Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS)

Overview

The Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school, established by the Australian government in 1973. Domestic tuition for the full Master of Arts Screen is $61,824 AUD (2026 schedule). International tuition runs $108,000 AUD. The campus sits in the Sydney suburb of Moore Park, adjacent to Fox Studios Australia, placing students next to one of the country's busiest production complexes.

The flagship program is the Master of Arts Screen, a two-year full-time degree across nine disciplines. Domestic students can defer tuition through the Australian government's FEE-HELP loan scheme, meaning no upfront payment is required for eligible citizens. International applicants must demonstrate English proficiency with a minimum IELTS score of 7.0.

AFTRS also offers a Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production (3 years, $53,712 AUD domestic), a one-year Master of Arts Screen: Business ($36,096 AUD domestic, online), Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate programs, and short professional development courses. The school does not offer PhD programs. AFTRS student films have earned 5,000+ awards and selections at festivals including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Sundance.

If you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident seeking a government-subsidized film education with professional facilities next to a working studio lot, AFTRS is the primary national option. If you are an international student, the $108,000 AUD tuition is competitive with comparable US programs but requires relocation to Sydney.

History

The Australian government established AFTRS in 1973 under the Australian Film Commission Act, creating a national institution to train screen and broadcast professionals. The school initially operated from temporary facilities before moving to its permanent Moore Park campus adjacent to Fox Studios Australia.

Key milestones include Jane Campion's graduation in the early 1980s, followed by her Academy Award win for The Piano (1993). The school rebooted its Masters program in 2016, restructuring the curriculum into the current nine-discipline format. In 2024, AFTRS appointed new Discipline Leads across directing, screenwriting, editing, and cinematography. The 2026 AACTA Awards saw AFTRS production Set Menu win the inaugural Best Student Film award, with 15 additional alumni awards across film and television categories.

Programs Offered

Master of Arts Screen (2 years, full-time)

The Master of Arts Screen is the core graduate degree. It runs over four semesters and requires full-time enrollment. 96 credit points total. The program covers nine disciplines:

• Directing - Narrative and documentary directing
• Cinematography - Camera, lighting, and visual storytelling
• Editing - Editorial craft and post-production workflow
• Screenwriting - Feature film and television writing
• Producing - Creative producing and production management
• Sound Design - Production and post-production audio
• Music - Screen music composition
• Documentary - Nonfiction filmmaking
• Production Design - Visual environment design for screen

All disciplines share core subjects in Screen Studies, Research and Development, and Collaborative Practice. Students work across disciplines on production projects from the first semester. Directing and Cinematography draw the most applicants and are the most competitive disciplines for admission.

Other Programs

• Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production (3 years, $53,712 AUD domestic) - Undergraduate screen production degree
• Master of Arts Screen: Business (1 year, $36,096 AUD domestic) - Online program focused on screen business leadership
• Graduate Diploma in Radio and Podcasting (1 year, $30,912 AUD domestic) - Radio and audio content
• Graduate Certificate programs - Shorter specialist qualifications in various disciplines
• Short courses - Professional development workshops open to industry practitioners

Notable Alumni and What They've Made

AFTRS alumni include some of the most recognized names in Australian and international cinema:

• Jane Campion - Directed The Piano (Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, 1993) and The Power of the Dog (Academy Award for Best Director, 2021). The first woman nominated twice for Best Director.
• Phillip Noyce - Directed Patriot Games (1992), Clear and Present Danger (1994), and Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002).
• Gillian Armstrong - Directed My Brilliant Career (1979) and Little Women (1994).
• Cate Shortland - Directed Berlin Syndrome (2017) and Black Widow (2021) for Marvel Studios.
• Warwick Thornton - Directed Samson and Delilah (Camera d'Or, Cannes 2009) and Sweet Country (Venice 2017).
• Michael Lucas - Won AACTA Awards for Best Drama Series and Best Screenplay in Television for The Newsreader (2026).

Acceptance Rate

AFTRS does not publish a single acceptance rate. Admission uses a competitive merit selection process with application tasks, interviews, and panel scoring. Each applicant receives a unique ranking calculated from assessment scores and interview performance. The Master of Arts Screen admits small cohorts across nine disciplines, ensuring close mentorship. Directing and Cinematography consistently receive the highest application volumes. The school caps international student proportions per cohort in compliance with regulatory requirements.

Standout Faculty

• Natalie Robinson-Hurst - Head of Production. Award-winning content executive with 25+ years in the screen industry. Previously Supervising Producer at ABC, Viacom, and Disney.
• Simon Smith ACS - MA Discipline Lead, Cinematography. Accredited cinematographer with extensive industry credits.
• Essi Haukkamaa-Judge - Discipline Lead, Producing. Runs production companies in Finland and Australia. Produced feature documentaries War/Peace and Power of the People, plus feature films Deserted and Santa.
• Justine Angus - MA Discipline Lead, Sound. Accredited member of the Australian Screen Sound Guild with active industry practice and mentoring experience.
• Dr. Zanny Begg - BA Discipline Lead, Directing. Senior academic and filmmaker with expertise in directing and screen practice.
• Dr. Tara Lomax - Discipline Lead, Screen Studies. Senior editor of Henry Jenkins's Pop Junctions and Treasurer of the Screen Studies Association of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Tuition / Aid Reality

Domestic tuition for the Master of Arts Screen totals $61,824 AUD across two years. International tuition totals $108,000 AUD. Domestic students can defer all or part of tuition through FEE-HELP, the Australian government's loan scheme for eligible fee-paying students. No upfront payment is required for eligible citizens. Students can also pay upfront or combine FEE-HELP with upfront payments.

International students pay the full international fee and are not eligible for FEE-HELP. An administrative fee of $500 AUD applies to international students who withdraw from a subject before the census date. AFTRS offers a range of scholarships for Master of Arts Screen applicants, including the Alumni and Industry Scholarship Fund. Sydney's cost of living ranks high by Australian standards. Students should budget for housing, food, transport, and incidental production costs beyond tuition. Tuition fees are reviewed annually.

Facilities and Equipment

The AFTRS campus includes soundstages, post-production facilities, radio studios, and screening rooms. Its location next to Fox Studios Australia gives students direct exposure to active international and local productions shooting on the lot throughout the year.

The school provides professional-grade production equipment through its internal hire system. Students undertake shoot days of up to 10 hours during production blocks, with mandatory safety inductions and risk assessments. The curriculum requires 80% class attendance and full compliance with work health and safety standards for all production activities.

Post-production facilities include editing suites, sound mixing rooms, and color grading stations. Students hire and return gear through the school's equipment system, mirroring professional rental house protocols. First-year students work with digital cinema cameras and standard lighting packages. Thesis-level productions access higher-tier equipment including ARRI and RED camera systems.

Student Film Examples

AFTRS student films screen regularly at major international festivals:

• *Set Menu* (2023) - Won the inaugural AACTA Award for Best Student Film (2026). Premiered at SXSW Sydney. Screened at Cinequest, Adelaide Film Festival, CinefestOZ, and Newport Beach Film Festival. Placed 4th of 118 films in the CILECT global competition across 108 schools. Written and directed by Lindsay McDonald, produced by Neisha Dallamora.
• *Withered Blossoms* (2024) - Selected for Cannes La Cinef, one of 18 short films chosen from 2,263 submissions. Written and directed by Lionel Seah, the first AFTRS international student selected for La Cinef.
• *Mud Crab* (2021) - Won first place in the Asia-Pacific in the 2022 CILECT CAPA Best Film Competition, placing 4th worldwide. Premiered at Melbourne International Film Festival. Screened at Raindance, Aesthetica, and Santa Barbara.
• *Sushi Noh* (2020) - Won Best Screenplay at Flickerfest 2023. Screened at Encounters, Seattle, Atlanta, Sydney, Palm Springs, and Yubari. Available on MUBI.

What Filmmakers Should Know

AFTRS is a postgraduate institution for its main degree. Most programs require a bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience. The Master of Arts Screen admits small cohorts across nine disciplines, ensuring close mentorship and generous resource access compared to larger university programs.

The collaborative production model mirrors professional industry structures. Students from different disciplines work together on films from the first semester, building the teamwork and communication skills that define successful production environments. The capstone project in the third and fourth semesters functions as the equivalent of a thesis film.

AFTRS maintains relationships with Australian broadcasters (ABC, SBS), Screen Australia, state screen agencies, and international production companies. These connections facilitate internships, mentorship, and employment pathways for graduates. The key trade-off: AFTRS provides exceptional facilities and industry access for Australian citizens at subsidized rates, but international students pay full freight and must relocate to Sydney, where living costs rank among the highest in the country.

Watch

See Also

For comparing film school ROI against self-taught paths, see Film School vs Self-Taught. To estimate total education costs including living expenses, use the Budget Breakdown. For industry placement rates at top film schools, see Best Industry Placement Rates.