As we are very well aware, Australian culture is the driving force behind almost all of Australian content. However, we very rarely hear about jobs in the Australian film industry being of cause for concern, at least not on the scale of culture. Based on the almost impossibility of securing funding from the government, it can easily be said that times are tough for those working in the Australian film industry. Groves (2015) speaks of the difficulties that particularly independent film-makers face in Australia with the ever-changing market for speciality films progressively shrinking.
Co-productions have particularly in more recent years presented themselves as a viable option for the production of Australian content. They offer a wide range of benefits, including building international networks and utilising a greater variety of resources, ideas and importantly funding. In saying that, the co-producer could potentially have access to the Producer’s Offset – that is, if the content passes the dreaded SAC (Significant Australian Content) test. This means that up to 40% of the total expenditure, provided it was filmed in Australia while making an Australian film can be claimed as a tax rebate.
There are a number of rules that govern the amount of international talent used in Australian content. Under the current rules for films with taxpayer support, at least 50% of lead roles and 75% of support roles must be filled by Australian performers (Middlemost 2016). This can be seen as the government trying to protect Australian jobs in the film industry, however in comparison to the strict ‘Australian content’ guidelines, this seems rather futile.
November 2015 saw Julie Bishop announce the filming of Alien was to take place in Sydney. The announcement was made citing changes to the tax system to make using Australia as a filming location more attractive internationally. While it is important to encourage international interest, it would be great to see the same concern and action being put into place to better protect and encourage Australian filmmakers?
It is very clear, that whatever the Australian film industry is doing at the moment just is not working as well as it should. While things certainly are looking up, perhaps co-productions, with their strict guidelines regarding the percentage of Australian talent/crew could be an option for moving forward in the Australian film industry. That being said, it seems as though culture has a firm place in the Australian film industry in stark opposition to Australian jobs in our film industry. Maybe if we work on fixing the problem here in Australia, while at the same time co-producing with other countries we may find a solution?
Groves, D 2015, ‘Year zero for Australian cinema,’ Inside Film: If, Vol. 9 No. 10.
Lucy Marsden 