Regional Filming Fund

Screen NSW general eligibility requirements can be found in the Screen NSW Terms of Trade, which should be read in conjunction with these guidelines.

Applicants must fulfil the following eligibility criteria:

• The production must film on location in Regional NSW for a minimum of five shooting days in a single Local Government Area (LGA) (see LGA map).
• At least one of the Key Creatives must be NSW-based
• The production company must be registered in NSW and have its principal place of business in NSW unless the production has an eligible NSW Spend of at least $5 million
• The production must film on location in Regional NSW for a minimum of five shooting days
• At least 50% of the total budget must be expended in NSW
• Productions must be fully financed at the time of application, with the exception of contributions being sought from Screen NSW and other state, federal or international agencies 
  (Note: we will only consider an application where those agencies have confirmed their contribution or if the application has been submitted to a funding round running concurrently with the Screen NSW round.)
• Productions that have been shortlisted for Screen Australia’s Documentary Production Producer Program or Multi-Platform Drama Fund may apply
• Feature films must have distribution in place
• Television drama, narrative comedy and factual/documentary programs must have a financial commitment from a broadcaster, subscription service or distributor.

Screen NSW is committed to supporting increased participation in the industry of people from under-represented groups, as well as the diversity of screen stories. Priority will be given to teams including people from the following priority areas:

• Regional NSW
• Western Sydney
• First Nations people
• People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• People living with disability
• LGBTQIA+ people. 
  
  

We fund the development of:

• Feature films
• Adult and children’s television drama and narrative comedy including series, miniseries, web series and telemovies
• Content-rich factual and documentary television or web programs and series
• Animation series
• Creative interactive screen entertainment.

Applications to the Regional Filming Fund that are declined cannot be resubmitted unless there is a significant change to the proposal.

We do not fund the development of:

• Infotainment, lifestyle, travel, magazine, sports, education, game shows and other magazine-style productions*
• Current affairs and news
• Community television
• Shorts, short features (under 60 minutes duration)
• Projects that are being produced as part of a course of study.

*For further guidance on the distinction between infotainment, lifestyle, magazine programs and documentary/factual programs, refer to the advice on Screen Australia’s website.

Applicants may request up to 35% of the budgeted NSW Regional Spend. NSW Regional Spend is the total of the below the line shooting expenses directly associated with filming and undertaking post in regional NSW.

Eligible NSW Regional Spend expenses are limited to:

• Location fees
• Travel (for cast and crew traveling from other parts of NSW)
• Accommodation
• Per diems
• Local suppliers & services (e.g., construction contractors, security, traffic control, etc.)
• Catering
• Salaries for regionally based cast and crew.

Regional spend does not include any above-the-line expenses (including development expenses), indirect costs, company overheads and contingency. 

Support is provided as a grant. The maximum grant per production is $175,000.

Your application will be competitively assessed against the following criteria:

• The level, nature and quality of the proposed NSW and Regional Spend
• The track record, including the financial track record, and experience of the applicant and any Key Creatives
• The quality of the creative materials
• The potential of the project to reach its target market(s).

Screen NSW may also consider the diversity of productions and regions supported under the program.

You must submit all core items listed on the application form.

If you are applying to both the Production Finance program and the Regional Filming Fund for your project, please submit the applications concurrently via the Production Finance form.

If your application is only for the Regional Filming Fund, please apply via the Regional Filming Fund form.