Producer Offset threshold lowered

The Producer Offset eligibility treshold has been reduced from $1m to $500,000 for features and single-episode dramas.

The announcement is part of the Federal Government’s budget, which  has brought a $13m direct budget injection package over four years for Screen Australia, and a comprehensive suite of Producer Offset reforms – including the fact that QAPE will now be calculated on a GST-exclusive basis.A number of Screen Australia’s recommendations to last year’s industry review have been implemented, including:
• Replacement of the Producer Offset for low-budget documentaries with a more Producer Equity payment administered by Screen Australia, funded through an additional appropriation of $2–3 million per annum
• A reduction in QAPE thresholds, encouraging innovative and entrepreneurial Australian content on multiple platforms
• Converting the 65 episode cap to 65 commercial hours for television, which is of particular benefit to children’s programming
• Exempting documentaries from the 20% above-the-line cap
• Providing for a broader range of expenses to be eligible for Qualifying Australian Production Expenditure (QAPE) including production insurances, completion guarantees, legal, audit and company fees, additional publicity and marketing costs,  some distribution costs and carbon offsets.

The agency has also received funds to re-instate the Australian Bureau of Statistics screen industry survey, last conducted in 2006/2007.

Screen Australia will host sessions in Melbourne (May 18, 5p, ACMI Studio One) and Sydney (May 20, 3:30pm, Dendy Opera Quays) to further explain the budget measures. RSVP is necessary at rsvp@screenaustralia.gov.au