The Australian Writers’ Guild acknowledges the $250 million Arts and Entertainment industry package announced today by the Federal Government as a welcome reprieve for the sector. However, despite months of advocating by arts organisations, the package fails to address the needs of thousands of freelance and casual writers, directors, producers, cast and crew impacted by production shutdowns,…
Continue readingHas a theatre company offered you a deal to stream your play online? Due to the COVID-19 crisis, many theatre producers have been looking to stream recorded versions or live readings of plays. While the Australian Writers’ Guild is supportive of these initiatives, we also want to ensure that playwrights are being treated fairly. A…
Continue readingIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the financial sustainability of our national television broadcasters, the Morrison Government today announced a suspension of content obligations until the end of this calendar year. While there will be no change to the requirement for broadcasters to meet a 55% Australian content obligation, broadcasters have been released…
Continue readingIndustrial contracts and rates available to AWG members have been updated for 2020, with rates increased with CPI (as of 1 January 2020). You can access the updated rates directly here. Contract templates and other industrial resources can be accessed here. Please note: You must be logged in to the AWG website and have a current membership to access the above web pages.
Continue readingThe Australian Writers’ Guild has joined fellow screen industry guilds in calling out the federal government’s abrupt decision to fold the Department of Communications and the Arts into a new super ministry, omitting the Arts, as an insult to the industry. In an article in IF Magazine, we state that ‘the removal of ‘Arts’ from the Department of Infrastructure,…
Continue readingThe Australian Writers’ Guild is deeply concerned that the federal government has announced a restructure, abolishing the current Department of Communications and the Arts and rolling it into the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s justification for the public service overhaul is to ‘bust bureaucratic congestion’. The arts community…
Continue readingLeading Australian actors, directors, crew, writers and producers are in Canberra today and tomorrow in a united push to convince Parliament to introduce local content requirements for booming digital viewing platforms. With a growing consensus that Australian content rules must keep up with the growing appetite for on-demand and streaming media, a star-studded delegation including…
Continue readingThe Make it Australian campaign – made up of Screen Producers Australia (SPA), Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), the Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG), and the Australian Directors Guild (ADG) – has welcomed Labor’s announcement that, if elected, a Shorten Labor Government will modernise the policy and regulatory settings that support Australian and children’s screen content in…
Continue readingMAKE IT AUSTRALIAN RESPONDS TO GOVERNMENT EXTENDING OFFSETS TO STREAMING SERVICES The Morrison Government’s decision to extend tax offsets to streaming video services is another missed opportunity to require those platforms to invest in Australian content, say members of the Make It Australian campaign. Screen Producers Australia (SPA), Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), the…
Continue readingOur industry feels like it’s in a constant state of flux as the media landscape continues to change, with added ferocity over the last two decades as screening models make the leap from free-to-air television to online streaming services. The Senate Inquiry into Australian Content and Broadcast, Radio and Streaming Services has sought to explore these…
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