Australian Children's Television Foundation

The Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) is a not-for-profit organisation established to support the development, production and distribution of high-quality Australian screen content for children. Based in Melbourne, Victoria, it operates as a national body funded through a mix of government support and its own commercial activities, and it is widely recognised as one of the country's most important producers and exporters of children's television. The ACTF is best known for producing and co-producing a long list of Australian children's series that have travelled internationally, including 'Round the Twist', 'Lift Off', 'Little Lunch', 'Nowhere Boys', 'The Inbestigators' and 'Hardball'. Its catalogue spans live-action drama, comedy, animation and preschool programming, and its titles are sold to broadcasters and streaming platforms around the world. Alongside production, the ACTF runs an education arm that creates study guides, teaching resources and curriculum-linked materials for Australian schools, tying its content to classroom learning. The organisation also acts as an investor and advocate for the children's screen sector, providing development funding, supporting writers and producers, and lobbying for policy settings that sustain Australian children's content in a crowded, globalised media market. Its work is closely associated with Australian public broadcasting, particularly the ABC, which has been a long-standing broadcast partner for many ACTF titles. As a brand, the ACTF stands for trusted, distinctly Australian storytelling for young audiences, and its name functions as a mark of quality for families, educators and international buyers. It is not a commercial broadcaster or a listed company but a mission-driven foundation whose brand equity rests on its catalogue, its educational resources and its role as a national champion for children's media.

The Australian Children's Television Foundation was established in 1982 as a national organisation dedicated to improving the quality and quantity of Australian television made for children. It emerged from a period of policy debate in Australia about the scarcity of local children's programming and was designed to pool public support with production expertise, acting as both a funding body and a producer. Through the 1980s and 1990s the ACTF built a reputation for distinctive, child-centred Australian series. 'Round the Twist', based on stories by Paul Jennings, became its best-known export and a fixture of Australian and international children's television. 'Lift Off', an ambitious preschool and early-primary series developed with educators, demonstrated the foundation's model of pairing production with pedagogy and became a landmark in Australian educational television. The ACTF's education arm grew alongside its production work, producing teaching resources, study guides and classroom materials that schools could use with its series. This dual identity — producer-distributor and educational publisher — became a defining feature of the organisation and helped justify its public support. In the 2000s and 2010s the foundation adapted to a fragmenting, multi-platform media landscape. It continued to invest in new Australian children's drama and comedy, including titles such as 'Nowhere Boys', 'Little Lunch', 'The Inbestigators' and 'Hardball', many of which were made with or broadcast by the ABC and subsequently distributed internationally and on streaming services. The ACTF also expanded its digital presence, offering content and resources online for schools and families. Throughout its history the foundation has functioned as an advocate for the children's screen sector, arguing for regulatory and funding settings that keep Australian children's content viable against global competition. Its brand has remained closely tied to Australian public broadcasting and to the idea of a national, trusted catalogue of children's programming.

• 1982

  Australian Children's Television Foundation established as a national body for children's television.

• 'Round the Twist' becomes the foundation's best-known and most widely exported series.

• 'Lift Off' developed with educators as a landmark educational preschool series.

• Later titles such as 'Nowhere Boys', 'Little Lunch', 'The Inbestigators' and 'Hardball' extend the catalogue into multi-platform and international distribution.

A national, not-for-profit champion of quality Australian children's screen content, combining production, international distribution and curriculum-linked education resources.

• Round the Twist

• Lift Off

• Little Lunch

• Nowhere Boys

• The Inbestigators

• Hardball

• ACTF education resources and study guides

• Unconfirmed

  Netflix acquires international rights to Caper Crew[2]Netflix取得《Caper Crew》国际播放权c21media.net

  Netflix acquired global rights, excluding Australia, to the Australian live-action children’s series Caper Crew and plans to launch it in more than 190 territories.

1. 1Australian Children's Television Foundationactf.com.au
2. 2Netflix取得《Caper Crew》国际播放权c21media.net