Documentary Commissioned Program

The Commissioned program is designed to support the production of a diverse range of quality documentaries made primarily for free-to-air or subscription television broadcast, BVOD and SVOD platforms or similar (i.e Commissioning Platforms), that offer a compelling vision and have clear enduring cultural value.

The program targets projects of at least a commercial half-hour in duration, with a minimum budget of $250,000 per hour, and a confirmed domestic commission.

Screen Australia aims to fund 30–40 hours of content a year through this program.

WHAT FUNDING IS AVAILABLE?

Program funds will be allocated across all suitable Commissioning Platforms.

Any amount up to $1 million may be requested per project. The amount of direct Screen Australia support is limited so that total Federal Government funds, including the Producer Offset where relevant, do not account for more than 65 per cent of the project’s total budget.

Co-funding with state agencies, other government organisations, cultural institutions, private investors or other partners is encouraged, and the assessment process will take into account the level of Screen Australia funding requested as a proportion of the overall budget.

Post-production funding: Applications for matched post-production funding will be considered up to a maximum of $100,000, provided that the project has a post- production presale to a domestic commission with a licence fee of at least $50,000 per commercial hour. SA does not fund the costs of re-versioning already finished content for additional market sales, i.e. where a distributor wants program length or number of episodes changed.

WHO CAN APPLY?

Applicant companies and projects must meet the general eligibility requirements under Screen Australia’s Terms of Trade.

In addition, the project that is the subject of the application must:

• be a one-off documentary of at least a commercial half hour in duration, or a series of any number of episodes at least a commercial half hour in total duration. Please refer to the ACMA guidelines for the definition of a documentary
  (Note: Screen Australia does not invest in programs such as reality or magazine television, light entertainment, panel or travel shows, brand funded content, infotainment, current affairs, cooking, ‘how to’, sports, corporate, training, games, extensions to film or TV, or community access programs or projects whose primary market is the education sector)
• have an approved budget/finance plan of at least $250,000 per hour
• be intended for distribution via a Commissioning Platform with the required presale confirmed
• not be more than 15 commercial hours of any one project, which may include multiple series. Projects longer than 15 commercial hours will not be eligible for funding unless exceptional circumstances can be demonstrated.
• not be a pilot or standalone episode for a longer series.

Foreign formats are eligible but priority is given to original material.

For more information, visit Screen Australia