Production Incentives - Oceania
Australia
California
Ausfilm
Australia offers filmmakers a Location Offset and a Post Digital and Visual Effects Production (PDV) Offset. These incentives are part of the Australian Screen Production Incentive scheme administered by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA). The Location Offset offers a 15% rebate on Qualifying Australian Production Expenditure (QAPE), as long as QAPE amounts to at least A$15 million. The Post, Digital and Visual effects production (PDV) Offset offers a 15% rebate on Qualifying PDV Expenditure incurred on or in relation to PDV work, and is available for projects spending a minimum of A$5 million in Qualifying Australian PDV Expenditure, regardless of whether the production is shot in Australia. For eligibility and more detailed information on the Location and PDV Offsets visit DEWHA’s website at: http://www.arts.gov.au/arts_culture/film/location_offset. Australia’s States offer a variety of incentives such as location attraction grants, post production incentives, payroll tax rebates, cast and crew wage rebates and subsidised public service resources. The qualification criteria varies from state to state. Contacts for all State Screen Agencies are on www.ausfilm.com.
Queensland
Pacific Film & Television Commission
There are many financial benefits in basing your next production in Queensland, including the generous suite of incentives offered by the Queensland Government through the PFTC. These include: *Payroll Tax Rebate *Head of Department Incentive *12.5% Local Labour Incentive *Post-Production Incentive Furthermore, a 12.5% refundable tax offset is available from the Australian Federal Government for projects that spend a minimum $15M AUD on qualifying production activity in Australia.
South Australia
South Australian Film Corporation
Employment rebate A 10% rebate on all eligible SA labour expenditure on any eligible film or television production. The employment rebate is not a tax rebate and therefore is not tied to a year-end tax return. It can be paid in instalments, with the first (potentially largest) instalment paid on the first day of principle photography. This means that the production is provided with additional cash flow when it is most useful – during the shoot. This rebate is in addition to the 6% payroll tax exemption and the tax offset rebate. The 10% employment rebate is available for drama productions intended for television or theatrical release that haven’t received production investment from the SAFC and is available to projects with at least 50% of the shoot occurring in South Australia. Payroll tax exemption A payroll tax exemption on eligible productions shot in SA reduces the film’s payroll total by approximately 6 per cent. Note that this is an up-front exemption, not a rebate. To be eligible for the exemption, projects must be produced wholly or substantially within South Australia, employ SA residents, and provide significant economic benefits to the State. Production queries regarding the South Australian Film & Television Employment Rebate can be directed to the Marketing Manager, Stefan Grun at gruns@safilm.com.au or +61 8 8348 9376.
Victoria
Melbourne Film Office
In addition to the Australian Government’s 12.5% film tax offset, the Melbourne Film Office offers two highly competitive financial incentive programs.
Fiji
Fiji Audio Visual Commission
Tax Rebate (similar to Australian tax offset): If a fully-funded production expends in Fiji a minimum F$250,000 of qualifying Fiji expenditure representing at least 35% of the budget, then it can claim back 15% of its Fiji expenditure. Sony Pictures has just received its rebate from shooting 'Anacondas' in Fiji in 2003. This incentive is straight forward to implement and is the one we are encouraging producers to use.
New Zealand
Film New Zealand
Changes to New Zealand’s Large Budget Screen Production Grant & new PDV Grant Effective 16 July 2007, under the large budget screen production grant (the Grant) scheme an eligible project will be granted a sum totaling 15% (previously 12.5%) of the Qualifying New Zealand Production Expenditure (QNZPE) provided the production spends a minimum of NZ$15million QNZPE. The Grant is now also be available to productions undertaking only post digital visual effects (PDV) work in New Zealand where the value of the QNZPE on a single production is between NZ$3 million and NZ$15 million. For television series, individual episodes which have completed principal photography within any 12 month period and with a minimum average spend of NZ$500,000 per commercial hour, may be bundled to achieve the total QNZPE of NZ$15 million. Other productions may be bundled together provided there is a minimum QNZPE of NZ$3 million per production to reach a total QNZPE of NZ$30 million within a 24 month period.
Film South New Zealand
Changes to New Zealand’s Large Budget Screen Production Grant Effective 16 July 2007, under the large budget screen production grant (the Grant) scheme an eligible project will be granted a sum totalling 15% (previously 12.5%) of the Qualifying New Zealand Production Expenditure (QNZPE) provided the production spends a minimum of NZ$15million QNZPE. The Grant is now also be available to productions undertaking only post digital visual effects (PDV) work in New Zealand where the value of the QNZPE on a single production is between NZ$3 million and NZ$15 million. For television series, individual episodes which have completed principal photography within any 12 month period and with a minimum average spend of NZ$500,000 per commercial hour, may be bundled to achieve the total QNZPE of NZ$15 million. Other productions may be bundled together provided there is a minimum QNZPE of NZ$3 million per production to reach a total QNZPE of NZ$30 million within a 24 month period. Further details are available http://www.filmnz.com/production-guide/large-budget-screen-production-grant-scheme.html
New Zealand
Film Wellington
Changes to New Zealand’s Large Budget Screen Production Grant Effective 16 July 2007, under the large budget screen production grant (the Grant) scheme an eligible project will be granted a sum totaling 15% (previously 12.5%) of the Qualifying New Zealand Production Expenditure (QNZPE) provided the production spends a minimum of NZ$15million QNZPE. The Grant is now also be available to productions undertaking only post digital visual effects (PDV) work in New Zealand where the value of the QNZPE on a single production is between NZ$3 million and NZ$15 million. For television series, individual episodes which have completed principal photography within any 12 month period and with a minimum average spend of NZ$500,000 per commercial hour, may be bundled to achieve the total QNZPE of NZ$15 million. Other productions may be bundled together provided there is a minimum QNZPE of NZ$3 million per production to reach a total QNZPE of NZ$30 million within a 24 month period.
Otago
Film Queenstown
Changes to New Zealand’s Large Budget Screen Production Grant & new PDV Grant Effective 16 July 2007, under the large budget screen production grant (the Grant) scheme an eligible project will be granted a sum totalling 15% (previously 12.5%) of the Qualifying New Zealand Production Expenditure (QNZPE) provided the production spends a minimum of NZ$15million QNZPE. The Grant is now also be available to productions undertaking only post digital visual effects (PDV) work in New Zealand where the value of the QNZPE on a single production is between NZ$3 million and NZ$15 million. For television series, individual episodes which have completed principal photography within any 12 month period and with a minimum average spend of NZ$500,000 per commercial hour, may be bundled to achieve the total QNZPE of NZ$15 million. Other productions may be bundled together provided there is a minimum QNZPE of NZ$3 million per production to reach a total QNZPE of NZ$30 million within a 24 month period. Further details are available http://www.filmnz.com/production-guide/large-budget-screen-production-grant-scheme.html
