Producers body hammers Screen Australia over Federal Court ruling

The Screen Producers Association of Australia has questioned Screen Australia’s ability to administer the key tax rebate for encouraging local film production after it was defeated in a Federal Court test case today.

The comments came after production company Essential Media and Entertainment won a Federal Court appeal against Screen Australia regarding what constitutes a documentary, in regards to Essential’s ten-part doco-series Lush House.

The win entitles Lush House to a 20% tax rebate. It had originally been determined by Screen Australia to be infotainment, not a documentary, discounting it from eligibility for the producer offset. Essential Media and Entertainment took the matter to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which determined the series within the parameters of Screen Australia’s guideline of a documentary.

SPAA stated it was extremely concerned that Screen Australia has wasted valuable taxpayers’ funds in prosecuting this case into the Federal Court rather than accepting the earlier decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal that also ruled in favour of the production company.