SBS Independent (SBSI) was established in 1994 to commission factual and fictional programming from Australian independent producers. It is considered a model of outsourcing whereby production costs are met by the independent filmmakers whilst various administrative costs are met separately by SBS.
SBSI has two Commissioning Editors; one for drama (located in Sydney) and one for documentaries (located in Melbourne).
The Committee was concerned at the geographical allocation of production funds by SBSI, particularly in drama, which showed an overwhelming concentration of funds in Sydney. Information provided by SBSI on the geographic origination of production up to December 1998 was as follows:
