Call to relax Aussie visa rules

Australian producers and broadcasters are pressing the federal government to deregulate the process of issuing visas to foreign actors and crew working on taxpayer-funded film and TV productions.

They say the 30-year-old system of having the Arts Minister approve temporary visas after consulting with the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) is cumbersome, unnecessary and is inhibiting the screen industry’s growth.

Instead, they say the arts department should approve visa applications unless there are “adverse consequences” for the employment or training opportunities of Australians.

In January the government launched a review of the temporary work (entertainment) visa (subclass 420) scheme.

In submissions lodged by the Monday deadline, Screen Producers Australia (SPA), Free TV Australia, the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) and pay platform Foxtel called for removing the requirement for certification from the arts minister or replacing it with the ‘no adverse consequences’ test.

Foxtel argued it is not appropriate for government to be involved in private business and creative decisions and that “producers and broadcasters should have control over the productions in which they invest significant capital.”

The regulations related to work visas set out the proportions of the cast that must be made up of Australian actors and limits the number of foreign actors that can be used by reference to the level of foreign investment in a project.

SPA executive director Matt Deaner rejected any suggestions that these reforms would open the floodgates to non-Australian actors.

He told C21: “Producers are not going to hire foreign actors unnecessarily. That does not add up financially or with the need to engage with domestic audiences.”

Similarly, Julie Flynn, CEO of Free TV Australia, which represents the commercial FTA broadcasters, contends that simplifying the visa rules “will not result in an influx of foreign entertainment industry workers because Australian audiences value and demand Australian content and Australian actors.”

These bodies claim the existing regulatory requirement for sponsorship and nomination of foreign actors or crew is excessive and should be axed or amended in line with practices in New Zealand.

In its submission, the MEAA warns that abolishing the requirements will undermine decades of work building a viable local entertainment industry.

Zoe Angus, director of MEAA’s Actors Equity, said: “The government is trying to wind back visa requirements for overseas actors as part of its agenda to ‘cut red tape’ and deregulate overseas worker visas. If they succeed, opportunities for talented young Australian performers and crew will diminish.”