Innovation and Creativity
List of Recommendations
2.93 The Committee specifically notes that someone highly proficient in STEM skills is not inconsistent with being skilled in arts or creative areas. One well-‐‑known example of this is game developers, but creativity goes hand in hand with STEM skills in many occupations.
Recommendation 10
2.94 The Committee recommends that the National Innovation and Science Agenda explicitly recognise the importance of STEAM, creative digital skills, the creative industries and the arts more generally.
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5.33 The Committee supports the recommendation from the Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications References Committee report Future of Australia'ʹs video game development industry that the Australian Government introduce a funding scheme based on the former Australian Interactive Games Fund.
Recommendation 37
5.34 The Committee recommends that the Australian Government introduce a funding scheme based on the former Australian Interactive Games Fund.
2. Schools
These skills are important to the Australian economy. The Interactive Games & Entertainment Association’s submission informed the Committee that:
Australia’s interactive games industry reached a total value of AUD $2.83 billion in 2015, a 15% increase from its previous year.6 This figure incorporates traditional retail sales of AUD $1.243 billion and digital sales of AUD $1.589 billion, increasing by 2% and 27% year -‐‑ on-‐‑year respectively. Mobile games, digital downloads and subscriptions also continued to grow significantly in 2015, with sales increasing to AUD $870 million (up 24%), AUD $603 million (up 33%) and AUD $116 million (up 29%).1
1 Interactive Games & Entertainment Association, Submission 91, pp. 5 – 6.
2.52 The Academy of Interactive Entertainment’s submission informed the Committee that:
In Australia, the video game industry is centered in Victoria, which accounts for approximately 48 per cent of the national gaming industry. Smaller industry clusters are located in NSW (19%), Queensland (18%), South Australia (8%) and Western Australia (7%). Victoria’s relative success in video game development may be due to the Victorian Government’s support for the industry through, for example, the Film Victoria Games Development Fund. The Australian video game industry is now dominated by independent development studios. In spite of the relative size of the local industry,
Australian game developers can and do punch above their weight. For example the studio Halfbrick in Brisbane has developed one game called Fruit Ninja which by 2015 had 1 billion downloads, making it one of the most successful games of all time.2
2.53 As part of its inspection of the University of the Sunshine Coast on 16 March 2017 the Committee were briefed on the university’s Bachelor of Serious Games. It should not be assumed that the term ‘games’ refers only to entertainment. As Mr Jonathan Roses, of Interactive Games and Entertainment, pointed out to the Committee that games can be used to educate and in the health sector:
We have seen games being used for an educative purpose. There are many instances. For example, the National Museum of Australia developed an interactive robot game where kids can learn about Australia'ʹs history.3
Neuroscience Research Australia developed an exercising game to help people with multiple sclerosis to improve balance and mental skills. We also have examples with the University of Western Australia developing a game to improve health outcomes for children with autism. So there are examples of games being used in the health sector.4
5. Start-‐‑ups
In their submission the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association pointed to the ‘non-‐‑competitive’ tax structures for interactive games development and production’5 and, noted the following recommendation from the Senate Standing Committee on Environment
2 Academy of Interactive Entertainment, Submission 100, p. 4.
3 Mr Jonathan Roses, Legal and Policy Lawyer, Interactive Games and Entertainment, Committee Hansard, Sydney, 14 March 2017, p. 15.
4 Mr Jonathan Roses, Legal and Policy Lawyer, Interactive Games and Entertainment, Committee Hansard, Sydney, 14 March 2017, p. 21.
5 Interactive Games and Entertainment Association, Submission 91, p. 12.
and Communications References Committee report Future of Australia'ʹs video game development industry:6
A successor to the Australian Interactive Games Fund and extension of the producer tax offset
5.13. The primary recommendation made by the committee is that the Australian Government introduces a scheme similar to the previous AIGF. The AIGF is the most effective means to address the access to finance issues that small studios face and to help those studios grow into mature, stable businesses. The economic return from funds provided as grants and loans during the AIGF'ʹs short life presents a compelling argument for the Australian Government to return funding to Screen Australia for such a program.
Recommendation 1
5.14. The committee recommends that the Australian Government introduce a funding scheme based on the former Australian Interactive Games Fund.7
6 Australian Senate, Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications References
Committee, Future of Australia’s video game development industry, (tabled 29 April 2016) see: <http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Video_game_industry> accessed 30 March 2017.
7 Australian Senate, Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications References Committee, Future of Australia’s video game development industry, (tabled 29 April 2016) see: <http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Video_game_industry> accessed 30 March 2017.