MEAA members are standing together to win better wages, safer workplaces and stronger conditions across the screen industry. Every new member strengthens our collective voice and our ability to protect industry standards.Join today. We are stronger together.


If you require support with a workplace issue or have other questions, please contact MEAA Member Services Team on 1300 656 513 or members@meaa.org.

Who we are

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) is Australia's union for the creative and media workers who inform, entertain, and inspire all Australians. We bring together musicians, performers, journalists, crew, technicians, dancers and the many other workers who make creative and media work possible.MEAA screen crew work on television and film productions across Australia. From key creatives through to runners; our members are on set, off set, in pre production and post, working together to bring stories to screen for millions of people around the world.As a collective, we strive for a strong industry that provides well paid, safe, professional jobs for crew - and for their families. Our actions are never for the advancement of the individual alone. That’s why we act to make changes that benefit everyone.MEAA members are building fairer and safer workplaces for today – and tomorrow.MEAA screen crew members have a strong and growing presence in scripted production and are allied with our fellow crew worker unions internationally through UNI-MEI.

How are decisions on agreements made?

MEAA is a democratic union. Screen negotiating committees are made up of elected and endorsed members from across the industry who take part in negotiations and help steer campaigns.Decisions on agreements are made collectively by members. By joining MEAA, you can have a say in the decision making process and be part of the campaign for a more sustainable film and television industry.

Get Involved

Are you a crew member committed to working with your coworkers to protect and improve working conditions in the screen industry?Get in contact about joining MEAA by filling in the form below:

Already a member? Take Action

Help build a strong union by organising your colleagues.Talk to your co-workers about issues that matter and ask them to join.Build knowledge and membership on your production so everyone is informed, connected, and able to participate.Union workplaces have better wages, safety and fairer conditions.Print off a petition, collect signatures and send it to your local organiser or members@meaa.org.If you want to help with organising your colleagues, talk to your local screen crew organiser, or contact MEAA Member Services Team for more information on 1300 656 513 or members@meaa.org

Know Your Rights

Local film & television

Local Film and Television Productions employ crew under the Motion Picture Production Agreement (MPPA), an industry agreement negotiated between MEAA and Screen Producers Australia (SPA).A simple way to tell if you're working on a local Australian film or television production is to look at who developed and controls the project. Local productions are usually created by Australian producers, writers and directors, and have significant Australian creative involvement. They are financed through a mix of local investment, broadcasters, streamers and screen agency funding.

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Offshore Film & Television

Offshore Film Productions employ crew under the Offshore Film Agreement, an industry agreement negotiated between MEAA and the major international studios and production companies operating in Australia.Offshore productions are typically created and financed by overseas studios, broadcasters or streaming services, with key creative decisions made outside Australia. While these productions engage Australian crew, use local locations and studios, and contribute significantly to the local industry, the project itself originates overseas.

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Travel radius tool for google maps

Click the links below to view a handy radius tool in Google Maps that you can save and use to measure travel time and km's from the GPO radius to your place of call.The Motion Picture Production Agreement (MPPA) sets a 20km travel radius from a capital city's GPO. The Offshore Film Agreement sets a 30km travel radius from the GPO or studio. Any travel beyond the radius is counted as time worked. If using your own vehicle, all km’s travelled attract an allowance.

INSURANCE

As a MEAA member, you have access to a range of valuable member benefits including workplace protections, professional development, a strong collective voice and a range of discounts on everyday purchases.Visit the main MEAA website for more information about the Member Advantage discount platform and other exclusive offers.

Update 4 Nov 2026

MEAA MEMBERS

are preparing to negotiate the next Offshore Film agreement with producers.
This is an opportunity to improve wages, conditions and safety standards that reflect the realities of working on offshore productions in Australia.
The strength of these negotiations will depend on the involvement of crew across the industry.
you can help shape the outcome and build a stronger future for crew working in film and television by being union.


MEAA MEMBERS

Set the bargaining prioritiesProvide the collective strengthShape the direction of negotiationsDiscuss, vote, and decide what to accept and where to push harderThe power to improve wages and conditions sits with membersjoin now for a stronger future

Member Claims

RATES & SCOPE

1. Rates to be increased in line with the Fair Work Commission minimum wage increase, and:
       a. Rates table to be updated to reflect current market rates and parity between departments; and
       b. For any new roles not in the table, set the minimum rate in line with the most appropriate equivalent position.
2. Series to be included in the agreement with stronger work-life balance protections
3. Restrict use of Individual Flexibility Agreements to genuinely individual circumstances

On Set

4. Night loadings for shooting crew
5. Remove grace period for continuous hours
6. Improved weekend protections including weekend turnaround and Sunday penalties
7. Protections against six-day weeks strengthened, including stronger penalties
8. Remove distant location radius, i.e. travel time paid door-to-door on distant location
9. Notice of continuous or standard hours to be given at the end of the previous week
10. Safety breaks to be called during continuous hours for workers who have no cover for their roles

Off Set

11. Overtime to be recorded and paid across all departments at all phases of production
12. Lunch provided for off-set departments to be adequate for physically demanding work
13. Seventh day penalty to be paid for all days worked consecutively after seven days

General

14. Fair conditions for equipment and car allowances and reimbursement of expenses, including tolls and better laundry allowance.15. Crew to be able to opt out of catering for the production because of dietary requirements and receive a meal allowance instead16. Personal (sick and carer’s) leave available up front at the beginning of contracts17. Superannuation to be paid on any annual leave paid out at the end of the contract18. Work performed outside of Australia by crew who have worked under the agreement, including the return travel to and from their home base in Australia, will continue to be covered by the agreement as well as the relevant state WHS laws and regulations and Workers Compensation.19. Information shared with MEAA to include safety reports, crew lists, cast lists, shooting schedules, call sheets, and training and infrastructure investment requirements20. Hourly rates and end dates to be included in all employment contracts21. Producers to reasonably accommodate job-sharing arrangements proposed by crew22. Where a crew member travels to where the production is based to take up an engagement, return travel, accommodation, and transport will be provided by the production and they will be paid the applicable allowances, however they will not be treated as working at a distant location for the purpose of travel time.23. As a fatigue management safety measure, production to supply overnight accommodation or return transport to any crew member who is too fatigued to safely drive themselves home.

MPPA Negotiations

The MEAA screen negotiating committee has been bargaining with Screen Producers Australia (SPA) for more than a year to update the MPPA.Now we are calling on all screen crew to come to town hall meetings to discuss proposals to change baseline conditions on radius, turnaround, working days and the way forward on rates.Download the summary document below to read the latest info on the outstanding issues and register for one of the online town hall meetings.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

You are paid for a minimum of 3 hours if the set number of acts all happen within those 3 hours. It doesn't matter if you aren't dancing the entire time. Costume, make up, warm up, cool down, and breaks are also part of the three hours.
Our rates apply across the dance industry, and we don't exclude any particular style or genre.

This means that we DO expect the rates and conditions in our Code to be enforced in the traditional styles of dance - such as classical, Latin, and contemporary - but also in more non-traditional areas - such as street styles, aerial and silk performers, cabaret, burlesque, and many more.

However, it is important to note that some of the larger dance companies - like the Sydney Dance Company or the Australian Ballet - have their own agreements, that provide for higher rates, and better conditions. If in doubt, contact us.
There is no break requirement under the Code for gigs of less that 5 hours, however we would suggest that best practice would be to give one 15 minute rest / refreshment break, at a time that is convenient to the Employer.

It is conceivable that, where a gig is especially physically demanding, the above best practice could become a requirement under WHS law, and the Union would have a duty to enforce that.
The intention of the Costume Allowance is for performers to be compensated when they are expected to purchase their own specialised costume, outside of what would regularly be required, or outside of what the performer would be reasonably expected to already own.

For example, a male-identifying dancer may be expected to bring their staple items of a white shirt, black shirt, black dress pants and black jazz shoes with the rest of the costume provided by the Employer. The dancer would not be compensated for these items.
There is no hard line between our categories, due to the many venues, funding arrangements, and genres across the industry. It will by and large be a case-by-case decision on where something lands.

Some indicators for intermediate choreography would be:

  • in a venue housing up to 100 sitting audience members;
  • where corporate or government money do not make up the majority of funding;
  • the performers may include professionals and non-professionals (ie. does not necessarily need to be a professional dancer in order to learn the choreography);
  • where non-professionals are engaged, these will usually be pre-professional performers, such as students in a dance course; who have a good technical grounding in some dance skills;
  • anything billed as pro-am would not go above this rate;
  • basic roving work would usually not go above this rate unless specific skills were incorporated (any acrobatics, props, etc.);
  • private events/functions (eg. weddings, parties, etc.) would usually not go above this rate unless they were very high budget, or included acts that had highly specialised skills.


Some indicators for advanced choreography would be:

  • in a venue housing up to 250 sitting audience members;
  • where corporate/government money makes up 50% of the funding;
  • that are intended for public consumption, whether that be a fee-paying public audience, or a public audience at a larger event (such as a festival/fete);
  • the performers will always be professionals under the definitions in the Code (ie. they will need to have demonstrable professional skills in dance to undertake the choreography).


At times, it is also helpful to define these categories ‘by exclusion’; ie.

  • “a production at a small performance space is not top-tier as there are less than 250 seats, so would therefore be advanced”;
  • “a wedding performance is not a production for a fee-paying public audience, therefore it is intermediate”;
  • “a roving or crowd piece is not for a fee paying audience, therefore it is intermediate”.


Yes. When a perform is required to travel to somewhere other than their usual place of work, that travel time must be paid

If the performer travels directly from their place of residence to the venue, the entire time would be paid as time worked; if the performer travelled to the Employer’s place of business and then was taken to the venue, then the time from the Employer’s place of business to the venue would be paid.

We would generally expect this travel time to be paid at the rehearsal rate.
The tech rehearsal must be paid a minimum of $45 per hour, for a minimum rehearsal call of two hours.

You would then be paid your appropriate hourly performance rate, for a minimum call of three hours.
When the Live Performance Award was written, it had in mind dancers that worked in very traditional employment arrangements - performing and teaching at the larger dance companies, usually on a full-time basis. These were called 'Company Dancers'.

We now know that the workplaces dancers experience are incredibly varied, especially for freelance dancers. We also know that dancers are very often having to choreograph their work, something that was not included in the Live Performance Award.

Our Code takes the wages and conditions from the Live Performance Award, and puts them in words that are understandable. We have included only the allowances and penalty rates that apply to dancers, and - by consulting with the industry - have created clear descriptions for each Dancer Level, based on experience and skill.

To ensure our Code is relevant to a variety of work, we have also used the 'Broadcasting' Award, which sets out the pay and conditions for performers on screen.

And finally, we have created a set of Choreography rates, based on the industry standard.
Dancers Australia's advice to members is that the Fitness Industry Award does not cover professional dancers, and it is unlawful to employ professional dancers under that Award.

Companies, hirers, and schools that rely on the Fitness Industry Award are very likely underpaying their dance professionals, and not complying with the Fair Work Act.

If you are a member and your contract mentions the Fitness Industry Award we suggest that you contact us immediately.