$250 million JobMaker plan to restart Australia's creative economy

Thousands of jobs across Australia’s arts industry will be backed with a new $250 million targeted package to help restart the creative economy and get the entertainment, arts and screen sectors back to work, as they rebuild from the impacts of COVID-19.

A range of new grant and loan programs will roll out over the next 12 months to different parts of the arts sector to support the $112 billion creative economy and the more than 600,000 Australians it employs.

The targeted financial intervention will stimulate and support businesses in the cultural and creative sector to restart and build their long-term financial sustainability.

Seed Investment

· $75 million in grant funding to support new productions, festivals and events through the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund.

· RISE will provide competitive seed funding for new productions, festivals and events to support the successful re-opening of Australia’s creative and cultural sector.

· RISE will help fill the gap by providing seed investment for new productions, festivals and events—including theatre, dance, community and arts and culture gatherings—to partially substitute for the capital lost due to the cancellation and rescheduling of events.

· RISE will help arts and creative businesses to resume activity as quickly as possible and to transition to new ways of working.

· Grant amounts will range from $75,000 to $2 million.

· Arts businesses will bid for competitive funding, with a focus on audience type, popularity of previous events, organisational sustainability and jobs created. Individual artists or practitioners will also be able to apply.

· A portion of funding will be earmarked for music recovery, directed towards recording and distribution, contemporary music touring, the development of safe venue infrastructure and protocols.

Kick-starting Local Screen Production

· $50 million Temporary Interruption Fund (TIF) for Screen Australia to support local film and television producers to restart filming.

· TIF will operate for 12 months commencing 1 July 2020 and is expected to support around 50 Australian productions with total expenditure of almost $500 million.

· TIF will support more than 11,000 individual jobs in a range of roles, including actors, writers, camera operators, set builders, electrical technicians, hair and makeup artists, accountants, caterers, designers, production managers and drivers.

· This measure will address the major roadblock for the Australian film and television industry to restart production.

· In all other respects the production sector is ready to start work, having successfully collaborated to develop and release practical COVID-19 Safe Work Protocols that are acclaimed internationally as best practice.

Show Starter Loans

· $90 million for concessional loans to assist arts and entertainment businesses to fund new productions and events, to be delivered through banks and supported by terms and conditions tailored to the arts and entertainment sector.

· Developed as part of the Government’s existing Coronavirus Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Guarantee Scheme, which provides loans to Australian businesses affected by COVID-19.

· This measure provides art organisations and businesses access to a vital source of required capital to fund rebuilding and investment in income-generating activities.

· Loans will be provided to companies for activities that generate jobs—including through the synergy between arts and entertainment on the one hand, and travel, tourism and hospitality on the other. Loans will also increase arts access in outer metropolitan, regional and remote areas.

· Lenders will provide facilities that only have to be drawn down if needed. Loan terms will be up to five years, with an initial 12 month repayment deferral. The Commonwealth will guarantee 100% of loan amounts.

Supporting Sustainability of Sector-Significant Organisations

· $35 million of funding to support significant arts and culture organisations and infrastructure facing sustainability disruption due to COVID-19 and protects jobs, training and creative experiences for Australians.

· This will be delivered in close consultation with the Australia Council.

· Providing a safety net for established arts organisations that have a current and significant funding relationship with the Australian Government.

· This funding is for important and successful companies, large and small, from across all art forms—including dance, visual arts, Indigenous arts, music, literature and theatre.

· This measure addresses the impact on arts and creative industries that have been severely affected by the shutdown of venues and physical distancing measures.

· Sustainability funding will be delivered through existing funding agreements, specifically for organisations with an Australia Council current multi-year funding agreement, and by exception, other organisations with current and significant funding relationships with the Commonwealth.

Creative Economy Taskforce

· Creative Economy Taskforce will be established to support the implementation of the funding package, alongside the Office for the Arts and the Australia Council.

· The Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts will appoint members for their expertise and understanding of the arts sector. Administrative support for the Group will be provided by the Office for the Arts.

Roadmap to Reopen

· Following the successful development of guidelines to safely reopen our National Collecting Institutions and support the reopening of the screen sector, the Government is also working with the Australia Council to develop a broader roadmap to reopen for the arts and entertainment sector to protect the public and workers.

· The Prime Minister will raise this issue at an upcoming National Cabinet meeting to discuss the importance of providing advice, timeframes and pathways to reopen the sector.