Incentives to Film in New Zealand

Summary of Large Budget Screen Production & PDV Grant Criteria

Since November 2003, the New Zealand Government has offered production companies filming a large budget production in New Zealand an incentive known as the Large Budget Screen Production Grant (LBSP Grant or the Grant). Effective 16 July 2007, the Grant has been extended to post, digital and visual effects production (PDV Grant). The value of the Grant is 15% of qualifying expenditures. For detailed information please use the downloads below:

PDF Downloads

LBSPG FAQs October 2007.pdf

LBSPG Criteria October 2007.pdf

LBSPG Summary
LBSPG Summary Japanese
LBSPG Summary Korean
LBSPG Summary traditional Chinese

LBSPG - Eligible Productions

The Grant continues to apply to screen productions in the following formats: feature film, television movie (drama) and television drama series or mini-series.

Screen Production Incentive Fund (SPIF)

On July 2008, the New Zealand Government created an incentive fund to complement the LBSPG. This new was is the Screen Production Incentive Fund. If a project is eligible under the criteria to qualify as a New Zealand production up to 40% of qualifying New Zealand expenditure can be granted to productions with budgets up to NZ$15million. Different industry sectors do have different thresholds so for more information please check out all the detail on the Film New Zealand website or downland the following summaries:

PDF Donwloads
SPIF Summary
SPIF Summary Japanese
SPIF Summary Korean
SPIF Summary simplified Chinese
SPIF Summary traditional Chinese

Co-Production Agreements

An increasing number of feature film projects worldwide are being developed as international co-productions for financial as well as creative reasons.

The New Zealand Film Commission supports this trend, acknowledging that an official co-production structure sometimes may be the only way for a producer to realise a project. If a co-production is appropriately structured, it will be eligible for certification as a New Zealand film. Furthermore, it may be able to attract production funding from the New Zealand Film Commission and other Government agencies. New Zealand has entered into a number of bilateral co-production agreements. To date, agreements have been signed with Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Italy, South Korea and Singapore.

The New Zealand Film Commission is currently negotiating an agreement with South Korea. The co-production agreements state that co-productions made under the terms of the agreement (and certified as such by the New Zealand Film Commission) will be entitled to all the benefits accorded to national productions in New Zealand. This includes the ability to access New Zealand Film Commission funding, and to receive certain tax benefits.

There are two types of co-production - official and un-official. For further information on co-production agreements please go to the New Zealand Film Commission information on this: http://www.nzfilm.co.nz/RegulatoryApprovals/CoProductionTreaties.aspx