$233 million facility puts WA on the global stage
WA’s first ever dedicated screen production facility will shine a spotlight on our local creative industry and put us in a strong position to attract larger national and international film, television and gaming projects to our state.
The WA Government is investing $233.5 million to construct a screen production facility, with approximately 600 new jobs to be created (directly and indirectly) during construction.
The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) will manage the overall project while construction of the facility will be undertaken by Home Fire Creative Industries Pty Ltd (Home Fire).
Arts and Culture Trust (ACT) is responsible for lease of the land and will become the owner of the asset (on behalf of the State) upon completion of the build. ACT will hold the operational agreement with Home Fire Operations Pty Ltd and will oversee the operational management of Perth Film Studios.
In August 2020, the WA Government announced it was seeking proposals from the private sector to locate, build and operate the state’s first ever screen production facility.
The facility would need to provide studio, digital and post-production services to complement the boom in location-based screen activities across regional WA. It would also have to meet the requirements of the emerging games and immersive technologies sectors.
The call-out was part of a Problem and Opportunity Statement under the Government’s Market-led Proposals (MLP) program, with the process led by the Department of Planning, Lands, and Heritage.
Following a competitive Stage 1 and 2 MLP process, the WA Government invited Home Fire to Stage 3 as preferred proponent to negotiate on an exclusive basis.
Following development approval in May 2023, Home Fire submitted its final binding offer to develop the facility in Malaga.
The development of Perth Film Studios is one of the 8 initiatives of the Screen Industry Strategy that supports the 10-year vision to grow and develop the Western Australian screen industry.
The project objectives are to:
Perth Film Studios is situated in the north-eastern suburb of Malaga, near Whiteman Park.
Malaga provides the perfect location with its proximity to the Perth CBD and airport, direct access to major roads for travel to WA’s regional areas and access to public transport including the new Ballajura METRONET station and the future station at Bennett Springs East.
The facility is located on a 16-hectare site at Lot 811 Marshall Road and held in freehold title by the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC).
With the opening of the new Morley-Ellenbrook Line (MEL) the site is physically separate from Whiteman Park by the new rail corridor, creating an opportunity to optimise the underutilised strategic land.
The site was used for cattle grazing historically. Importantly, due to the scale and availability of land in proximity to the site, there is an opportunity to consider expansion in the future.
Perth Film Studios will have 4 sound stages with associated annex buildings, workshops with lockup and an entry office building.
The sound stages will have 15-metre ceilings and large opening doors to enable drive-in access for large trucks.
The 4 annex buildings will contain production offices, wardrobes, toilets, hair and makeup space, green rooms and meeting rooms.
Each sound stage, workshop and annex will be able to function as a separate, secure and standalone screen production operation to enable multiple screen operators to use the site whilst protecting intellectual property and production confidentiality. Alternatively, a single large screen production could hire out the entire facility.
There will be a large backlot provided for external filming opportunities, and a boneyard for multifunction use as required by productions. The backlot will provide over 23,000m2 of external production space — 22% larger than the playing surface at Optus Stadium.
The project is in the delivery phase with works approximately 60% complete.
In line with the state’s project governance the project is governed by a Steering Committee with DLGSC as the chair. The following key representatives comprise the committee:
In transiting from project planning to delivery and in accordance with governance project frameworks, key consultation will continue with project reference groups which include key industry associations and stakeholders such as Screenwest.
WA Government seeks proposals from private sector to locate, build and operate Perth's first ever screen production facility, through a 'market-led proposal' process.
WA Government announces its support of $106.9 million towards the cost of building the screen production facility ($105m 2021-22 election commitment, $1.9m 2023-24 budget).
Stage 1 and 2 of MLP process progresses. Announcement of film studio located in Fremantle.
WA Government invites Home Fire Creative Industries to progress to negotiations and conducts due diligence.
Change of location is announced with Malaga as the preferred site.
Delivery agreement is approved by WA Cabinet, signed by Department of Finance and Home Fire. November 2023 Home Fire is granted approval to commence forward works.
Home Fire entered into a design and construct contract with Built Pty Ltd.
November 2023 Home Fire commences forward works at the Malaga site.
Forward works are complete and construction begins.
In May 2024, the operational agreement between the Arts and Culture Trust and Home Fire Operations was signed.
Anticipated mid-2026.
The WA Government is investing $233.5 million to construct the facility, with approximately 600 local direct and indirect new jobs to be created during construction.
The project engaged Arche-Aus to undertake an Archaeological and Ethnographic survey of the site with traditional owners nominated by the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council in 2023. No new Aboriginal archaeological sites were identified during the survey and there is no requirement for a section 18 approval under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972. Home Fire commenced works in November 2023, and traditional owners have been present on site to monitor works as required.
The site was historically used for cattle grazing and is predominantly cleared. Through the planning and development processes, the project was referred to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions. As a result of the process, a Kangaroo Management Plan was prepared to manage the transition of kangaroos to Whiteman Park.
The project is improving the amenity of the site through landscape planting and stormwater management. Soft landscaping will be used to re-create the pre-agricultural landscape condition. Nearly 287,000 local native plants and almost 500 new trees will be planted on site. All new trees and plants will be native to the Southwest Australian bioregion. Vegetation will be used to provide a visual screen from Marshall Road which will improve privacy and decrease noise on site.
The project build is targeting a 4-Star Green Star rating, and through innovative design and material choices, a calculated carbon emission reduction of 23% has already been achieved — significantly exceeding the 10% Green Star target.
Rainwater harvesting is being used in key irrigation areas, saving an estimated 280,000 litres annually. Careful native plant selection means other landscaped areas will require progressively less irrigation, eventually becoming self-sufficient. Bioswales also naturally filter stormwater, removing up to 98% of pollutants.
Durrapanel, a construction material made from reclaimed wheat straw, has been used to construct buildings on site. Lower-carbon concrete options like Envirocrete, which incorporates waste materials, and Fibre-Reinforced Concrete have also been utilised. Incorporating these materials helps cut CO2 emissions by up to 60% compared to traditional building methods.
In its 2020-21 Economic Impact Report, Screenwest reported that WA’s screen industry was valued between $30 million and $50 million in any one year.
For every dollar spent during production our state reaped almost $3 in return, meaning the $41.1 million spent in 2020-21 delivered $120.4 million of direct and indirect economic impact and supported approximately 3839 full time equivalent jobs.
Despite the threefold return, WA only holds 6% of the nation’s screen production workforce, 4% of the post-production workforce and 2% of the game developer workforce.
While screen production growth has reached record levels across Australia in recent years, WA’s growth in the industry has been limited in comparison to other states, due to the lack of world class screen production facilities.
The new Perth Film Studios presents a huge opportunity to grow WA’s screen economy and leverage investment from outside the state.
January 2024 marked a project milestone with construction commencing on site. It was also announced Home Fire is responsible for the delivery of construction works through the appointment of the construction contractor, Built.
As of April 2025, construction of the facility is approximately 60% complete.
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