hour, up to one third of the regular lead actors, or one guest lead actor in one third of the episodes, may be imported.
Where 70% of the budget is foreign investment, up to one third of the regular lead actors and one guest lead actor, in a maximum of one third of the episodes, may be imported. In both cases, the producer must consult with the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA).
For more information, contact the overseas consulate post in your country or the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).
Co-Productions
Australia has official co-production treaty arrangements with Germany, China, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Canada, Ireland, Italy and Israel, and Memorandums of Understanding with New Zealand and France. They are administered by Screen Australia.
Official international co-productions with Western Australian production companies have included: World of Colours, Stormworld and Parallax.
The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) provides advice, market intelligence and support to international production companies who are interested in trading with Australia. Austrade is represented in more than 140 overseas locations in over 60 countries.
