To remain globally competitive, the New Zealand Government has overhauled the international screen production rebate, reducing the minimum feature fee from NZ$15 million to just NZ$4 million.
The reorganization was made in response to industry feedback and increased international competition, and officials hope the new settings will ensure New Zealand remains a “strong contender” for global productions.
The International Screen Production Rebate provides a 20 percent cash incentive for productions and a 5 percent “uplift” for projects that meet certain criteria. New feature thresholds now match those for television and other non-theatrical projects.
To attract more mid-budget productions, the 5% increase in spending was reduced from NZ$30 million to NZ$20 million, including PDV-only projects.
Additionally, caps on high costs such as director, producer, principal cast, and screenwriter fees have been removed.
The changes announced today are aimed at improving New Zealand’s attractiveness amid the recent downturn in international production and are based on feedback from industry. The aim is to gain an advantage in competition with other regions such as Australia. In Australia, a 30 per cent federal location offset (with a minimum spend of $15 million) can be combined with state-based rebates of up to 10 per cent, giving you a competitive advantage in competition with countries such as the UK, Ireland and Canada.
“Global competition for big screen production is intensifying and the set up we inherited puts New Zealand at risk of missing out on the competition,” Growth Minister Nicola Willis said.
“These updates modernize the rebate to attract a wider range of productions, create more consistent jobs for local staff and businesses, and encourage greater overseas investment in the creative industries.
“These changes will ensure New Zealand remains a strong contender in the increasingly competitive global screen industry.
“These will help us diversify our screen economy, build stronger partnerships in the growing markets of Asia and the Middle East, and keep Kiwi talent securely employed, while attracting new investment, skills and technology.”
The announcement was welcomed by the New Zealand Film Board, with CEO Annie Murray saying it should strengthen New Zealand’s competitiveness.
“One of the benefits of the rebate is that it is a simple cash incentive (easy to claim and not tax bound), with the New Zealand dollar offering excellent value for international productions,” she said.
“These benefits, combined with the changes announced, mean New Zealand is well placed to compete with other regions offering incentives and demonstrates our ability to remain agile in an ever-evolving global screen production environment.”
Recently launched industry body Screen New Zealand International (SNZI) praised the changes as a “real effort” by the government to engage with the industry and strengthen New Zealand’s ability to attract and retain international productions.
The organization, which provides data and industry feedback to governments, conducted a seafarer survey in July and received more than 900 responses. Its key finding was that production in 2025 was significantly reduced by more than 70% compared to 2024. More than 80% of the crew had inconsistent work throughout the first half of the year, and no job opportunities were identified for the remainder of 2025.
“The industry research we conducted in July, along with other research and modeling, highlighted a sharp decline in production activity and highlighted the urgent need for change to improve New Zealand’s global competitiveness,” SNZI Executive Chair Mel Turner said.
“I would like to thank Minister Willis and his team for listening to industry and taking decisive action to ensure New Zealand remains a world-class destination for international film production.”
“These changes are an important step forward and SNZI will continue to advocate for measures to further strengthen New Zealand’s competitiveness and the sustainability of the international manufacturing sector.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the Government, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the New Zealand Film Board and our industry partners to ensure that screen rebate policies and other settings are regularly assessed to deliver long-term investment and benefit for New Zealanders and their businesses.”
Since 2020, 42 international live-action productions have received international rebates, employing more than 21,000 local cast and crew. Government modeling suggests that for every NZ$1 invested through rebates, around NZ$2.40 is returned to the economy as a whole.
The updated settings are supported by an additional NZ$577 million in funding announced by the Government in May, bringing the total international screen production rebate allocation to NZ$1.09 billion.
