New Zealand gov’t to boost international Screen Production Rebate Scheme by $340m

The New Zealand government has committed to increase funding for its international Screen Production Rebate (NZSPR – International) by NZ$577m (US$340m) to NZ$1.09bn over four years.

Nicola Willis

Economic growth minister Nicola Willis announced the funding boost, aimed at attracting overseas production, at filmmaker Peter Jackson’s Stone Street Studios in Wellington.

“We want New Zealand’s film industry to know the government is backing them to grow into the future. This funding will help bring investment, jobs and income to New Zealand, boosting our economic growth,” she said.

While Willis conceded that industry incentives were “not generally our favoured approach,” she said the government understood that without them “we simply won’t get the offshore investment in our highly successful screen sector.”

The economic growth ministry estimates the country’s screen sector provides work for more than 24,000 people and generates about NZ$3.5bn in revenue per year. Inbound productions have represented an investment of nearly NZ$7.5bn in New Zealand over the past 10 years, supported by NZ$1.5bn in rebate payments.

“New Zealand competes with more than 100 territories worldwide that provide screen incentives, including countries like Australia, Canada and the UK, that provide more generous incentives than ours,” Willis said.

Under the current rebate scheme, which was launched in 2014, eligible productions can access a 20% cash rebate on qualifying New Zealand production expenditure where production costs are more than NZ$15m for feature films and NZ$4m for TV productions.

An additional 5% rebate is available to productions spending more than NZ$30m which meet additional criteria for industry and economic growth.

The government is increasing baseline funding for the NZSPR – International so it better reflects current forecast demand for the rebate. Under the previous model, the government was regularly called on to provide time-limited support on top of baseline funding for the scheme. This was demonstrated when extra cash was needed last year to maintain production of soap Shortland Street.

The changes mean funding for 2024/25 is increasing to NZ$250m and then to NZ$210m over the subsequent four years to reflect the anticipated costs of the rebate based on registered productions and expected demand.

“We are sending a clear message to the world: New Zealand is the best place in the world to make movies. Bring your productions here to take advantage of our talent and locations,” Willis said.