Tax incentives for Australian theatre producers would stimulate investment in the live theatre sector and generate jobs, says Live Performance Australia (LPA), the peak body for the live arts and entertainment industry.

Calling on the Albanese Government to introduce a scheme similar to the Theatre Tax Relief initiative in the UK, LPA Chief Executive Evelyn Richardson says that tax incentives to offset pre-production costs for theatre would bring more performances to Australian stages and boost employment opportunities on stage and off.

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“Australian theatre producers compete internationally for investment to capitalise their productions, with 80 percent coming from offshore investors,” Richardson says. “We are currently much less competitive than the UK or US where the significant costs involved in developing new works can be claimed back through tax rebates.”

According to the LPA, the UK Theatre Tax Relief (TTR), launched in 2014 and revised in the Tory government’s Autumn 2022 budget, now offers producers tax relief of between 45 and 50 percent for theatre production costs.

“It’s exactly the kind of initiative we need to help power up Australia’s theatre industry and to attract private investment in shows for...