E. Commonwealth Government funding response to COVID-19

Arts sector funding announced in response to COVID-19
Date
Amount
Funding details
9 April 2020
$27 million
Targeted Support for Indigenous Arts, Regional Arts and Support Act:
$10 million for regional artists and organisations to develop new work and delivery models;
$10 million for Support Act; and
$7 million under the Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support.1
15 April 2020
$41 million
Tax and short-term red tape relief:
$41 million in spectrum tax rebates for television and radio broadcasters; and
suspension of television content obligations for Australian drama, children’s and documentary.2
25 June 2020
$250 million
$250 million JobMaker plan to restart Australia's creative economy:
$90 million in concessional loans to creative economy businesses;
$75 million in grant funding through Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand Fund;
$50 million towards the Temporary Interruption Fund; and
$35 million for significant Commonwealth funded arts and culture organisations.3
17 July 2020
$400 million
Location Incentive:
a merit-assessed grant of up to 13.5 per cent of a film and television production’s qualifying Australian production expenditure.4
29 June 2020
$50 million
Public Interest News Gathering:
$13.4 million allocated through new money, with the residual repurposed from unallocated funds from the Government’s Regional and Small Publishers Jobs and Innovation Package; and
funding delivered to regional publishers and broadcasters.5
5 August 2020
$5 million
Regional and Small Publishers Innovation Fund:
the 2020 round of the Innovation Fund, which began in 2018, was expedited and supports 43 recipients.6
11 August 2020
$20 million
Live Music Australia grant program:
$5 million in funding over four years divided over two rounds per year, each round worth $2.5 million;
2020-21 funding focuses on supporting live music venues to reopen; and
the program is part of the Government’s $30.9 million Australian Music Industry Package announced in March 2019.7
26 August 2020
$49 million
Funding for Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support program:
$49 million to support Indigenous visual art organisations including hubs, fairs and centres
02 September 2020
Indigenous Visual Art Action Plan
08 September 2020
$1 million
Funding for touring Australian and international exhibitions to 32 venues across regional Australia:
$179,430 for the National Film and Sound Archive;
$153,399 for the National Gallery of Australia; and
$134,272 for the National Portrait Gallery of Australia8
18 September 2020
$5 million
Funding to the Australian Associated Press Limited Newswire (AAP):
This funding focuses on supporting over 250 regional news mastheads
These are extra funds granted under the Public Interest News Gathering (PING) program, which consists of $50 million funding
This results in PING being a total of $55 million9
26 September 2020
$19.5 million
Funding for three scripted television series produced by NBCUniversal’s Universal Studio Group:
This funding aims to produce three scripted television series in Australia
This funding is a part of the Australian Screen Production Incentive Location Offset, initially announced in May 2018 with $140 million, and a further $400 million announced at a later date.10
26 September 2020
$22.9 million
Funding for eight cultural institutions in 2020-21, including:
$2.3 million for the Australian Film Television and Radio School;
$2 million for the Australian National Maritime Museum;
$2.5 million for the National Film and Sound Archive;
$4.5 million for the National Gallery of Australia;
$5.4 million for the National Library of Australia;
$3.9 million for the National Museum of Australia;
$1.2 million for the National Portrait Gallery of Australia; and
$1.1 million for Screen Australia.11
30 September 2020
$53 million
$53 million in supporting Australian screen content:
$30 million to Screen Australia over two years
$3 million over three years to cultivate Australian screenwriting and script development
$20 million to the Australian Children’s Television Foundation over two years12
20 November 2020
$60 million
$60 million in grants to be provided under the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund:
Grants between $50,000 and $2 million to be allocated to 115 projects13
04 December 2020
$90 million
$90 million in loans, guaranteed by the Australian Commonwealth Government for arts and entertainment organisations.14

  • 1
    The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Security and the Arts and Hon. Michael McCormack MP, ‘Targeted Support for Indigenous Arts, Regional Arts and respected charity Support Act’, Joint Media Release, 9 April 2020.
  • 2
    The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Security and the Arts, ‘Immediate COVID-19 relief for Australian media as harmonisation reform process also kicks off’, Media Release, 15 April 2020.
  • 3
    The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Security and the Arts, ‘$250 million JobMaker plan to restart Australia's creative economy’, Media Release, 25 June 2020.
  • 4
    Screen Australia, ‘Location and PDV Offsets’, https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/funding-and-support/producer-offset/location-and-pdv-offsets, accessed 3 March 2020.
  • 5
    Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, ‘Relief for Australian media during COVID-19’, https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/television/relief-australian-media-during-covid-19, accessed 5 March 2021.
  • 6
    Australian Communications and Media Authority, ‘Regional and Small Publishers Innovation Fund’, 11 January 2021, https://www.acma.gov.au/regional-and-small-publishers-innovation-fund, accessed 5 March 2021; The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Security and the Arts, ‘Funding to help Australian venues bring back the music’, Media Release, 5 August 2020.
  • 7
    The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Security and the Arts, ‘Funding to help Australian venues bring back the music’, Media Release, 11 August 2020.
  • 8
    The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Security and the Arts, ‘National collecting institutions to tour exhibitions to regional Australia’, Media Release, 8 September 2020.
  • 9
    The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Security and the Arts, ‘$5 million support for AAP Newswire’, Media Release, 18 September 2020.
  • 10
    The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Security and the Arts, ‘Morrison Government’s Location Incentive brings Young Rock, Joe Exotic and Irreverent down under’, Media Release, 26 September 2020.
  • 11
    The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Security and the Arts, ‘Investing in Australia’s national cultural institutions’, Media Release, 26 September 2020.
  • 12
    The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Security and the Arts, ‘New funding in Budget to deliver Australian screen content’, Media Release, 30 September 2020.
  • 13
    The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Security and the Arts, ‘$60 million in RISE grants to restart arts and entertainment activity around Australia’, Media Release, 20 November 2020.
  • 14
    The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Security and the Arts, ‘Australia’s first arts and entertainment loan scheme open’, Media Release, 4 December 2020.

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