10BA

Film and TV financing in Australia refers to government assistance to TV and cinema in Australia. Over the past 30 years, government assistance has involved a mixture of government support, distributor/ broadcaster involvement and private investment. To a significant extent, government policies have shaped the form and scale of financing.

Since 1995/96, 25-30% of funding for Australian feature films (local films and co-productions) has come from government sources. This was mainly from the Film Finance Corporation (FFC), until 2008 when the FFC merged with the Australian Film Commission and Film Australia to become Screen Australia. However, this group includes a number of films, such as Moulin Rouge (2001) and Happy Feet (2006), that were substantially financed by Hollywood studios. For independent Australian films, the proportion of government support is much higher.

Meanwhile, TV drama has received about half of its financing from the industry itself and about 15% from government sources, while foreign investment has also been significant, reaching a peak of 49% in 1999/2000.

In 2007, the Australian Government introduced the Australian Screen Production Incentive, a package of tax incentives designed to encourage private investment in Australian-produced films, television shows and documentaries.

At a number of times since the inception of the Australian film industry, the Australian government has experimented with quota-based support models, largely without success. At the same time, direct financial support for the industry was less forthcoming. The Government of New South Wales gave minor financial assistance to a number of productions in the 1930s. In 1945 the federal government created the Australian National Film Board, with a brief to produce documentaries. It was later known as the Commonwealth Film Unit and ultimately as Film Australia.

Feature filmmaking in Australia, however, did not receive comprehensive government support until the 1970s.

During the 1970s, most Australian features were funded by the Australian Film Commission (established 1975) and its state government counterparts.

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