The Albanese Government has announced it will provide funding stability to critical institutions in the communications sector in the 2023-24 Budget.
The investment in communications will provide five-year funding terms for the national broadcasters – the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) – and increase base operational funding by rolling three current terminating measures on an ongoing basis.
The Government will also provide $5 million to support the Australian Associated Press (AAP) newswire service while the News Media Assistance Program (News MAP) is developed.
Public broadcaster dollars for ABC & SBS
The Government claimed it is delivering on its election commitment to five-year funding terms for the national broadcasters – with annual funding of $1.1 billion for ABC and $334.9 million for SBS.
“This funding stability underpins the delivery of quality content and services that inform, entertain and educate millions of Australians, including children, regional audiences and diverse multicultural communities,” commented Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland.
The ABC and SBS will receive an additional $72 million over four years to extend and roll three previously terminating programs into ongoing funding:
ABC Enhanced News Gathering, which supports regional journalist positions in regional bureaus throughout Australia.
SBS Media Sector Support, which provides news, content, subtitling and English learning resources to Australians who speak languages other than English, with a focus on Chinese and Arabic communities.
ABC and SBS Audio Description, to make screen content more accessible to audiences who are blind or vision impaired.
The ABC will receive $8.5 million over four years to expand transmission infrastructure in the Pacific under the Indo-Pacific Broadcasting Strategy. The funding will provide further access to Australian content, boosting media connections in the region.
Newswire support
The Albanese Government will also provide $5 million to help sustain the Australian Associated Press (AAP) while the News MAP is developed to guide news media policy intervention and support public interest journalism and media diversity.
Budget 2023-24: ABC welcomes five-year bunding
The ABC has welcomed the funding certainty delivered in the 2023 Federal Budget, the first of the new five-year funding cycle.
A statement from the broadcaster said:
It is particularly important that the Government has decided to incorporate the Enhanced Newsgathering (ENG) program into the ABC’s ongoing operational funding base. The ENG program, which supports around 70 journalists and content makers, delivers more tailored news to local communities and has allowed the ABC to invest further in specialist resources that provide vital context and analysis. The program has been operating since 2012-13 as a terminating measure and has been renewed three times.
Ongoing funding for audio description (AD) services has also been rolled into the ABC’s base funding. The ABC’s commitment to audio description services has been vital for blind or visually impaired audiences. In the last financial year, the ABC broadcast 1260 hours of unique audio-description content including many premiere events or first-possible releases, across broadcast multi-channels. The funding allocation means AD services will be extended to ABC iview.
The ABC also welcomes the additional investment into the distribution of Australian content throughout the region as part of the Indo Pacific Broadcasting Strategy.
David Anderson
ABC managing director David Anderson said: “The five-year budget allocation reflects the ABC’s important role in Australian life and the value it delivers to the community.
“The funding provides a solid foundation as the ABC continues to evolve its services to meet the needs of Australian audiences. The next five years will be crucial to the ABC as we navigate significant changes in media consumption, industry-wide cost pressures and increasing requirements to modernise and adapt to new technology.
“The funding certainty provided by the Budget is vital, as it enables the ABC to plan with confidence. Notwithstanding the five-year funding outcome, the ABC will need to meet the challenge of upward cost pressure, and position itself to continue to be trusted, relevant and valued by all Australians into the future.
“I will soon announce a new Five-Year Plan setting out the ABC’s priorities. The plan will ensure that we embrace the opportunities of the future and that the ABC remains the most important cultural institution for all Australians.”
Ausfilm welcomes Location Offset increase
Ausfilm has applauded the Federal Government’s announcement in the 23/24 Budget to increase the Location Offset from 16.5% to 30% from July 1, 2023.
The screen industry marketing body said the change will bring a significant boost to the Australian screen industry and the broader Australian economy by providing certainty and stability for international film and TV productions and ensuring stable employment for the thousands of Australian businesses and individuals across the entire screen ecosystem.
Kate Marks
Kate Marks, Ausfilm CEO, said: “This is outstanding news for the industry. A permanent 30% Location Offset will ensure a robust pipeline of both physical production and PDV work into the future and cement Australia’s position as a leader in the global screen industry.
“Increasing the Location Offset will result in meaningful benefits for the entire sector and the economy related to jobs and training opportunities, innovations in technology, and infrastructure development, along with direct benefits to businesses not dedicated to the screen industry (e.g., construction, education, hospitality, security, travel, real estate). It will also drive significant benefits to regional locations and businesses.
“International clients have demonstrated their willingness to work with us on skills and training, and this decision provides a big opportunity to build the industry’s capacity across infrastructure and skills into the future,” Marks continued.
Since 2018, there have been two separate programs running concurrently to ensure Australia’s competitiveness as a production location – the 16.5% Location Offset and the 13.5% Location Incentive Grant. Today’s announcement to transition to a 30% Location Offset will streamline the process and provide long-term certainty to international clients looking to invest in Australia. Over the past five years, 40 international productions have been secured for Australia generating over A$3.28 billion in private investment, 22,200 employment opportunities and work for over 23,500 Australian businesses, confirming Australia’s status as a world-class production destination.
The Location Offset will now align with the 30% PDV Offset and ensures Australia remains globally competitive.
Main image: Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese