Australian documentary production
Activity Summary

Number of titles, hours and total budgets for Australian documentaries

Since 1997/98, independent production companies have accounted for an average of 75 per cent of Australian documentary titles produced, and 78 per cent of total hours.

In the five years to 2023/24 independent documentary production averaged 483 hours (173 titles) and produced an average of $223million in total budgets annually.

The number of single-title and series documentaries produced has remained fairly consistent over time. In the five years to 2019/20 there was an average of 86 single titles and 81 series titles produced, compared to 89 single and 84 series in the five years to 2023/24.

In the 5 years to 2023/24 the number of hours produced by independent production companies has increased by 10% to 168 hours per year compared to 153 in the 5 years to 2019/20. During the same period, cost per hour has increased by 10% and total production costs have risen by 25%.

In-house production from Australian commercial, public and subscription broadcasters accounted for an annual average of 31 titles and 65 hours in the five years up to 2023/24. The number of single titles produced has remained static while series production has decreased by 35%.

A total of 195 documentary titles commenced were produced in 2023/24, 5% below the 5-year average, with the number of series titles by Independent production companies decreasing on 2022/23 to 76 from 89 (-17%).  In total 552 hours of content was produced, with an average cost per hour of $438k.

Total budgets for documentaries that commenced production in 2023/24 was $242million, 2% above the 5-year average.