Senate

Supplementary Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Treasurer, the Hon Peter Costello MP).
Amendment and request for amendments to be moved on behalf of the Government

Chapter 1 Film production offsets

Animated series: Request for amendments 1 and 2

1.1 Animated series, or animated seasons of a series, with episodes of at least 15 commercial minutes in duration are eligible to access the producer offset. Such series must be predominantly a cell, stop motion, digital or other animation. Episodes of 15 commercial minutes would be expected to have an actual duration of at least 10 minutes. Animated series, or animated seasons of series, must meet all other requirements that apply to series or seasons of series which are not animations. [QG449, request for amendments 1 and 2]

Review in relation to certain production levels: Amendment 1

1.2 Within 12 months after Royal Assent, the Minister with responsibility for the Act will initiate a review. The review will examine the effect of the film production offsets to compare levels of production by the Australian independent production sector to production levels of Australian television broadcasters, including commercial free-to-air, subscription and national television broadcasters. The intent of the review is to examine changes in levels of 'in-house' production by broadcasters, compared to television productions made by other ('independent') producers. The effect of the producer offset on this balance will be the key focus of the review. [QG450, amendment 1]