Reference · glossary
39 terms used on Australian TVC productions, defined in plain English and cited against MEAA TVC 2024, the CGA September 2024 guideline, and the relevant ATO and state instruments. Linkable per term.
A payment to keep a performer available on a specific date before the booking is firmed. It compensates the performer for declining other work; if the shoot proceeds, the holding fee is typically credited against the session fee.
MEAA TVC 2024 §9 (avail / holding)
See also · Recall · Cancellation fee
A one-day call covering up to 10 working hours. Anything beyond the daily span triggers overtime or a new day's fee, depending on the contract structure.
MEAA TVC 2024 §6.1
See also · Half-day engagement · Weekly engagement · Turnaround
A short call of up to 4 consecutive working hours, charged at roughly 60% of the daily session fee. Common for Featured Extras and stand-ins on tight one-set days.
MEAA TVC 2024 §6.2
See also · Daily engagement · Featured Extra
A continuous block of 5 working days at a discounted aggregate rate (typically 4.5x daily). Used when a performer is needed across a full shoot week or multi-day campaign.
MEAA TVC 2024 §6.3
See also · Daily engagement
A subsequent day of shooting after the original booking, often for pickups or additional setups. Each recall is charged at the negotiated daily session fee unless reduced by prior agreement.
MEAA TVC 2024 §10
See also · Holding fee · Daily engagement
A booked shoot day that cannot proceed due to weather and is carried to the next available day. Holdover terms typically pay a percentage of the daily fee for the lost day, with the rescheduled day paid in full.
MEAA TVC 2024 §11 (weather)
See also · Cancellation fee
A scaled fee owed when a producer cancels a booked performer. Tiers commonly run 0% if cancelled outside 7 days, 50% inside 7 days, and 100% inside 24 hours of the call.
MEAA TVC 2024 §12
See also · Hold-over · Holding fee
The minimum rest gap between wrap and the next call. MEAA mandates 10 hours; a shorter gap is paid as a turnaround breach loading and is flagged by the Callsheet generator before send.
MEAA TVC 2024 §17 (10-hour rule)
See also · Meal break · Night loading
A paid or unpaid break required at no greater than 5 hour intervals from call. Late or missed meal breaks attract a continuing penalty for every part-period worked through.
MEAA TVC 2024 §18 (5-hour rule)
See also · Turnaround
A single up-front payment that covers all permitted broadcast and digital usage of a performance for a fixed term. Distinct from a residual structure, which pays the performer per cycle of use; AU TVC has trended buyout-heavy since the CGA 2024 guideline.
CGA Recommended Guideline 24 Sep 2024
See also · Residual · Rollover · Exclusivity
A repeat fee paid each time a commercial is re-licensed to a new cycle, market, or medium. Residual deals are now rare in AU TVC outside of legacy contracts and global brand carve-outs.
MEAA TVC 2024 §22 (use cycles)
An option exercised by the producer to extend an existing buyout for an additional 12-month term. Rollover is paid at the original buyout rate and must be confirmed before the current term expires.
CGA Recommended Guideline 24 Sep 2024 §4
See also · Buyout · Exclusivity
A rider preventing the performer from appearing in a competing brand for the term. Tiers run from product-only (narrow), to category (e.g. all banks), to dual-product (lock from two named competitors); each tier carries an additional loading on top of the base buyout.
MEAA TVC 2024 §24 / CGA 2024 §5
A negotiated lump-sum bonus paid on top of session and usage, usually to cover a one-off media (e.g. Super Bowl drop, global cinema window) or to secure a high-demand performer. Kickers are not standardised under MEAA scale.
Industry practice · CGA 2024 commentary
See also · Buyout · Exclusivity
An additional usage loading for broadcaster video on demand (7plus, 9Now, 10Play, iView). Often bundled with TV under a unified "all-screens" buyout in the post-2024 CGA framework.
CGA Recommended Guideline 24 Sep 2024 §3
See also · OOH loading · Social loading · Buyout
Usage loading covering still or motion placements on billboards, transit, retail screens, and other physical media. Charged separately from broadcast and digital because the rights are perpetual within the placement window.
CGA Recommended Guideline 24 Sep 2024 §3
See also · BVOD loading · Social loading
Usage loading for theatrical placement, typically calculated against the session fee and applied per market (AU/NZ, US, EU, ROW). Cinema windows are usually limited to 3 or 6 months.
CGA Recommended Guideline 24 Sep 2024 §3
See also · BVOD loading · OOH loading
Usage loading covering branded social channels (Meta, TikTok, YouTube, X). Usually expressed as a percentage of the buyout and capped at organic + paid in-feed; influencer paid partnerships are quoted separately.
CGA Recommended Guideline 24 Sep 2024 §3
See also · BVOD loading · OOH loading
Alternate-length versions of the same commercial (e.g. 60s hero cut down to 30s, 15s, 6s). The MEAA standard treats cutdowns from existing footage as covered under the original buyout; extensions using new footage do not.
MEAA TVC 2024 §23
See also · Buyout
A consent clause governing use of a performer's voice, likeness, or performance in synthetic / generative AI training, replication, or extension. The MEAA Voiceover AI rider (2024) requires explicit, scoped, time-limited consent and a separate fee.
MEAA Voiceover Standard Contract + AI Rider 2024
See also · Likeness
A performer's recognisable face, voice, and persona. Use of likeness in stills, AI, or downstream materials requires a separate grant beyond the standard TVC buyout and is increasingly negotiated per platform.
MEAA TVC 2024 §24 / Australian common law passing-off
Scale is the MEAA-set minimum session and usage rate; a loading is an additional percentage applied on top of scale (e.g. for night work, exclusivity, or unsocial hours). A negotiated quote is loadings stacked on scale.
MEAA TVC 2024 §6, §15-19
See also · Night loading · Exclusivity
A penalty applied to hours worked after 22:00 (or before 06:00 in some carve-outs). Typically expressed as an hourly multiplier above the daily ordinary rate.
MEAA TVC 2024 §15
See also · Saturday & Sunday loadings · Turnaround
A premium applied to any hours worked on a Saturday (typically time-and-a-half) or Sunday (typically double-time), regardless of total weekly hours.
MEAA TVC 2024 §16
See also · Public holiday loading
A premium applied to any work performed on a gazetted public holiday in the shoot's state. Typically double-time-and-a-half. The Callsheet generator surfaces holiday awareness from data.gov.au.
MEAA TVC 2024 §16 / state public-holiday acts
See also · Saturday & Sunday loadings
A performer who delivers dialogue or whose face is identifiably featured in a hero capacity. Principals attract full session fees and full buyout structures.
MEAA TVC 2024 §3 (definitions)
See also · Featured Extra · Walk-on
A performer who is recognisable on camera but not delivering scripted dialogue. Paid above standard extras scale and below Principal, with a reduced buyout structure.
MEAA TVC 2024 §3 (definitions)
A non-featured background performer with a brief, incidental presence and no recognisable hero shot. Paid at extras scale and typically not subject to a usage buyout.
MEAA TVC 2024 §3 (definitions)
See also · Featured Extra · Principal
A performer who substitutes for a Principal during lighting and blocking, or whose body appears on camera as a non-identifiable double. Paid daily under a separate scale; not credited as the Principal.
MEAA TVC 2024 §3 / Story Machine Casting Cost Guide 2025
See also · Principal · Hand model
A performer engaged for high-risk action (falls, fights, fire, vehicle work). Paid an adjustment over Principal scale per stunt, with a stunt coordinator approving rate and risk.
MEAA TVC 2024 §14 (special skills)
See also · Hand model
A performer engaged for a featured close-up of hands or other body part with no face reveal. Paid above Walk-on and below Featured Extra in most rate cards; usage rights are typically narrow.
Story Machine Casting Cost Guide 2025
See also · Stand-in · Featured Extra
Compulsory employer superannuation contribution paid on Ordinary Time Earnings. The Super Guarantee rate is 12% from 1 July 2025, calculated on session fees but generally not on usage buyouts unless paid as employment income.
Super Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 / SG rate 12% FY25-26
See also · PAYG vs ABN · Statement by Supplier
PAYG performers are paid as employees with tax withheld at source per ATO Schedule 3. ABN performers invoice as independent contractors; the producer must still apply Super and may be liable under voluntary agreement or the alienation-of-personal-services rules.
ATO PAYG Schedule 3 FY 2025-26 / TR 2022/3
See also · Super on OTE · Statement by Supplier
An ATO form a payee completes to certify that no ABN is required (e.g. hobbyist, under threshold). Without it, a producer paying an ABN-less invoice over $75 must withhold 47% and remit to the ATO.
ATO Statement by Supplier (NAT 3346) / TAA 1953 §12-190
See also · PAYG vs ABN · DTA / foreign-resident withholding
State-administered tax on total wages including contractor payments above each state's threshold. Thresholds and rates differ by state (e.g. NSW 5.45% over $1.2m; VIC 4.85% over $900k FY25-26) and contractor payments are commonly grouped.
State Revenue Office (each state) FY25-26 rates
See also · PAYG vs ABN
Where a non-resident performer is engaged in Australia, the producer withholds tax at the foreign-resident rate unless a Double Tax Agreement (DTA) and a relevant variation notice apply. Default withholding is currently variable rate, scaled by income band.
ATO Foreign Resident Withholding / TAA 1953 Subdiv 12-FB
See also · PAYG vs ABN
A daily cash allowance to cover meals and incidentals while travelling for work. The ATO publishes reasonable per-diem amounts annually; payments above the reasonable amount can attract Fringe Benefits Tax exposure for the engaging entity.
ATO TD 2025/3 (reasonable amounts) / FBTAA 1986
See also · Super on OTE
Each worker is mapped to a state premium classification. Performers (WIC 9001 in NSW) are rated separately from Motion Picture crew (WIC 9002), and the wrong class can flip premium materially. The Project Builder uses FY25-26 state rating orders.
FY25-26 state workers comp rating orders (NSW icare, VIC WorkSafe, QLD WorkCover et al.)
See also · Payroll tax thresholds