New Zealand Screen Production Incentive Fund
As announced as part of the 2008 Budget, a new government incentive scheme for New Zealand film and television production is to be established from 1 July 2008. The media release issued by the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Helen Clark, can be accessed through the Beehive website.
Key policies and funding for the Screen Production Investment Fund (SPIF) have been finalised by the government. An outline of these key governing policies for the SPIF as already approved is available for download on this webpage.
The Ministry, in partnership with the New Zealand Film Commission, will hold meetings with the New Zealand screen community in Auckland and Wellington to discuss the draft criteria and the intended operation of the SPIF scheme.
The full SPIF criteria including the Significant New Zealand Content Test will need to be approved by government in late June 2008. This will enable the SPIF to be operational from 1 July 2008.
The Ministry is seeking feedback on the detailed draft SPIF criteria. These draft criteria, including a draft Significant New Zealand Content test, are available for download on this webpage. Feedback is requested by 5pm, Friday 6 June 2008.
Email responses on the draft criteria should be provided to the Ministry at matt.tait@mch.govt.nz.
Alternatively, written responses can be sent to:
Screen Production Incentive Fund: Attn. Matt Tait
Ministry for Culture and Heritage
PO Box 5364
Radio New Zealand House
Level 5, 155 The Terrace
Wellington
Related documents
These documents are available for downloading (pdf files):
- New Zealand Screen Production Incentive Fund – Outline
- New Zealand Screen Production Incentive Fund (SPIF) Draft Criteria
- New Zealand Screen Production Incentive Fund - Significant New Zealand Content Test: Guidance Notes
Please contact our webmaster if you have any technical difficulty accessing these files.
A brief summary of the SPIF, and the detailed criteria and content test, is provided below.
Screen Production Incentive Fund – Key Features
The New Zealand Screen Production Incentive Fund (SPIF) will provide a government grant of 40% of qualifying New Zealand production expenditure (QNZPE) for eligible New Zealand feature films, and 20% of qualifying New Zealand production expenditure for eligible television and other screen production expenditure.
The new Screen Production Investment Fund has been allocated $27.8 million over four years in new funding, plus $26 million from existing funding to the New Zealand Film Commission, providing a total of $53.8 million. It is intended that this funding will be structured in such a way as to accommodate fluctuations in demand over multiple years.
The SPIF will be administered by the Film Commission, with QNZPE verified by the Inland Revenue Department. This is the same as the process for the Large Budget Screen Production Grant (LBSPG).
The SPIF will only be available to screen productions qualifying under section 18 of the New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978 as having significant New Zealand content. A transparent ‘significant New Zealand content’ points test will govern assessment of this for the purposes of the SPIF. The draft test is similar to the existing UK Cultural Test. Official co-productions certified by the Film Commission will qualify for the SPIF as having significant New Zealand content. These productions will be required to meet the other SPIF criteria.
Minimum QNZPE eligibility thresholds for the SPIF have been approved by the government. For feature films the minimum QNZPE threshold is be $5 million. For television and other formats, thresholds vary depending on production format, as outlined in the table below.
SPIF Minimum Thresholds and Grant Levels
Format |
Minimum QNZPE |
SPIF Grant |
Feature Film (New Zealand theatrical distribution) |
$5 million total |
40% of QNZPE |
Series of programmes
|
$1 million total $500,000 per hour |
20% of QNZPE |
Single episode programme |
$1 million total $800,000 per hour |
20% of QNZPE |
Documentary
|
$250,000 per hour |
20% of QNZPE |
Short form animation
|
$250,000 total $1 million per hour |
20% of QNZPE |
There is a ceiling of eligible QNZPE for any individual production of $15 million. The maximum SPIF grant to any one project will be, therefore, $6 million. The level of total QNZPE of the grant will therefore reduce as QNZPE increases beyond $15 million.
Screen productions will be required to be produced for commercial release or distribution. Feature films will be required to be produced for New Zealand cinematic release. Ineligible formats would be: advertising content; discussion, quiz, or similar programmes; films of a public event; training films; news or current affairs programmes; ‘reality’ or variety programmes; and computer games.
New Zealand feature film projects that have received government production funding would remain eligible to receive a SPIF grant on their QNZPE. Television and other screen productions receiving government production funding will not be eligible for a grant. Government development funding will not affect eligibility for a grant. Productions seeking a SPIF grant will not be eligible for the LBSPG or the year 1 deduction for New Zealand films under the Income Tax Act.
Screen Production Incentive Fund Draft Criteria
The draft criteria for the SPIF cover:
- definitions of eligible production formats and other eligibility details;
- definitions, timing, specific inclusions and exclusions for establishing qualifying New Zealand production expenditure (QNZPE), and other details on treatment of expenditure;
- administration details for the SPIF; and,
- criteria for decisions on significant New Zealand content required for eligibility for the SPIF (Schedule 1 to the criteria).
The draft criteria have been developed by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage in consultation with the New Zealand Film Commission, Inland Revenue Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Ministry of Economic Development.
The eligibility criteria are in large part established by the key governing policies already approved by Cabinet, in particular the minimum and maximum QNZPE thresholds, eligible formats and distribution requirements, and access to other government incentives. Other criteria regarding definitions of QNZPE, treatment of expenditure, eligible applicants, and administrative details are largely the same as for the Large Budget Screen Production Grant (LBSPG).
Detailed definitions for the eligible production formats have been included, which are largely the same as those for the Australian Producer Offset. Other SPIF criteria that are not in the LBSPG criteria and that are similar to the Producer Offset criteria include: treatment of production incurred in a foreign country; and maximum eligible ‘above the line’ costs (development and remuneration of principal production staff).
Other criteria are also being investigated by the Ministry: a minimum level of qualifying New Zealand production expenditure as a proportion of the total production budget; and a maximum level of total government funding for a screen production. The Ministry will provide you with advice on these criteria following industry consultation.
Significant New Zealand Content Test
The draft Significant New Zealand Content Test has been developed by the Ministry in close consultation with the New Zealand Film Commission. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was consulted, to ensure that the test is consistent with New Zealand’s obligations under its international agreements, pursuant to support for production of New Zealand films under the New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978.
The draft Significant New Zealand Content Test is very similar to the United Kingdom Cultural Test, which governs certification as a British film for eligibility for the UK’s film tax relief scheme.
The Test has been designed to reflect the importance of on-screen New Zealand content – in terms of New Zealand characters, locations, stories, and historical and cultural elements. It is intended that most SPIF feature films, in particular, will display strong New Zealand on-screen elements.
It is, however, possible for a screen production to qualify as a New Zealand production under the Significant New Zealand Test while having no identifiable New Zealand setting, characters or other cultural elements. It is not the intention of the Test to restrict New Zealand film-makers’ creativity by limiting them solely to New Zealand settings and situations. Where this is the case the production will need to have:
- strong New Zealand creative input or underlying material (such as being based on a New Zealand book, play, article or original screenplay); and
- high levels of New Zealand production activity and film-maker input.
It is proposed that an eligible feature film will pass the Test if it is awarded at least 20 points out of 31. Feature films will be also required to receive at least 4 points in Section A – New Zealand Subject Matter.
The overall pass mark of 20 for feature films sets a relatively high threshold for eligibility. This will ensure that a feature film that seeks a SPIF grant while having little-to-no on-screen New Zealand content will be required to meet almost all the other criteria in the test regarding New Zealand production activity and film-maker contributions.
The requirement for a feature film to score 4 points in Section A – New Zealand Subject Matter will mean that in order to pass the film must either: have strong New Zealand character and setting elements; or must be from an original New Zealand screenplay or be based on a New Zealand book, play, article, or other source material.
The combined effect of these criteria will be to enable New Zealand film-makers to make ambitious films in imaginative settings and receive the SPIF, while ensuring that where this occurs the production is both driven by New Zealand creative input and features very high levels of New Zealand activity and film-maker contributions.
Feature film productions with international components or creative basis will potentially be able to access the SPIF as New Zealand film only where: the film is largely set in New Zealand and features New Zealand characters; and the production employs New Zealand film-makers and production facilities in almost all key production roles.
Television
It is proposed that eligible television and other format screen productions will pass the SPIF Significant New Zealand Content Test if they are awarded at least 14 points out of 31. The lower requirements for television are in recognition of the lower level of SPIF grant for these productions and because they are ineligible for screen agency co-investment. As a result they will likely require a stronger international focus in their financing and content.
The proposed pass mark of 14 will ensure that, at the minimum, qualifying productions would have significant levels of New Zealand production activity, while also encouraging the inclusion of on-screen New Zealand elements.