In 2005, the Malta Film Commission was legally established through Chapter 478 for the promotion, development and support of the audiovisual industry, including the film servicing industry, in Malta, through the office of the Film Commissioner. Since 2014, cash rebates for filmmakers have been introduced and increased, making the financial guidelines more attractive to the film industry. Qualifying productions are required to present a provisional application to the Malta Film Commission, including a detailed projection of the Malta budget for the production. A variety of productions apply, provided that they are all or partially produced in Malta.
Since 2024 the funding of the film industry focusing on local production has been shifted from the Malta Film Commission to Arts Council Malta.
The age-classification of films was carried out by the Film Board as stipulated in S.L. 542.01 of 2012 under the Arts Council Act as per Legal Notice 416 of 2021, as amended by Act XV of 2015 and Legal Notice 387 of 2020.
All policy regulations related to broadcasting in Malta are the responsibility of the Malta Broadcasting Authority. Formal laws are enacted through Parliament. The Broadcasting Act of 1991 (amended several times since) stipulates that public broadcasting in the Maltese islands should provide high-quality programming across a full range of public tastes and interests. The most recent amendments are carried in Act XVI of 2018 Cap. 350.
On 1 January 2001, the Malta Communications Authority was set up to liberalise and regulate telecommunication services. This was done through the Malta Communications Authority Act Cap 418 of 2000. It has been regularly amended since.
The European Media Freedom Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/900), a directly applicable EU regulation covering media pluralism, editorial independence, state advertising and public service media governance, has applied in Malta since August 2025. Malta’s implementing measures are set out in Legal Notice 175 of 2025; see 2.5.3 for detail on implementation status and international assessments.
Comments are closed.