All co-production projects must obtain Provisional Approval. Provisional Approval is not an optional stage for a co-production, as it is for the Producer Offset.

An application is lodged by each co-producer with their Competent Authority and when all Competent Authorities are satisfied that the project is eligible, the Competent Authorities grant approval.

You should lodge a Provisional Co-production Application Form once you are in a position to provide:

• a detailed budget including a breakdown of Australian spend
• a detailed schedule
• a breakdown of the nationality of participants
• documentation (of at least Letter of Interest level) for each aspect of the finance plan and the co-production split
• a draft Co-producers’ Agreement, and
• any agreements related to the project’s development you have in place.

You will also need to provide a Statutory Declaration to certify the accuracy of all the details contained within the application, a completed Co-production Eligibility Tool (download at right) and an ‘undertaking’ which is attached to the Application Form.

How long does it take?

Screen Australia aims to assess Provisional Co-production Applications within 8 - 10 weeks of receipt of a complete application. However, it is important to remember that co-production approval can only be granted once all the relevant Competent Authorities have approved the project so you should ensure your co-producer is lodging an application to its Competent Authority at the same time.

Applying for Provisional Certification for the Producer Offset

You may also submit an application for a Producer Offset Provisional Certificate at the same time – for example if you wish to confirm eligibility for the 40 per cent Offset as a feature; particularly relevant if the Offset forms part of your finance plan. 

Please visit the Producer Offset Online Application Portal to submit your Provisional Producer Offset application.

Note: We cannot issue a Producer Offset Provisional Certificate until the project’s provisional co-production status has been approved. If you don’t need Provisional Offset certification, only the Provisional Co-Production Application Form need be lodged.