All co-production projects must obtain Provisional Approval. Provisional Approval is not an optional stage for a co-production, as it is for the Producer Offset.

An application is lodged by each co-producer with their Competent Authority and when all Competent Authorities are satisfied that the project is eligible, the Competent Authorities grant approval.

You should lodge a Provisional Co-production Application Form once you are in a position to provide:

• a detailed budget including a breakdown of Australian spend
• a detailed schedule
• a breakdown of the nationality of participants
• documentation (of at least Letter of Interest level) for each aspect of the finance plan and the co-production split
• a draft Co-producers’ Agreement, and
• any agreements related to the project’s development you have in place.

You will also need to provide a Statutory Declaration to certify the accuracy of all the details contained within the application, a completed Co-production Eligibility Tool (download at right) and an ‘undertaking’ which is attached to the Application Form.

How long does it take?

Screen Australia aims to assess Provisional Co-production Applications within six weeks of receipt of a complete application. However, it is important to remember that co-production approval can only be granted once all the relevant Competent Authorities have approved the project so you should ensure your co-producer is lodging an application to its Competent Authority at the same time.

Applying for Provisional Certification for the Producer Offset

You may also submit an application for a Producer Offset Provisional Certificate at the same time – for example, if you wish to confirm eligibility for the 40 per cent Offset as a feature, or obtain an assessment of estimated QAPE, particularly relevant if the Offset forms part of your finance plan.

Please visit the Producer Offset Online Application Portal to submit your Provisional Producer Offset application.

Note: We cannot issue a Producer Offset Provisional Certificate until the project’s provisional co-production status has been approved. If you don’t need Provisional Offset certification, only the Provisional Co-Production Application Form need be lodged.