The Andrews Labor Government is backing Victoria's highly skilled workforce in game development, post-production, animation and visual effects (VFX) with a $15 million rebate designed to attract new international projects to the state and support local companies to think even bigger.
With global demand for digital games, VFX and animation booming, the new Victorian Digital Screen Rebate will offer grants for projects that are undertaken in Victoria, employing Victorian workers.
Thanks to continued investment from the Andrews Labor Government, Victoria is a screen industry powerhouse, leading the nation in the number of games studios and the size of its games sector workforce. This new funding reinforces the Victorian Government's commitment to the games sector and to the screen industry more broadly.
Administered by VicScreen, the rebate will build on the Australian Government's new Digital Games Tax Offset and the Post, Digital and Visual Effects Offset, ensuring local studios continue to capture their share of the global market, whilst enhancing Victoria's position as a leader in screen innovation and technology.
The rebate will position Victoria to attract more international projects and investment with a rebate of up to 10 percent of qualifying expenditure and, in a first for Victoria, locally owned companies will be eligible to apply for a rebate of up to 15 percent of qualifying expenditure that will support local content and creators.
The news comes as a delegation of more than 20 Victorian games industry representatives have been in Cologne, Germany to take part in the world's biggest games event, Gamescom. The delegation, including game developers, designers, composers and VFX specialists, will forge new global connections and showcase Victoria's capabilities.
The new rebate complements other recent screen investments including support for home-grown projects, the construction of the world's largest virtual production infrastructure at Docklands Studios Melbourne and $3.6 million to establish new vocational training for Victoria's digital screen sector.
The Victorian Digital Screen Rebate is open now for applications. For more information visit vicscreen.vic.gov.au/incentives.
As stated by Minister for Creative Industries Steve Dimopoulos
"Gaming is one of the fastest-growing industries on the planet and we are backing companies to set up or expand in Victoria to create more jobs and boost our economy."
"This rebate will help ensure Victoria's position at the cutting edge of games, visual effects and animation is cemented for years to come."
As stated by Summerfall Studios Managing Director and Co-Founder Liam Esler
"Victoria is already the best place to make games in Australia and the Victorian Digital Screen Rebate will have a huge impact on businesses like ours, giving studios more resources to create world-class projects."
"The rebate will mean local studios can kickstart their ambitions with a strong foundation of growth and encourage more to set up here. This rebate is truly game-changing."
