MUMBAI: The Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) will formally ask the federal government for a one-off $84m (A$90m) help for production of feature films.

SPAA will ask for a three-year fund on the basis that the sector has to attract institutional investors in order to grow and that the producer offset (PO) is not working as expected, in part because of the global financial crisis and the negative effect it is having on independent film.

Under the proposal, a film would need 75-80% of its budget in place to be eligible, SPAA executive director Geoff Brown told Screendaily.com.

It would not be for films regarded (in Australia) as big budget, such as this year‘s box office hit Bruce Beresford‘s Mao‘s Last Dancer or Stuart Beattie‘s directorial debut Tomorrow: Where The War Began, which is in production. The budget cap could be $23m (A$25m).

SPAA wants the fund run by a chief executive answerable to a panel of highly experienced players. More details will be known once the submission is finalised by mid-December.