West Australia screen agency Screenwest handed $6.8m in annual funding from state lottery

L-R: John Driscoll, Screenwest board chair; Rikki Lea Bestall; Colin Smith, Lotterywest CEO; David Templeman; and Lorna Pritchard, Lotterywest general manager grants and community development

West Australian screen agency Screenwest has received a A$10.7m (US$6.8m) funding infusion for 2024/25 via the state government’s lottery fund, Lotterywest.

The funding exceeds last year’s record A$9.2m grant and supports the state’s investment strategy for growing the screen sector and supporting development of local productions.

Lotterywest has supported Screenwest over three decades, with grants totalling more than A$160m.

Lotterywest is unique in Australia as it is the only state government-owned and -operated lottery where all available profits are returned to the community.

Screenwest CEO Rikki Lea Bestall said the grant would allow an additional four to five screen projects to be funded during the year, in addition to the development of stories from new and diverse voices.

David Templeman, Western Australia’s culture and the arts minister, said: “This A$10.7m grant from Lotterywest will go a long way towards supporting more Western Australian content on our screens. Together with the construction of the A$233.5m Perth Film Studios, our commitment to the screen industry is rock solid.”