Written by Tom Deehan on Jun 9, 2016. Posted in Incentive News

New South Wales introduces USD20 million film fund

In a bid to compete with other major locations and secure large scale international productions, New South Wales have introduced a USD20 million film fund. Made in NSW will aim to expand the film industry within the Australian territory by doubling the existing fund to an incredible USD40 million over the next two years.

We’ve got gorgeous and unique locations, extraordinarily talented local actors, directors and producers, and world-class post-production companies.

Troy Grant, Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts

Troy Grant, Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts explains: “our great state is already home to hit Aussie TV shows like Rake, A Place to Call Home and Love Child and recently accommodated big-budget international films like Mad Max: Fury Road and Alien: Covenant.”

NSW benefits greatly from its varied topography and being home to Sydney, one of Australia’s most internationally recognised cities.

He continues: “now I’m putting other states and countries on notice that we’re going after their productions – who knows, NSW could host the next Star Wars blockbuster or Game of Thrones series, or we could steal Offspring from the Victorians… we’ve got gorgeous and unique locations, extraordinarily talented local actors, directors and producers, and world-class post-production companies.”

Australia has a history of failing to gain traction abroad as a viable location, in part to the country’s uncompetitive incentives which paled in comparison to New Zealand’s, alongside nationwide economic downturn. The country has since gained prosperity thanks to concentrated efforts to introduce better incentive programmes.

In May 2016, ScreenWest announced the Western Australia Regional Film Fund to attract productions to the area and join past projects such as Kill Me Three Times and Drift.

Australia’s national incentive operates on a three tiered system. The Producer Offset provides a tax rebate for Australian nationals, while rebates of 16.5% and 30% are available for foreign productions and postproduction work respectively.