Marking Time was an Australian television mini-series, consisting of 4 one-hour episodes. It first aired on 9 and 10 of November, 2003, on ABC-TV. Directed by Cherie Nowlan and written by John Doyle, it was the first mainstream television/film project to address the issue of the Australian government's refugee policy, a topic it approaches by chronicling the emotional journey of one young man during his year off after graduation, in his fictional rural home-town of Brackley, Australia.

The storyline of Marking Time was inspired by real-life experiences of Afghan refugees and their hosts in the rural town of Young, New South Wales; however much of the outdoor scenes of this mini-series were actually shot at Singleton, New South Wales, in the Hunter Valley.

The two-part mini-series is a "Romeo and Juliet" story set in a rural Australian town. MARKING TIME traces Hal's journey from boy to man over the period of one year. At the outset, the town and the country are intoxicated with the spirit of the Olympics, and the Centenary of Federation. Hal gets his licence, first car, the right to drink, the right to vote, and falls in love with Randa, a young Afghani refugee. But there is a shifting of consciousness in the town and the nation about refugees, border protection and their place in the world. Hal's heart is broken when he realises that his town is one in which he no longer belongs. Written by Anonymous

An 18 year old boy, Hal (Abe Forsythe), struggles with his home country community of Brackley. When some Afghani refugees arrive in town, Hal finds himself falling in love with one of them. A girl by the name of Randa. As their relationship grows, Hal realises that the outside world is tumultuous and full of hate. Not disimilar from Brackley... Written by Nick Milligan (Newcastle, NSW)