The ACTF will continually raise the stakes in children’s media production ... we should never underestimate children’s desire to be informed and challenged as well as entertained.
The Australian Children's Television Foundation, or ACTF, is a national producer of children's fictional and educational media, which also fills the role of scrutinising and developing policy for children's television in Australia. From its creative minds have emerged some of Australia's most beloved children's programs.
Established in the 1980s, the ACTF has an eclectic history of collaborations for its shows, from joint projects with The ABC to joining forces with studios from Germany, Poland or China.
Their YouTube channel can be found here
Works the ACTF has made or invested in include:
- Round the Twist (first aired 1989, 4 seasons)
- The Girl from Tomorrow (first aired 1990, followed by a sequel, The Girl from Tomorrow Part II: Tomorrow's End)
- Johnson and Friends (aired from 1990 to 1995)
- Lift-Off (first aired 1992, 2 seasons)
- Ship to Shore (first aired 1993, 3 seasons)
- Spellbinder (first aired 1995, followed by a sequel, Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord)
- The Genie from Down Under (first aired 1995, 2 seasons)
- Little Elvis Jones and the Truckstoppers (first aired 1997, 2 seasons, the company's first foray into animation)
- Lockie Leonard
- Crash Zone (first aired 1999, 2 seasons)
- Noah and Saskia (first aired 2004, 1 season)
- Dirtgirlworld (first aired 2009)
- Mortified
- My Place (first aired 2009, 2 seasons)
- Dance Academy (first aired 2010, 3 seasons)
- Nowhere Boys (first aired 2013, 4 seasons and one movie)
- The Worst Year of My Life, Again (first aired 2014, 1 season)
- Little Lunch (first aired 2015, 1 season and 2 specials)
- Mustangs FC (first aired 2017, 3 seasons)
- The InBESTigators (first aired 2019, 2 seasons)
- Hardball (first aired 2019, 2 seasons)
- First Day (first aired 2020, 2 seasons)
- The PM's Daughter (first aired 2022, 1 season released with another forthcoming)
- Crazy Fun Park (first aired 2023, 1 season)
