Screen Australia creates producer offset and co-production unit advisor role

Screen Australia has named Michele McDonald to the newly created role of producer offset and co-production unit (POCU) advisor.

The Producer Offset is a refundable tax offset (rebate) for producers of Australian feature films, television and other projects.

Australia currently has co-production agreements with Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.

Under the International Co-production Program, a co-production is a project which has been made under an Arrangement with a partner country, and has been approved as an official co-production by the Competent Authority in each country.

As co-productions grow in popularity, Screen Australia said "we often hear from screen practitioners that these two programs can be complex to navigate, so Screen Australia is creating this role to work directly with industry on how to best access them and provide a responsive, informed source of advice."

McDonald was previously Screen Australia’s producer offset and co-production senior manager.