SPAA submits response to review
In its response to the industry review, the Screen Producers Association of Australia has heavily focused on changes to the Producer Offset; from on-costs and early acquittal to suggesting its administration be transferred from Screen Australia to the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.
SPAA executive director Geoff Brown also called on government “to respond in kind by announcing the Strategic Film and Television Industry Plan, prior to the election [… ] a first term election commitment.”
The 15 recommendations include an increase in the drama/doco quotas and their application to the digital multi-channels, a market door film debt facility and enhanced PDV and location offsets by relaxing spend requirements and introducing a ‘frequent spender reward’ and incentives for international TVCs.These are SPAA’s recommedations:
- Measures to Strengthen Australian Content; with a recommendation for the Australian Communications and Media Authority to lift the drama (to 380 pints a year), children’s drama (42 hours a year) and documentary (30 hours a year) quotas in the Australian Content Standard and apply them to the digital multi-channels as well.
- Encouragement of private financing in Australian Feature Films; through a market door film debt facility ($90m over three years) that would encourage distributors to finance $7-30m feature films.
- Withdrawing the broadcasters’ entitlement to the Producer Offset.
- Extension of Producer Offset for Children’s live Action Drama beyond 65 Episodes.
- Children’s Animation programs to be eligible for Producer Offset based on hours; allowing 5-15 minute animation programs to qualify for up to 65 hours of production in aggregate.
- Documentary and the impact of the Producer Offset; increasing the offset for docos and allowing eligible QAPE to be expanded to include above the line research and development components.
- Enhanced incentives to attract offshore production; revising the PDV and locations offset – relaxing the requirement to spend 70 percent of production budget in the country (budgets $5-50m), lowering PDV threshold from $5m to $500,000, and introducing a ‘frequent spenders reward’ for companies whose projects are worth in excess of $50m to be eligible for the offset on any subsequent projects. SPAA also recommends a Refundable Film Tax Offset provision for TVCs with a QAPE exceeding $1m.
- Producer Offset on‐costs; 50 percent of on-costs associated with cash-flowing the offset should be allowable QAPE expenditures.
- Earlier acquittal of the Producer Offset; with the amendment of Division 376 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 to allow the offset to be acquitted on completion without the need for a Special Purpose Vehicle.
- Reduced Producer Offset threshold for feature films; allowing films in the $500,000-1m range to be eligible.
- New, more flexible definition of “theatrical release”.
- Administration of the Producer Offset to be transferred to the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.
- Improved data collection and dissemination; requiring Screen Australia to respect taxpayer confidentiality but also provide observations and comment on PO provisional and final certification adjudications.
- Local content regulation.
- Introduction of minimum licence fees for qualifying Australian programs under the Australian Content Standard; ensuring that NZ produced drama will no longer be Australian content.
Find it a sad indictment of our industry that the SPAA ED is so well versed in bureaucratic speak. Never ceases to amaze how producers continually blame everybody except themselves for the mess we’re currently in. Believe me – lack of entrepreneurial vision and simple common sense within SPAA ranks is breathtaking. They inhabit a society built on private enterprise yet have the gall to claim ‘commercial success cannot be identified’? Whenever the appalling AUS producers percentage figures are released they wheel out the US blockbuster bogyman – we can’t compete etc – can remember when the very same argument was used against the US auto industry – where’s Detroit now? More importantly where’s Toyota? Not happy Jan.
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Ford Zephyr, what do you think of the actual recommendations?
Pass brother – just a dumb screenwriter storyteller – this is producer accountant territory – they got us in this mess – they can get us out. – though I’m not holding my breath. We (industry) shouldn’t be in the position where we’re continually forced to go cap in hand to unacountable state & federal bureaucrats.
Two most successful industries in this field (Hollywood & Bollywood) don’t emply this model – so why the hell are we? Far as I’m concerned SPPA & Geoff Brown – to use a Kerry Packer quote “are pissing jobs against the wall”.
Time they had a good hard look at themselves?
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How does one submit a completed full length movie script?
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DS – suggest try your local dysfuctional state film body? Into SIMA ? (self inflicted mental anguish) Screen Oz.. Good Luck.
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