Ireland–Australia co-production treaty

The Ireland-Australia treaty is the second-most-trafficked of Ireland's bilateral co-production relationships after Canada. Screen Australia and Screen Ireland (Fís Éireann) coordinate on the operational side, with the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (DCCS) as the Irish competent authority.

Originally signed in 1989 with subsequent cooperation arrangements (1997) and modernization reflecting Screen Australia's programme adjustments around 2015. Covers drama, animation, and documentary.

Key thresholds

The same 10 key creative + technical roles as the Canada treaty: director · writer · DoP · sound · editor · music composer · production designer · lead cast 1 · lead cast 2 · supporting cast.

Trilateral structures

The treaty permits trilateral co-productions where the third party holds bilateral treaties with both Ireland and Australia. Common third parties:

• UK — via Ireland's European Convention with the UK + the UK-Australia 1990 bilateral
• Canada — via Ireland's IE-CA bilateral + Canada-Australia bilateral (1990)

Trilateral minimum per-party participation drops to 10%.

Competent authorities

What's covered

Drama, animation, and documentary. Note: Australia's programme adjustments around 2015 changed certain operational mechanics on the Australian side — verify the latest Screen Australia guidance for any project-specific changes.

How Togra supports this

The Co-Production Structurer runs the ie_au_1989 scheme scorer with the 20/80 financial band, 7-of-10 key creative roles, sums-to-100% and proportionality checks. Trilateral structures route through the n-lateral engine — ie_au_uk_trilateral and ie_au_ca_trilateral are pre-modelled trilateral scheme keys.