All drama production
Spend by location

value and share of production spend by location: all drama

Drama production spending by location fluctuates according to the level of major expenditure by foreign or high-budget local productions in any given year. The majority of spending is concentrated in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.

New South Wales has, historically, accounted for around half of all drama production spending since 1995/96. In 2022/23, the state set a new record for the third year in a row, with expenditure of $1.20 billion. This accounted for 51% of total expenditure in Australia in 2022/23. The result was largely driven by a record spend on foreign features shooting in NSW, as well as significant growth in both Australian and foreign TV and VOD spend.

Queensland has accounted for 20% of all drama production spending since 1995/96. More than any other state or territory, yearly expenditure is considerably affected by the presence of foreign productions, which usually account for a substantial proportion of the state's total spend. In 2022/23, spend in Queensland was the highest on record at $700 million, or 30% of total Australian expenditure. This strong result was driven by spend on Australian features, which was nearly five-times the 2021–22 level.

Victoria has fairly consistently accounted for around 20-30 per cent of drama spending, with fluctuations mainly caused by foreign productions. In 2022/23, spend in Victoria was $337 million, significantly down from last year's all-time high, and accounted for 14% of total production expenditure. While spend in the TV and VOD category was up, mostly driven by Australian children's content, spend on Australian theatrical features fell by 89%.

South Australia has accounted for 5% of all drama production spending since 1995/96. Activity is predominantly in the local slate and from foreign PDV-only expenditure. In 2022/23, the state's spend of $77 million accounted for 3% of total Australian expenditure. This was well down on 2021/22's strong result.

Western Australia has accounted for 2% of all drama production spending since 1995/96. Activity is mainly related to the local and Co-production slate, with children’s productions comprising a significant proportion of activity. In 2022/23, spend was $24 million, which accounted for 1% of total Australian expenditure.

The Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and Tasmania has accounted for 1% of all drama production spending since 1995/96. Spend in the combined territories and state was $4 million in 2022/23, accounting for less than 1% of the total Australian expenditure.