Game Workers Unite Australia welcomes today’s announcement of a 30% tax rebate for video game development in Australia.
This is an enormous achievement and we acknowledge the huge efforts put in by the IGEA to lobby the Federal Government on this issue.
While the concrete details about the Digital Games Tax Offset are yet to be revealed, we know from our consultation with our members and our broad industry surveys that secure, well-paid jobs must be the number one priority when it comes to growing our Australian industry.
The only true measure of the growth and success of our industry is in the happiness and stability of its workforce. We call on industry leaders to place the wages and conditions of workers at the center of these exciting new discussions.
Since launching in 2018, we have assisted many Australian game developers with confidential wage reviews and contract assessments. Although many workers in our industry are treated well and paid fairly, there are many others who are receiving unlawful, below-award rates and placed into cost-cutting sham contracting situations.
The announcement of this 30% rebate is a great opportunity for companies applying for this assistance to lift the wages and conditions of their workers and ensure that our talented, wonderful game developers stay in this industry as long as they can, rather than burning out and moving on.
We hope that this support can be accessed by our many small businesses and award-winning indie studios who have done so much to keep the Australian games industry alive and kicking.
We encourage all game developers to join us today and be a part of our movement to build a better industry from the ground up. We are working on some very exciting projects and your voice is always welcome at the table.