Today, the Australian parliament passed new legislation increasing the location offset rate to 30%. This will boost investment in the film industry across Australia, bringing millions of dollars of direct foreign investment into local businesses, delivering sustainable careers, creative innovation, skills and training, and complementing existing funding for Australian projects.

The Location Offset aims to encourage large-scale screen productions to film in Australia by providing eligible productions with a tax rebate.

The amendments, by increasing the rebate from 16.5 to 30 per cent, are set to attract more large-budget productions to Australian shores—with all the economic, employment, and skill development opportunities they provide for local screen workers.

Many movies and shows have been filmed in Australia, and Disney has been taking advantage of the tax benefits to make a number of its recent films, including “Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.” Australian companies also worked on the digital and visual effects work on “Hocus Pocus 2” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Other films made there include “Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings.”  Other recent Disney+ Originals made in Australia include “The Artful Dodger” and “The Clearing”.

As part of the purchase of 20th Century Studios, Disney acquired Fox Studios Australia, which is located in Sydney and it was recently renamed to Disney Studios Australia. The site offers nine different stages, along with theaters, production offices, water facilities and much more.

Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, said in a statement:

“The more productions that choose Australia as their filming location, the more our Australian screen workers have the opportunity showcase their talents and hone their craft here at home – that’s why we’re increasing the Location Offset to encourage more large-budget productions to our shores.

We’re also backing iconic Australian drama, with changes to the Producer Offset to support more Australian stories being told and shared by the people who know them best.”

Kate Marks, Ausfilm CEO, also said regarding this news:

“Australia has always been a great place to make films and TV: now, we are one of the most competitive. Foreign spend on drama production and post-production reached record-breaking levels in 2022/23 per Screen Australia’s Drama Report^, driven by large-scale titles such as Anyone But You, The Fall Guy, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Ricky Stanicky, alongside post, digital and visual effects (PDV) work on titles that did not shoot in Australia such as Halo, Hocus Pocus 2 and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

It’s so rewarding to see studios and film and TV makers discover Australia and then come back again, testament to the incredible businesses and creative talent Australia has to offer, alongside our world-class facilities and diverse locations. The increased Location Offset sets us up for sustained success and exciting growth across production and post-production. We look forward to welcoming a raft of new projects, such as Amazon MGM Studios/AGBO’s The Bluff and Amazon MGM Studios/Skydance’s Balls Up, both in Queensland, and Sony’s untitled shark thriller in Victoria, and seeing Australian creativity, ingenuity and industry shine through on the world’s biggest and best productions.”

Roger’s Take: It’s great to see Australia’s government is looking to try to increase the amount of filming done and encouraging film studios like Disney to come to the region to invest in facilities. This is great for not just those working on the films and shows, but the larger community of businesses that support the industry. I also think it’s important that not every show or film is ever made in Los Angeles or Atlanta. Having content made in Vancouver, London, Sydney, and beyond has many advantages, not just for those making it, but it also makes it more interesting for the viewer.

What do you think of this ruling? Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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