Scope of the
data
For comparative purposes, the data in this section
spans 14 years (1994/95–2007/08) in the case of both federal and
state agencies, although Screen Australia holds federal agency data back
to 1990/91.
The general term ‘film industry’ is used
in this section to encompass films, television programs and interactive
digital media, along with associated training, marketing, industry
and cultural development, and archival activities. Likewise ‘film
agencies’ is used to refer to agencies and organisations directly
funded to support this industry.
Government assistance to the film industry is mainly
delivered through funding for a variety of agencies and organisations.
This section presents data on the income and expenditure of these film
agencies, both federal and state. Local government activities are
not included. [The Cultural Ministers Council Statistics Working Group
reports that in 1999/2000 local government allocated $2.7 million to
the support of film and video activities and $0.1 million to multimedia.
] The data in this section covers the following:
Federal film agencies
- Ausfilm, receiving Federal Government assistance from 2002/03
- Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF)
- Australian Film Commission (AFC)
- Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS)
- Commercial Television Production Fund (CTPF), operating 1995/96–1997/98
- Film Australia Limited
- Film Finance Corporation Australia (FFC)
- National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) (formerly ScreenSound Australia),
integrated with the AFC from 2003/04 to 2007/08
- SBS Independent (SBSi), operating from 1996/97
Budget allocations are also included for Screen Australia,
which began operations on 1 July 2008, formed from the merger of
the AFC, Film Australia and the FFC. At the same time, the NFSA was reestablished
as an independent agency.
State
film agencies
- ACT: Department of the Environment and
Cultural Heritage, until 1996/97, ArtsACT and ScreenACT, both tracked
from 2007/08
- Northern Territory: Northern Territory
Film Office (NFTO), established in 2004
- NSW: NSW Film and Television Office
(NSWFTO)
- Queensland: Pacific Film and Television
Commission (PFTC) (the current corporate structure was established in
1997 by the merger of the PFTC and Film Queensland; prior to 1997 the
PFTC operated as a separate organisation)
- South Australia: South Australian Film
Corporation (SAFC)
- Tasmania: Screen Tasmania,
established in 1998, and Arts Tasmania
- Victoria: Film Victoria from 2002. Cinemedia
before 2002 (Digital Media Fund, Film Victoria and Melbourne Film Office
only) [In November 2001 it was announced
that Victoria's Cinemedia would be disbanded and two new entities created:
Film Victoria and the Australian Centre of the Moving Image (ACMI). Film
Victoria, the film and television funding body, now comprises three divisions:
the Digital Media Fund (interactive media funding), Industry Development
and Investment (film, television and documentary funding) and the Melbourne
Film Office (location promotion). ACMI runs screen culture and history
facilities.
]
- Western Australia: ScreenWest
(which also administers funds from Lotterywest)
Other government
assistance
The following Federal Government support is not included
in the data or analysis:
- Related organisations: Department of
Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts; Federal Government-funded
television and radio broadcasters (Australian Broadcasting Corporation
and the Special Broadcasting Service); Australian Communications and
Media Authority; the Classification Board and Classification Review Board.
- Tax incentives: Division 10BA, Division
10B, Film Licensed Investment Company Scheme, Location Offset, Producer
Offset and PDV Offset. See Production incentives: Overview
- Educational institutions: The National
Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) as well as tertiary colleges and universities
(including those with courses specialising in film) have been excluded
as it has not been possible to isolate expenditures relevant to film
and television.
- Agencies principally non-film-related:
Australian Multimedia Enterprise, which was established in 1994 to fund
interactive and multimedia projects. It received a one-off Federal Government
appropriation of $45 million. In its period of operation, the AME invested
$15.8 million in 38 projects with total budgets of $31.7 million, and
funded 70 concepts to a total of $3.3 million. It was sold in 1998 to
Allen & Buckeridge. (Source: Access to Markets
for Australia’s Creative Digital Industry, Department of
Commerce, Information and the Arts, December 2003).
- Export Market Development Grants: The
Federal Government provides financial assistance for businesses seeking
to develop export markets through the Export Market Development Grants
(EMDG) Scheme, administered by Austrade. In 2006/07, Austrade provided
approximately $8.73 million in export support to companies in the audiovisual
industries. See Audiovisual trade: Export Market Development Grants.
State and federal government support via the following
means is also not included in this data:
- State-based organisations with indirect assistance roles, such as
the Northern Territory’s Department of Industries and Business,
and the government departments responsible for each state film agency.
Arts Tasmania, ArtsACT and the ACT’s Department of the Environment
and Cultural Heritage are the exceptions, as each has provided direct,
albeit limited, assistance.
- Payroll tax rebates and other salary-based or location-based production
incentive schemes delivered outside the state film agencies (see Data
exclusion: Production attraction: payroll rebates and location-based
incentive schemes (state agencies) for further details).
- Assistance delivered outside the state film agencies, such as archival
activities that may be carried out by state libraries.
