Screen Industry Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand (SIGANZ)

Overview

The Screen Industry Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand (SIGANZ), operating publicly as The Screen Guild, is the representative body for below-the-line screen production technicians in New Zealand. The Guild traces its origins back to the 1970s and is the largest network of screen technicians in the country, covering all production departments including camera, lighting, sound, art department, costume, makeup, hair, grip, electric, locations, production office, and post-production. On July 18, 2024, SIGANZ was officially registered as a Worker Organisation under the Screen Industry Workers Act 2022 (SIWA), giving it the legal authority to initiate collective bargaining on behalf of all screen production technicians in New Zealand.

The Screen Guild publishes the Blue Book (Code of Practice for the Engagement of Crew in New Zealand), maintains industry rate cards across all departments, operates the ProdPerks discount program, and provides legal and contract support to members. The Guild is headquartered in Auckland and maintains an executive committee that includes regional representatives.

Notable Members and Leadership

Christian Gower serves as National President, having taken office in September 2024. Gower also founded Crewlist, a crew sourcing platform. Adrian Hebron (known as "Wookie") holds the Vice President position. The National Executive Committee includes automatic representatives from the four regional branches: Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Queenstown.

Brendon Durey, a past President, remains active in Guild initiatives and has represented the organization at public events alongside branch chairs like Tyrone Payne and Nick Treacy. The president, executive, and branch officials receive no remuneration or honorarium. Members who perform services for the Guild that make them unavailable for freelance work may receive a limited fee. An executive officer manages the national office.

The Guild operates with support from its members and the New Zealand Film Commission. Nominations for national officer positions (President, Vice President, Treasurer) require a seconder and must be submitted by mid-August each year, with elections held around the Annual General Meeting.

Membership Requirements

The Screen Guild offers individual memberships for screen production technicians, with monthly and annual payment options. Annual plans offer a 20% discount compared to monthly billing.

Individual Membership Plans

Standard membership is reserved for screen workers who qualify as Screen Technicians (Production) under the SIWA legislation. The Guild provides an online eligibility checker for prospective members to confirm their classification. Student membership requires proof of full-time student status and remains available for two years after graduation. Gold Card membership is available for members over 65 years and requires a Gold Card number.

Business Subscriptions

Business subscriptions provide access to the ProdPerks Discount Program only and do not grant full membership or member benefits. Production project subscriptions require a discount code (contact: projects@screenguild.co.nz).

Membership sign-up is available at screenguild.co.nz/account/sign-up/choose-a-plan-individual-member. Subscriptions page is at screenguild.co.nz/subscriptions.

How Initiation and Eligibility Actually Works in Practice

The Screen Guild uses an open-access model. Anyone interested in the screen industry can join at the Standard level, but full membership rights tie to the SIWA classification of Screen Technician (Production). The Act defines screen production workers as contractors directly involved in creating films, programs, commercials, or games. It excludes support services like legal, accounting, and marketing, as well as amateur and volunteer work.

The practical decision for most crew members is straightforward. If you work as a contractor on covered productions in a production technician role, you qualify for Standard membership. The Guild's online eligibility checker helps confirm your classification before you sign up. There is no initiation fee beyond the first membership payment, and no prerequisite work history threshold exists for joining.

For students, the path is simpler. Enrollment in a tertiary training course qualifies you for the Student rate, which extends two years past graduation. This gives recent graduates time to establish themselves before upgrading to Standard membership. Gold Card members over 65 receive the lowest rate with no additional requirements beyond age verification.

The key trade-off: membership costs are low ($25 NZD per month or $245 NZD per year), but the real value comes from SIWA collective bargaining rights. Only Guild members vote on whether to initiate bargaining for the first Occupational Contract. Once a draft contract is ready, all eligible workers in the occupational group vote on ratification, not just Guild members. Joining early gives you a voice in shaping the terms that will govern your working conditions.

Benefits Breakdown

The Screen Guild provides several categories of benefits to members:

Legal and Contract Support: Members receive free advice on SIWA matters, including individual contract review and dispute resolution. The Guild can represent members in workplace disputes under the Act's formal dispute resolution system. Registered Worker Organisation status allows the Guild to enter workplaces for monitoring and compliance purposes.

Collective Bargaining: As a registered Worker Organisation, the Guild can initiate collective bargaining for Occupational Contracts covering all production technicians. It can also assist members on specific productions to bargain Enterprise Contracts with terms above the Occupational Contract minimums.

Blue Book Access: Members get access to the current Blue Book (May 2023 edition), the standard guidelines for crew engagement in New Zealand. SPADA members receive one free digital copy, with hardcopies available for $65 NZD.

Rate Cards: The Guild publishes indicative rate cards across all production departments, organized by role and budget band. These serve as negotiation guides, not mandatory minimums. Members can submit rate feedback with proof of payment to ratecards@screenguild.co.nz.

ProdPerks Discount Program: All members access discounts including 35% off HirePool equipment hire, 25% to 40% off Resene paints, partnered Southern Cross health insurance rates, Interislander ferry group rates, movie ticket discounts at Hoyts and Academy Cinema, 10% off Department of Conservation filming permits, and 15% off Autocue Hire.

Templates and Resources: Members access invoice templates (casual and full-time), SIWA Model Clauses for Individual Contracts, and the SIWA Handbook with chapters on collective bargaining, mandatory terms, and dispute resolution.

Contracts and Tiers

Under SIWA, the Screen Guild administers two types of collective contracts:

Occupational Contracts: These cover all work done by an occupational group across all screen productions. The Guild, as a registered Worker Organisation, can initiate bargaining for the Technicians (Production) occupational group. These contracts set legally binding minimum terms including rates of pay, hours of work, and working conditions. They must be reviewed every 3 to 6 years. Individual contract terms cannot be less favorable than applicable Occupational Contract terms. Any such terms are unenforceable.

Enterprise Contracts: These apply within a single production or production company. Enterprise contracts cannot go below the minimum terms set in any applicable Occupational Contract. Bargaining requires consent from all parties, and the resulting contract applies only to members of the Guild that signed it. Parties can extend coverage to non-member workers if everyone agrees, including the non-members.

The Blue Book operates alongside these statutory contracts as an industry standard. It defines engagement types (Short Term Engagement, Term Engagement Commercial, Long Term Engagement) and includes a Full Day Rate (T1 rate prorated at 10 hours) and a Half Day Rate. The Blue Book is developed cooperatively with SPADA and the Advertising Producers Aotearoa (APA).

The Blue Book

The Blue Book contains the standard guidelines for the engagement of screen production crew in New Zealand. It is developed and published by the Screen Industry Guild in cooperation with SPADA (Screen Production and Development Association) and the Advertising Producers Aotearoa (APA). The current edition is dated May 2023.

The Blue Book traces its origins to the 1970s and reflects common practice working conditions of screen production crew in New Zealand, along with international industry standards. The 2023 edition introduced several new provisions including a Full Day Rate (a crew member's T1 rate prorated at 10 hours) and a Half Day Rate, and updated engagement type definitions (Short Term Engagement, Term Engagement Commercial, and Long Term Engagement).

SPADA members receive one free digital copy of the Blue Book, with hardcopies available for purchase at $65 NZD. The Blue Book is available at screenguild.co.nz/crew-zone/resources/the-blue-book-2023.

Industry Rate Cards

The Screen Guild publishes industry rate cards for all production departments. These were first released as a soft release in 2023 for wider review by Screen Guild members, and as of 2025 are under review and being updated. The rate cards provide indicative weekly rates by department, role, and budget band, with a final column for Short Term Engagement (STE) or daily rates.

The Guild's Rate Card Committee notes that these cards are not representative of minimum rate guides required for occupational contracts under SIWA. They are intended as unofficial guides to inform negotiations, not as confirmed industry rates. Members can submit rate feedback with proof of payment (invoices or bank statements) to ratecards@screenguild.co.nz. Changes are made by majority consensus.

Rate cards are available at screenguild.co.nz/crew-zone/resources/rate-cards.

Screen Industry Workers Act (SIWA) and Collective Bargaining

The Screen Industry Workers Act 2022 came into force on December 30, 2022, introducing a legal framework for collective bargaining in the New Zealand screen industry. The Act gives screen contractors the right to collectively bargain for better group terms, producing legally binding Collective Contracts with minimum terms and conditions including minimum rates of pay, hours of work, and other working conditions.

As a registered Worker Organisation (since July 18, 2024), the Screen Guild can:

1. Initiate collective bargaining on behalf of all technicians working in production to create or modify their Occupational Contract. Only a worker organisation can initiate bargaining for the first Occupational Contract for each occupational group. Guild members vote first on whether to proceed.
2. Assist members working on a specific production to initiate and collectively bargain an Enterprise Contract if they need additional or better terms than the Occupational Contract.
3. Represent members in disputes under the Act's dispute resolution system.

When a draft Occupational Contract is ready for ratification, every eligible worker within the occupational group (not just Guild members) gets to vote. These contracts must be reviewed every 3 to 6 years to remain current.

The Screen Guild has called on SPADA to honor its 2021 commitment to SIWA registration so the sector can move forward with collective bargaining certainty. The Guild has been working on SIWA implementation since 2017, coordinating with other worker organisations. The SIWA Handbook is available at screenguild.co.nz/crew-zone/resources/siwa.

Watch

What Filmmakers Should Know

For international productions engaging New Zealand crew, the Blue Book provides the standard engagement framework for below-the-line technicians. Productions should consult the Blue Book when structuring crew contracts, engagement types, and rate negotiations. The Screen Guild's rate cards offer indicative market rates by department and budget band, though these are under review as of 2025. For New Zealand screen technicians, Screen Guild membership at $25 NZD per month (or $245 annually) provides access to the Blue Book, rate cards, ProdPerks discounts, legal and contract support, and representation under SIWA collective bargaining. The Guild's registration as a Worker Organisation means it can negotiate Occupational Contracts that set legally binding minimum terms for all screen production technicians, regardless of Guild membership. For producers, the SIWA framework introduces mandatory minimum terms that apply to all crew contracts. Individual contract terms cannot be less favorable than applicable Collective Contract terms, and any such terms are unenforceable. Productions should verify whether an Occupational Contract applies to their crew before finalizing individual contracts.

See Also

For the New Zealand directors and editors guild, see Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand (DEGANZ) in this directory. For budgeting productions engaging New Zealand crew under the Blue Book framework, use the Indie Film Budget Calculator and the Crew Size Estimator to estimate below-the-line labor costs across departments.