Lights, camera, action: Is Perth set to become Australia’s Hollywood?
Construction of WA’s very own slice of Hollywood is well underway, with works on the state’s first dedicated screen production facility on track for completion late next year.
The $233.5 million state government project, dubbed the Perth Film Studio, is being built on a 16ha site on Marshall Road, near the new Malaga Metronet station in Perth’s north east.
The doors to the Perth Film Studio are set to officially open in early 2026, and will feature four purpose-built sound stages, as well as onsite screen production facilities including production offices, an art department, workshops and set storage.
Within the studio complex, there will be 8200sqm of interior production space, in addition to a 23,200sqm backlot that will be bigger than The MCG’s playing field.
The Perth Film studio will have a backlot larger than The MCG’s playing field. Picture: WA State Government
“We’ve got a very talented local screen industry and there are a lot of expat West Australian film makers who are elsewhere in Australia and the world, so this is an opportunity to attract them back to Perth,” Marty Cunningham, Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries special projects director, said.
“We are really looking at that pipeline of graduates (giving them) an opportunity to work in Perth and WA so they don’t have to consider having to leave Perth for a career in the film industry.
“So we’re really seeing that as quite significant for increasing the level of film production in the state, the level of investment in that as well, because it means we are able to access a lot of the Federal film incentives, which we haven’t been able to sort of really access up until now.”
Perth’s new film studio will have three sound stages. Picture: WA State Government
Greenfield site the perfect canvas
Mr Cunningham said the Malaga site was chosen because it was viewed as a perfect location due to its proximity to the CBD and the airport, in addition to future public transport coming through the Metronet station.
Construction of the facility will be undertaken by Home Fire Creative Industries, and Mr Cunningham said the size of the land also offered future potential for expansion as a greenfield site.
“The road infrastructure means you are able to get really quickly to regional areas,” he said.
“And we are particularly seeing that combination of regional location shooting, as well as studio shooting is something which is attractive and really plays off the benefits we have for our current location’s blue sky, sunshine and the amazing locations we have in the west.”
It’s hoped the studio will attract industry expats back to Perth. Picture: Getty
Once in business, the Perth Film Studio will host anywhere from one to four productions at any time, depending on the scale of the production and the size of the sets they might use, Mr Cunningham said.
“A real bonus as well is the ‘back lot’, which is 5.7ha,” he said.
“You can build anything from a cityscape, to a western town to a sci-fi location.”
Designing the Perth Film Studio saw inspiration taken from other studios of its kind nationally, in particular, the Dockland Studios Melbourne, which Mr Cunningham said was quite comparative in terms of its initial scale.
More broadly, the team looked to New Zealand’s Weta Workshop for inspiration.
A boon for the state
A total of 600 direct and indirect jobs have been created via the project.
“The overall strategy is looking at how we can build production, and that’s a combination of local WA production, as well as attracting larger productions into the state over the next 10 years,” Mr Cunningham said.
An artist’s impression of the event space at the future Perth Film Studio. Picture: WA State Government
“It’s really exciting to see the Perth Film Studios taking shape, with our long-time goal for a world-class screen production facility here in WA becoming a reality,” WA Treasurer Rita Saffioti said.
“The studio complex will rival the best in Australia and help attract major productions from around Australia and the world, while boosting the business and employment opportunities for the local industry and the WA economy more broadly.”
PropTrack senior economist Paul Ryan said a film studio was the type of venture that might enhance the prominence and awareness of a region and could help to shape the image of a location.
“This effect comes on top of general increases in employment and economic activity that comes from new business activity in a region.”
Construction milestones
The main steel wall and roof framing for Sound Stage 1 has been completed, and the external precast concrete wall cladding was progressing.
The installation of acoustic roof modules has commenced and subject to weather conditions, are expected to be complete this month.
The Perth Film Studio project has started to take shape. Picture: WA State Government
The internal floor slabs and main steel framing of Workshops 1 and 2 are finished, while the external cladding was about 25 per cent complete.
The main steel framing of Sound Stage 3 has started and was likely to finish by the end of September 2025.
Civil works are well underway with stormwater drainage infrastructure and internal road works are progressing.
