Documentary Production
Sources of finance

Sources of finance for the Australian documentary slate (excluding broadcaster-produced titles)

2021/22 saw notable increase in contributions from Producer Offset, likely driven by a legislative change which resulted in the Producer Offset increasing from 20% to 30% for eligible projects (such as a program produced for television or a subscription service) that commenced on or after July 1^st 2021.

While industry sources (mainly broadcasters including the ABC and SBS) provide the majority of finance to the documentary slate – 71 per cent across the five years to 2021/22 – government funding underpins annual documentary activity, with Screen Australia contributing 8 per cent of finance, the state agencies 5 per cent and the Producer Offset 17 per cent cashflowed in various ways.