Reminder | A Breakfast Briefing with Kim Williams

A Breakfast Briefing with Kim Williams – POLICY: In October, SPA hosted the annual Screen Stories Long Table Dinner in Canberra, where SPA members sat down with industry colleagues and key parliamentarians, including Minister for the Arts, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, Minister for Communications, the Hon. Michelle Rowland MP, to connect and address critical problems holding our sector back.

The following day, a small group of members were joined by other parliamentarians during a morning of meetings at Parliament House, where they shared concerns on key issues facing their screen businesses and the wider industry. We welcomed the release of the NSW Government’s Screen and Digital Games Strategy, and we shared advice on preparing Round 4 EMDG applications.

INDUSTRIAL: This month, the industrial team at SPA worked closely with members to address various issues and questions. We issued multiple member advisories regarding changes at AWGACS, a recent Administrative Appeal Tribunal decision on the Producer Offset, Director copyright, and production breaks.

EVENTS: We hosted the latest Screen Business Essentials online course from 10-11 Oct, and we were joined by a selection of TIFF 2024 attendees, including Screen Australia COO Grainne Brunsdon, LUDO Studio’s Lauren Brown and SAM Content’s Sally Aitken for a SPA member debrief. We hosted the third round of state-specific / national quarterly SPA member meetings, and hosted ABC Chair Kim Williams AM for a sold-out Breakfast Briefing at Disney Studios, where he shared insight into his vision for one of Australia’s national broadcasters and our industry. Stay tuned on the SPA events page for details of all upcoming events.

POLICY

SCREEN STORIES LONG TABLE DINNER

SPA members shared an evening with industry colleagues and parliamentarians in Canberra on Tuesday, 8 Oct.
The annual event is an opportunity to highlight our industry is vital—it generates economic activity and highly skilled local jobs. Also, it tells our Australian stories to local and global audiences.
A main talking point was the need for government action to address several critical problems holding our sector back, including regulation of streaming platforms and action to retain our homegrown intellectual property.

SPA BREAKFAST BRIEFING: KIM WILLIAMS AM

Breakfast Briefings are back, with a sold-out in-person taking place on Thursday, 24 Oct, with the recently appointed Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Chair Kim Williams AM as the guest speaker.
Hosted by SPA CEO Matthew Deaner, the briefing saw SPA members and industry executives gather to hear Kim discuss his vision for the ABC and our industry, including his perspectives on Australia’s evolving media landscape and how this will continue to affect screen production.

NSW SCREEN & DIGITAL GAMES STRATEGY

Oct saw the release of the NSW Government’s Screen and Digital Games Strategy.
The strategy comes as a much-needed confidence boost at a difficult time for the industry, with the current downturn in production, difficult commissioning conditions and the stalled regulation of dominant streaming platforms being felt everywhere.
SPA has long advocated for greater independence and better resourcing for Screen NSW, which would enable it to be more responsive to industry, and the new administrative arrangements with reporting to a Deputy Secretary are a step in the right direction towards this.

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SPA SUBMISSION ON AI GUARDRAILS

In October, we submitted our views on mandatory guardrails for artificial intelligence (AI) in high-risk settings to the federal government. The submission was developed after a meeting between SPA members and a key representative from the Department of Industry Science and Resources, where members shared their concerns surrounding the implementation of AI in the Australian screen industry.

EMDG: ROUND 4 APPLICATIONS

Recently, we shared in-depth information with SPA members on how to best prepare for and complete an EMDG application.
Round 4 applications for the Export Market Development Grant (EMDG) open in early Nov 2024 for financial years 2025-26 and 2026-27.

EVENTS

THE SPA TEAM OUT & ABOUT

Last month, some of the SPA team, including our CEO and our Business & Legal Affairs Manager joined with a number of SPA members by attending and participating in local and international industry events.

SA

Matthew Deaner attended the Adelaide Film Festival, participating in a screen industry talk alongside Leanne Saunders (Head of Production & Development, SAFC), Luke Dale (Partner, HWL Ebsworth Lawyers), Ester Harding (Mind The Gap Film Finance), Louise Gough (Director of Narrative Content, Screen Australia) and Mat Kesting (CEO & Creative Director, AFF) for a conversation on the state of the screen industry.

INDIA

Andy Barclay, Manager of Business & Legal Affairs, recently attended MAMI Film Festival in Mumbai, India. He was invited, as part of a DFAT delegation, to speak on an industry panel, “International Coproductions: Collaborations with Australia”, following the recent ratification of the India-Australia Coproduction Agreement. He was joined by SPA member Ian Collie, Founder of Easy Tiger Productions, who took part in a Q&A after a screening of Easy Tiger production ‘Four Years Later’ at the festival.

SPA BREAKFAST TAKEAWAY

Following the recent SPA Breakfast Briefing with special guest Kim Williams AM, we are pleased to announce a not-to-be-missed SPA Breakfast Takeaway conversation recorded on the same day.

Kim shares invaluable insight into his vision for the ABC, one of Australia’s national broadcasters, and our industry, including his perspectives on Australia’s evolving media landscape and how this will continue to affect screen production.
The recorded conversations will be housed on the SPA YouTube Channel in a ‘SPA Takeaways playlist’.

DATE & VENUE DETAILS

Date: Wednesday, 6 Nov 2024

Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm AEDT

Venue: Facebook Live

SCREEN BUSINESS ESSENTIALS: NAVIGATING GROWTH

Following our highly successful 2-day Screen Business Essentials course in October, Screen Business Essentials: Navigating Growth, held in conjunction with the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), is back to provide a practical, real-world guide to provide early to mid-career producers with a deep dive into option and co-development agreement deal terms plus finance plans and recoupment waterfalls for feature film and long-form scripted TV.

DATE & VENUE DETAILS

Date: Thursday, 14 Nov 2024

Time: 9:00am – 5:00pm AEDT

Venue: Online

COURSE OUTLINE

Book HERE

SCREEN FOREVER 39 VOLUNTEERS CALL OUT

We’re searching for proactive and friendly volunteers for SCREEN FOREVER 39.

If you have experience in event management or are a graduate looking for work experience in the screen industry – we want to hear from you!
Students of directing, production and writing are also encouraged to apply.

Dates: 5 – 8 May, 2025

Venue: Gold Coast, QLD

SCREEN FOREVER 39 website HERE.

Please apply by 5pm AEDT, Friday, 31 Jan 2025

Apply HERE

INSIGHTFUL INSIGHTS

If you’re a SPA member, head to our Insights page for exclusive access to the latest opinions, critiques, news and new ideas from around the world.

PARTNER NEWS

RECOGNISING MEMBERS FOR LOYALTY

At Media Super, they’re always looking for ways to give back to their members. To help members save more for their future, they’ve introduced these savings:

Lower weekly admin fee

They’ve dropped their weekly admin fee from $1.50 a week to $1.

Insurance Loyalty Rebate

They’ve introduced their Insurance Loyalty Rebate for eligible* members who have had insurance with Media Super for 10+ years, even briefly, and currently hold insurance.

How the rebate works:
• 2% off future insurance premiums if your cover was first activated 10 – 19 years ago
• 4% off future insurance premiums if your cover was first activated 20+ years ago

These benefits will help members keep more of their super invested, giving them more money towards their retirement savings.

For more information, visit the Media Super website.

*If you were a Media Super member before merging with Cbus Super on 9 April 2022, we’ll use your original join date to determine eligibility.
This information is about Media Super. It doesn’t account for your specific needs. Please consider your financial position, objectives and requirements before making financial decisions. Read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination to decide what’s right for you. Call 1800 640 886 or visit mediasuper.com.au
Insurance is issued under a group policy with our insurer, TAL Life Limited ABN 70 050 109 450 AFSL 237848.
United Super Pty Ltd ABN 46 006 261 623 AFSL 233792 as Trustee for the Construction and Building Unions Superannuation Fund ABN 75 493 363 262 offering Media Super products (Media Super)