Education Representative Liz Keogh Palmer APDG shares an end of year update on Student Awards, CSPP (The Costume Supervisor Pathway Program), Location Offset Rebate – Training Obligations and the Arts Scoping Study.
Outstanding Design Students 2024
The APDG celebrates outstanding design students by awarding the best students across the country with a one-year emerging designer membership. We currently support a range of education institutions that have production design and costume design courses and plan to expand this initiative to hair and make-up institutions. We are excited to welcome the nominated hair and makeup students in 2025.
Location Offset Rebate – Training Obligations
With the increase in the Location Offset rebate rate, new eligibility requirements have been established, which include production teams needing to meet minimum training obligations. Productions are encouraged to hire individuals to participate in specific training across various levels, including entry-level, mid-career, and upskilling roles, particularly in areas where Australia is facing skills shortages. This initiative also benefits crew positions experiencing significant shortages or needing more appropriate training. All designers are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity and request training positions on their projects. Three costume training positions were recently attached to an international production in Queensland.
Arts Scoping Study
Services and Creative Skills Australia (SaCSA) has commissioned Creative Australia to conduct an important Arts Scoping Study. The findings from this study will play a crucial role in shaping SaCSA’s first Workforce Plan and related initiatives, particularly in revising and enhancing vocational education and training programs to align with the evolving needs of the creative sector.
Fiona Donavan and Liz Keogh Palmer attended a screen forum where discussions focused on the best strategic directions for building resilient and inclusive creative industries. We addressed issues of sustainable growth, workforce development, and training requirements. Participants voted on the strategies they believed were most likely to succeed and produce positive outcomes for our industries. The results of this voting have been compiled into the Arts Workforce Scoping Study Interim Findings.
The Costume Supervisor Pathway Program (CSPP) was launched this year to address the shortage of experienced costume supervisors in the industry, supported by a grant from Screen Australia’s Skills Development Fund. Barbara Pinn was the first recipient, working on The Bluff under senior costume supervisor Rachel Nott, with assistance from Servo Productions Pty Ltd and funding from Screen Queensland.
We are still seeking suitable productions to place recipients from New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria (VIC). Since the CSPP is a training position, it is crucial that the production provides adequate exposure to the workroom, large crew, and scale. We hope that next year will present the right opportunities to place recipients in both states.
Although we haven’t placed any recipients in New South Wales and Victoria just yet, the CSPP has already hit its main goal: making the costume supervisor position a permanent training role in the costume department for all big-budget productions, with many assisting costume supervisor positions attached to productions across QLD, NSW, and VIC.
Barbara Pinn