The Minister is aware that the Game Developer's Association of Australia have requested the 40 per cent rebate which was granted to the film industry as part the Australian Screen Media Support Package. The package was a 2007-08 Budget initiative which includes the formation of the Australian Screen Authority and the introduction of the Australian Screen Production Incentive with a Producer and Location Rebate. While games will not be eligible for support through the incentive, the package as a whole will benefit screen content producers of all kinds. The Location Rebate includes a new, complementary 15 per cent rebate to apply to all expenditure on post production, digital and visual effects undertaken in Australia over $5 million, whether the productions shoot in Australia or not. This initiative is expected to have positive indirect flow on effects for the games sector. This indirect benefit for both the Australian film and games industries will be experienced as digital and visual effects companies develop larger and more skilled workforces. The new ASA will be able to re-allocate its resources to support screen industry priorities, as the new Producer Rebate will free up funds which it currently invests in films and television with commercial potential. The ASA will also be able to consider new measures of support for sectors involved in the development of games when considering broader industry priorities. The games industry is a sector of the broader digital content industry in Australia. The Government worked with industry and released in March 2006 a Digital Content Industry Action Agenda report, which identified key industry actions to double the size of the industry to $42 billion by 2015. The Government is funding a report into the investment environment in the digital content industry. This will inform a planned Investment Scoping Forum, to be held in late 2007. The forum will investigate ways to boost commercial investment in Australia's digital content industry, including the games sector.

Full Spectrum Warrior, from Pandemic

(click to enlarge)

By now, anyone who's petitioned Senator Coonan's office will have received a reply from her Senior Adviser. Curiously enough, most people are reporting getting a statement in *.tif format, which is difficult to open and read (so we've included a copy of it here for you). Thank you for your email to the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts concerning Australian Government support for the games industry. The Minister appreciates your concerns in relation to this issue and has asked me to reply on her behalf. There is a wide range of Australian Government programs which can benefit the games industry, including research and development and other general business incentives, encompassing investment and commercialisation programs, export assistance programs and business skills programs. Support for content production is also available through the Australian Film Commission's programs. As a final point, the [Post, Digital and Visual] Offset is expected to have positive flow-on effects for the games sector, as digital and visual effects companies develop larger and more skilled workforces.

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