In a bid to remain a serious contender and to not lose out on film productions due to intensifying international competition, the New Zealand government is expanding the eligibility criteria for the international screen production rebate scheme. Due to this, smaller budget productions as well as projects of only digital effects will also benefit from the rebate policy.
From January 2026, the minimum spend for productions eligible to access the scheme will be lowered from $15 million to $4 million.
New Zealand’s 20-25% rebate lags behind other countries like Australia (up to 40%), Ireland (32%), the UK (29%) and Canada (up to 29%).
