Provisional Certification

You can apply at any time for a (non-binding) Provisional Certificate, which will provide guidance, based on the information you submitted, on whether your production is likely to qualify for the Producer Offset. An accompanying letter will also provide you with a guide as to what your QAPE will be, based on your budget, QAPE spreadsheet and supporting paperwork.

There is no deadline or cut-off date when applying for a Provisional Certificate. However we do recommend holding off your application until your project is at an advanced stage of financing. Screen Australia does not re-issue provisional certificates. However, under exceptional circumstances, Screen Australia may re-assess applications (included QAPE) and issue the applicant with a letter addressing the changes. Please note that re-assessing QAPE for a certified application is a very low priority for Screen Australia, and this may take several weeks.

1. Read the guidelines and supporting material available at right.
   
   
2. Download Application Form (Word Document). You will need to complete a Statutory Declaration witnessed by a perscribed person, see list at the right, as part of your application
   
   
3. You must attach a claimed QAPE spreadsheet to your application for a Provisional Certificate.
   
   Screen Australia's A-Z Budget templates for features and documentaries now include templates for QAPE calculations:
   Download from www.screenaustralia.gov.au/a-zbudget
   
   Alternatively, you can download standalone Excel spreadsheets to assist with budget calculations for the purpose of calculating QAPE:
   Download Spreadsheet 1 (20% QAPE)
   Download Spreadsheet 2 (40% QAPE)
   
   All these spreadsheets have been revised based on the changes to QAPE proposed in the 2011/12 Federal Budget. Find out more.
   
   
4. Distribution - for proposed feature films, Screen Australia will not revisit the question of whether a film is in fact a feature film at final certification stage if it is satisfied at provisional stage that there is a bona fide intent to make a feature film. At a minimum, we require an executed deal memo from a recognized distributor. If you do not supply sufficient information at provisional stage, you will have to satisfy Screen Australia at Final Certification that during principal photography there was a bona fide intent to theatrically distribute the film in Australia in order to claim a 40% offset.

We recommend that you contact the Producer Offset & Co-production Unit of Screen Australia before making an application if there are any issues requiring further explanation. See Contact us.

Please note that Screen Australia's administration of the Producer Offset is separate from any consideration of Screen Australia investment or other support. Provisional certification in no way implies that Screen Australia will invest or provide any support to your project. Nor does the Producer Offset and Co-production Unit endorse projects for investment or other support.

Fees

Applications for provisional certificates lodged with Screen Australia on or after 1 July 2010 are required to pay a processing fee, based on the estimated budget of the film. The fees for 2010-11 (GST inclusive) are below:

• $110 – if budget total is less than $1m
• $550 – if budget total is $1m to less than $5m
• $1,100 – if budget total is $5m to less than $15m
• $2,200 – if budget total is $15m to less than $30m
• $3,850 – if budget total is $30m or more
• $220 – Re-consideration fee

These fees must be paid by EFT before sending in an application to the Producer Offset and Co-production Unit. Download the Provisional Certificate Application Fee Fact Sheet for full details.