Sydney- In a bid to make Australia more competitive as a location for film and television productions, the Australian Government has increased the tax rebate for big budget offshore productions from 12.5% to 15%. And it is introducing what it describes as a “world-first” complementary 15% rebate on all expenditure on post production, digital and visual effects undertaken in Australia for projects valued at more than A$5 million (US$4 million). A new Producer Rebate will provide a tax rebate of 40% of Australian spending on feature films, and 20% for qualifying television productions, which will include new drama series and documentaries. This will replace the largely ineffective 10B and 10BA tax incentives. As part of the reforms unveiled in Tuesday night’s budget, a new screen agency incorporating the Australian Film Commission (AFC), Film Finance Corporation (FFC) and Film Australia Ltd (FAL) will be created from July 1 2008, named the Australian Screen Authority. With the establishment of the Rebate, a combined agency will be able to take more co-ordinated and strategic decisions on funding, the government said.