STANDARD REQUIREMENTS FOR FILMMING IN THE ACT
- Public Liability Insurance
- Risk Management Plan
- Contingency Plan
- Works Approval Application
- Temporary Traffic Management (TTM) Plans / Road Closures
- ACT Policing
- Public Consultation and Notification
- Consultation when filming on Indigenous-authorised areas
- Financial Bond
Public Liability Insurance
Film productions need to be carefully assessed against Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) requirements. In many cases, the location for filming, while closed off to the general public by restricting access, will remain a work place and the normal legislative requirements still apply.
Adequate public liability insurance cover is required to ensure that an injured party has recourse to appropriate avenues of compensation to cover any injury, loss or damage to property arising out of the production. Filmmakers should arrange for Public Liability
Insurance to cover any liability claims. A 'Certificate of Currency' is generally required as part of any application to film made to a location owner.
A minimum of $10,000,000 cover is required to film at any location in the Australian Capital Territory. However, a filmmaker's insurance requirement may be up to $20,000,000 depending on the risk involved in the production. Guidelines are available to assist filmmakers determine the required level of public liability insurance required for their production. These guidelines and a risk profile can be found on the ACT Government Risk Advisory website. If the filmmaker carries less than $20,000,000 in public liability insurance, then the filmmaker must submit the risk profile as part of an application to film on public locations in the ACT. The ACT Insurance Authority will validate this information before approval of the filming can be granted.
Risk Management Plan
A Risk Management Plan is required to manage all possible risks associated with a film production shoot. Each production is unique and therefore a production specific Risk Management Plan is required.
The Risk Management Plan should outline any risks, the likelihood of their occurrence and actions taken to mitigate these risks. It is the responsibility of the filmmaker to develop an effective Risk management Plan and to inform anyone associated with the production of the risks involved and how they should be handled if they occur.
ACT Workcover is primarily interested in the safety of your production and how any safety concerns are handled. A well through out Risk Management Plan should ensure a safe, incident free event.
The Emergency Services Authority (ESA) is concerned with
public safety and processes for handling spectator safety.
In some instance, the ESA will be required to review the
filmmaker's Risk Management Plan and advise of any
required remedial treatments.
Click
here to download a Risk Management Template
Other Special Condition Requirements for Filming in the ACT
Contingency Plan
Contingency Plans are similar to Risk Managemetn Plans. Contingency Plans are aimed at addressing unforeseen circumstances rather than identifiable risks. A contingency plan should outline unexpected incidents that may disrupt any part of your production (such as bad weather, delayed start or end times, power failure, etc) and how they will be managed.
Works Approval Application
Filming-related temporary structures (works) may be erected in the ACT. However, any such structures require the prior approval, in writing, of the relevant authority. Structures (works) include film sets, marquees, tents, cabins, trailers, vans, sun-shelters, camera tracks, fencing, barricades, signs, port-a-loos, etc. A map must be attached to applications seeking to erect such structures on public locations in the ACT. (The ACT Government provides a range of maps for most public places in the ACT on this website.)
On Commonwealth land, a Works Approval Application is required and this attracts an administration fee payable to the National Capital Authority (NCA). The NCA can advise of the current level of the fee - see Location Contacts in the ACT.
Temporary Traffic Management (TTM) Plans / Road Closures
Filmmakers need to consider the effect their proposed production will have on traffic. Closures are to be managed by a Temporary Traffic Management (TTM) plan, which identifies what roads and/or areas of roads, need to be closed and the appropriate detours, signage and marshals required to control and maintain the flow of traffic.
The TTM Plan must be developed in accordance with Australian Standards 1742.3 'Traffic Control Devices for works on roads' and to the satisfaction of Roads ACT.
Road closures are required to be advertised in the Canberra Times at least seven days in advance of the road closure. If a production requires a road to be closed, the necessary approval body (Roads ACT or the National Capital Authority) will need to be contacted in regard to placing the necessary advertisements in the print media, generally The Canberra Times.
ACT Policing
Depending on the size and nature of the film production, the police may require the names of VIPs and dignitaries and their arrival times; emergency management procedures (such as evacuations and emergency vehicles access); risk assessment (clash of national cultures, religious extremism, etc); media control procedures and marshals for crowd control. The Australian Federal Police's ACT Policing Major Event Planning Specialist Response & Security unit is contactable via the ACT Policing switch on (02) 6256 7777.
Public Consultation and Notification
It is expected that production companies take rasonable steps to seek and consider the views of people likely to be affected by filming. Public consultation includes consultation with people residing in, or in proximity to, the area used for the event; and notification in the media when an area is to be closed to the public.
Public notification (generally by way of letter box drop, or personal approaches where appropriate) alerts the community to activities occurring which may have an impact upon them but does not in itself require feedback. It gives the community an opportuntiy to be informed about what is happening in their locality and to plan and make alternative arrangements if necessary, to minimise any impacts on them. Notification is a minimum expectation of filming activities for affected residents and community members (eg local businesses).
Consultation when filming on Indigenous-authorised areas
Some land within the Namadgi National Park is classified as Indigenous Land, owned by the Ngunnawal people.
For advice on these areas when filming in Namadgi National Park, please contact the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs on (02) 6207 8708.
Financial Bond
For any production where there is a possibility of damage to the relevant area, production companies may be requried to place a bond with the relevant governing authority to cover the cost of any relevant production-related refurbishment.
The issuing of power/access keys and/or remotes is managed through either the City Rangers Office or the National Capital Authority, depending on the location. The issuing of power and access keys attracts a $25 bond.
