The Cinema Owners Association of Australia (COAA) has appointed exhibitor Andrew Halkett as a negotiator, a role that positions him between members and film distributors when disagreements occur over film policy or terms.

The appointment is one of a number of outcomes and changes that have flowed from meetings this month involving COAA, the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (MPDAA) and the industry-wide committee which administers the industry's code of conduct, which is currently under review.

Changes to the code have included the introduction of early intervention procedures, aimed at solving potential disputes before they reach the formal conciliation process, and the addition of two new seats on the committee, one for an unaligned independent exhibitor and another for an unaligned independent distributor.