The Victorian Government is backing the state’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.
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 after a delegation of more than 20 Victorian games industry representatives recently represented the state at the world’s biggest games event, Gamescom held in Cologne, Germany from 23-28 August.
The delegation, including game developers, designers, composers and VFX specialists, attended the event to forge new global connections, showcase their work and promote and promote 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.
"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,” said Summerfall Studios Managing Director and Co-Founder Liam Esler. “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.”
The Victorian Digital Screen Rebate is open now for applications. For more information visit the VicScreen website.