Producer Offset Provisional Certificate

Applications for Provisional Producer Offset Certification can be made at any time. 

Screen Australia aims to assess applications within six weeks of receipt of a complete application. More time may be required for complex applications or due to operational requirements.

The Producer Offset operates under Division 376 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA, as amended).  

The ITAA uses the term ‘film’ to refer to all formats of production. To avoid confusion, throughout this application form, the term ‘project’ is used to include feature films, telemovies, television drama series, documentaries and animation.

A Provisional Certificate is not a prerequisite for a Final Certificate. A Provisional Certificate will certify under rule 17 of the Producer Offset Rules 2018 that the conditions set out in subsections 376-65(2) to (6) of the ITAA will be met, or are likely to be met, if the project is completed in accordance with the application.

Refer to www.screenaustralia.gov.au/producer_offset for:

- Producer Offset Guidelines

- Relevant QAPE spreadsheets

A project must meet the follow criteria:

• It must have 'significant Australian content' (SAC) or it must be an official co-production.

• It must be of an eligible format.

• Its qualifying Australian production expenditure (QAPE) must meet or exceed the relevant threshold.

• The applicant company must be an Australian company, or a foreign company with an Australian permanent residency and an Australian Business Number (ABN).

• The applicant company must carry out, or make arrangements for carrying out, all the activities necessary for making the project.

Before you submit your application you will be asked to provide a scan of the transaction statement showing proof of payment of Application Fees. Applications will not be assessed until the application fee has been paid.

Provisional certificate fees are adjusted in July each year to reflect changes in CPI.

For applications received from 1 July 2020 the fees will be (GST inclusive):

• $134.00 – if budget total is less than $1m
• $668.00 – if budget total is $1m to less than $5m
• $1,339.00 – if budget total is $5m to less than $15m
• $2,678.00 – if budget total is $15m to less than $30m
• $4,685.00 – if budget total is $30m or more
• $220.00 – Reassessment fee

These fees must be paid by EFT before sending in an application to the Producer Offset and Co-production Unit.

‘Budget’ refers to the total budget of the film (ie including any co-producers’ expenditure for official co-productions).