2023 WGA Strike

The Australian Writers’ Guild supports our fellow writers of the WGA in their current negotiations and in their decision to take strike action. The rights and conditions of screenwriters underpin any healthy and vibrant screen industry.
 
With strike action now in force, the AWG advises members not to work on active projects within the jurisdiction of the WGA, to pitch new projects designed for production within the jurisdiction of the WGA, or to cross picket lines, actual or virtual, for the duration of the strike.

INFORMATION FOR AWG MEMBERS

In response to questions we have received regarding permissible writing work during the WGA strike, we have put together the following guidelines that define the AWG jurisdiction. 
 
We hope these guidelines give AWG members clarity as to the kinds of writing work they may undertake, and the production companies they may work with, for the duration of the WGA strike. 
 
At the same time, these guidelines are intended to be compliant with WGA strike rules, both in spirit and letter. We continue to support our US colleagues in their struggle.
 
What is the AWG jurisdiction?
The bedrock of the AWG’s jurisdiction is the AWG-SPA negotiated agreements – being the Series and Serials Agreement (SASA), the Miniseries and Telemovies Agreement (MATA) and the Children’s Television Agreement (CTA) – as well the AWG template agreements. Any work done for an Australian or US production company under these agreements falls within the AWG jurisdiction and is therefore unaffected by the WGA strike.
 
If you have been contracted to perform writing services that are not subject to the AWG-SPA agreements or AWG template agreements, but:

1. The work is contracted under Australian law; and
2. The production company is accessing the Producer Offset and therefore the production satisfies the ‘Significant Australian Content’ test; and
3. An Australian commissioning broadcaster or distributor has triggered the production

then the production in question falls within the AWG jurisdiction.
 
Australian subsidiaries of US companies
With respect to Australian-based work done for an Australian subsidiary of a struck US company, the same factors should be applied.
 
If you have been contracted under the AWG-SPA negotiated agreements or an AWG template agreement then the work falls under the AWG jurisdiction.
 
If you have been contracted to perform writing services that are not subject to the AWG-SPA agreements or AWG template agreements, but:

1. The work is contracted under Australian law; and/or
2. The Australian subsidiary of the US company is accessing the Producer Offset and therefore the production satisfies the ‘Significant Australian Content’ test; and/or
3. The Australian subsidiary of the US company has triggered the production; and/or
4. The production is written and crewed by Australians; and/or
5. The production is intended to premiere in the Australian market

then the production may still fall within the AWG jurisdiction. 
 
The more of the above factors that are satisfied, the more likely the production falls within the AWG jurisdiction.
 
Official co-productions
An official co-production between an Australian company and a struck US company may be affected by the strike.
 
According to Screen Australia’s co-production guidelines, a “project made under a co-production Arrangement between two countries is treated as a national project of those countries and can access all relevant benefits attached to being a ‘national film'”
 
In other words, the production in question may fall within both the AWG’s and the WGA’s jurisdiction. Therefore, non-WGA members that work on a co-production between an Australian company and a struck US company may be in breach of Strike Rule 13.
 
If you still have any questions or concerns regarding what constitutes the AWG jurisdiction and what productions you can work for, please contact [email protected].