{"id":84195,"date":"2026-08-31T14:35:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T14:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/84195\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T14:35:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T14:35:22","slug":"screen-queensland-funding-cut-shakes-industry-confidence-for-future-productions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/84195\/","title":{"rendered":"Screen Queensland funding cut shakes industry confidence for future productions"},"content":{"rendered":"

A government funding cut to Queensland\u2019s film and television sector could erode confidence in the industry and turn movie makers away from the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n

Queensland Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroek last week announced $50 million in incentives funding for government-owned agency Screen Queensland (SQ) over the next two years.<\/p>\n

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In real terms, that represents a funding cut for SQ, which was granted $42 million in incentives funding in the 2025-26 state budget, and $38 million per annum in the two budgets prior.<\/p>\n

Screen Producers Australia chief executive Matthew Deaner said the cut confirmed industry fears that had been circling since the state budget was handed down<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“The Queensland government is significantly reducing the incentives that support the attraction of screen production, business and economic activity in the state,” Mr Deaner said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Screen Producers Australia CEO Matt Deaner says the funding cut could drive productions away from Queensland. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

“Producers have chosen to locate their businesses in Queensland based on the stability and level of state investment.<\/p>\n

“Our members indicate that New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, as well as international production hubs, are now being considered for their business and production locations.”<\/p>\n

According to state government figures, SQ generated more than $541 million in “direct Queensland production expenditure” in the 2025-26 financial year and employed more than 6,600 people.<\/p>\n

Mr Deaner said cutting SQ\u2019s funding was a “relatively modest saving” that could cost the state “many times that amount in small-business and economic activity”.<\/p>\n

“The risk here is that it undermines Queensland’s position as one of Australia’s, if not the worlds’, leading screen-production destinations.”<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s announcement also came as a shock to the City of Gold Coast, which has hosted production for Hollywood blockbusters Elvis, Aquaman, Thor: Ragnarok and others in recent years.<\/p>\n

\"Mayor<\/p>\n

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate is seeking clarification on funding levels from the state government. (ABC News: Christopher Gillette)<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Gold Coast mayor said Tom Tate had asked Mr Langbroek for more details.<\/p>\n

“We have written \u2026 seeking clarification on this funding and what other funding is coming from the state for the screen industry in 2026-27 and in the next financial year,” the spokesperson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a statement, SQ chief executive Jacqui Feeney said “rapid growth” in Queensland\u2019s screen industry had been accompanied by “record-breaking demand for funding” in recent years.<\/p>\n

“Screen Queensland is currently finalising changes to our incentive rates to balance momentum with sustainability across the sector,” Ms Feeney said.\"Middle<\/p>\n

Screen Queensland CEO Jacqui Feeney says the agency is revising its incentive offerings to attract future productions. (Supplied: Screen Queensland)<\/p>\n

“Our revised incentives will also still be offered in combination with the federal government\u2019s 30 per cent offsets and rebates.”<\/p>\n

Mr Langbroek did not answer specific questions about how a reduction in funding could impact industry confidence in Queensland.<\/p>\n

Nor did he answer questions about why SQ funding had been cut.<\/p>\n

“The Crisafulli government is delivering multi-year funding certainty to the screen industry after Labor left the sector with no guarantees,” Mr Langbroek said.<\/p>\n

“Only with multi-year funding certainty can the industry forward plan and support a pipeline of projects across two years, creating more jobs for Queenslanders and boosting our local economy.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A government funding cut to Queensland\u2019s film and television sector could erode confidence in the industry and turn…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22,21,137428,137430,3139,153,8807,137429,13772,26220],"class_list":["post-84195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-austrlia","tag-film-and-television","tag-film-and-television-production","tag-funding","tag-incentive","tag-john-paul-langbroek","tag-screen-industry","tag-screen-queensland","tag-tom-tate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}