Australian Screen Production Incentive
The Australian Screen Production Incentive is the Australian Government’s primary mechanism of supporting film and television production.
It provides generous tax incentives for film, television and other screen production in Australia and is available in three streams:
- the Producer Offset, to encourage the production of Australian film and television projects. For information on this offset visit Screen Australia which administers this scheme
- the Location Offset, a 15 per cent rebate which supports the production of large-budget film and television projects shot in Australia
- the PDV Offset, a 15 per cent rebate which supports work on post, digital and visual effects production (PDV) in Australia, regardless of where a project is shot.
Location and PDV Offsets
The Location and PDV Offsets are administered by the Department. Applicants for these offsets must apply to the Department for a certificate of eligibility, which is issued by the Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts.
To obtain the certificate applicants must first read the eligibility criteria and guidelines for the offsets, and fill out the application forms. All are available below.
- Location Offset eligibility (PDF - 24 KB)
- PDV Offset eligibility (PDF - 21 KB)
- Location and PDV Offsets guidelines and application forms
- Location and PDV Offsets fact sheet - (PDF - 93 KB)
Applicants should also speak to a member of the Locations and PDV Offset Team while preparing their application. The teams contact details are provided on the right-hand side of this page.
A certificate is provided to the Australian Taxation Office with the applicant’s tax return and the offset amount is paid out less any existing tax liabilities.
At any time before or during production, an applicant can apply for a provisional certificate, which provides guidance as to whether a film is likely to qualify. A provisional certificate does not guarantee eligibility, nor does it bind the Minister in considering an application for a final certificate.
Changes to the Location and PDV Offsets
The Australian Government announced two changes to the offsets in the 2010-11 Budget. These are:
- Reducing the minimum qualifying expenditure threshold for the PDV Offset from $5 million to $500,000.
- Removing the requirement for productions spending between $15 million and $50 million in Australia to spend at least 70 per cent of the total production budget in Australia in order to qualify for the Location Offset.
The Australian Government intends to shortly introduce the necessary legislative amendments into Parliament. The Location and PDV Offsets guidelines and application forms will be updated once the legislative changes are in force. Please note that applications will only be processed after the amendments to the tax legislation come into effect.
It is intended that the changes will be backdated to apply from 1 July 2010. Specifically, the change to the PDV Offset would apply to PDV work that commences in Australia on or after 1 July 2010, and the change to the Location Offset would apply to films commencing principal photography or production of the animated image in Australia on or after 1 July 2010.
For more information about the announcement, see the media release.
Legislation and the incentives
The Australian Screen Production Incentive is enabled by Division 376 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA), which can be found on the Comlaw website.
Legislative instruments made by the Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts are available below:
- Location Offset Rules 2008 (PDF - 129 KB)
- PDV Offset rules (PDF - 108 KB), and
- Film Certification Advisory Board Rules 2008 (PDF - 35 KB).
In this section
Related links
Contacts
Film Incentives and International Section
Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
GPO Box 787
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Switch: +61 2 6274 1111
Direct:
Tel: +61 2 6275 9645
Fax: +61 2 6275 9320
