Government incentives

Australian Government grants and incentives exist for the sole purpose of assisting small-to-medium enterprises stimulating economic growth where it is most required. Our team can assess and evaluate which incentive application suits your business model, we can even help you apply, lodge your application, and liaise with the Australian Tax Office on your behalf.

R&D Tax Incentive

This incentive is offered by the Australian Tax Office and AusIndustry which is an incentivised tax offset designed to promote eligible research and development that will boost the economy. Broadly speaking, to be an eligible Applicant you must be an ‘R&D business’ not exempt from income tax and must have incurred notional deductions of at least $20,000 on eligible R&D activities. It has two core components:

a 43.5% refundable tax offset for eligible entities with an aggregated turnover of less than $20 million per annum
a 38.5% non-refundable tax offset for all other eligible entities (entities may be able to carry forward unused offset amounts to future income years).

You must be an Australian business that has previously partaken or been involved with the following over the past 12-months:

Conduct R&D that may not otherwise have been conducted
Developed a new product, service, or process
Attained new-found which is based on scientific Principles
Commenced and completed an experiment that was hypothesis focused.
Implemented research processes by way of outsourcing
Registered a technological advancement and trial it
Made a proven attempt at resolving an industry-specific issue
Been involved with failed trials resulting in material loss
Industry-related activities with the intention of gaining knowledge

Export Market Development Grant

The Export Market Development Grant is a government assistance program encouraging small and medium businesses to develop export markets. The EMDG reimburses up to 50% of eligible export market development expenses in excess of $5,000, up to a total of $150,000 per year, provided total eligible expenses incurred amount to at least $15,000. To be eligible, you must have carried on export promotion activities during the financial year you are applying for and have a total income of less than $50 million.

Funding is provided to reimburse expenses incurred for export promotional activities to existing and potential Australian exporters, and may include:

Overseas representation
Marketing consultant
Free samples
Trade fairs, seminars, in-store promotions expenses
Promotional literature and advertising expenses
Overseas buyers’ expenses
Registration and/or insurance of eligible intellectual property expenses

Accelerating Commercialisation

Accelerating Commercialisation Grants provide up to 50% of eligible expenditure to Australian entrepreneurs, researchers, inventors, start-ups, Research Commercialisation Entities, and small and medium enterprises who have a novel product, process, or service they want to commercialise:

Up to $500,000 of matched project funding for Research Commercialisation Entities and Eligible Partner Entities
Up to $1 million of matched project funding for all other eligible applicants

CSIRO Kick Start

CSIRO Kick-Start is an initiative for innovative Australian start-ups and small SMEs, providing funding support and access to CSIRO’s research expertise and capabilities to help grow and develop their business. CSIRO Kick-Start projects must be under 12 months in duration and businesses are required to make a cash contribution that matches the funding voucher.

The program offers eligible businesses access to dollar-matched funding of $10,000-$50,000 to undertake the following research activities with CSIRO:

Research into a new idea with commercial potential.
Development of a novel or improved product or process.
Testing of a novel product, developed by the company, to inform research and development activities.

Australian businesses will need to provide evidence they meet the following criteria as part of the application process:

have an Australian company number (ACN)
be registered for goods and services tax (GST)
have your primary place of business within Australia
demonstrate the ability to dollar-match the funding
have an annual turnover of less than $1.5 million, in the current and each of the 2 previous financial years, or
have been a registered company for less than 3 years

Eligible businesses are able to apply for a second Kick-Start project, after completion of their first, providing the total funding received does not exceed $50,000.

ESIC (Early-Stage Innovation Company)

From 1 July 2016, if you invest in a qualifying early-stage innovation company (ESIC), you may be eligible for the tax incentives for early-stage investors. These tax incentives include:

20% non-refundable carry forward tax offset equal to 20% of the amount paid for their eligible investments, capped at a maximum tax offset amount of $200,000 per year.
10 years modified capital gains tax (CGT) treatment, under which capital gains on qualifying shares that are continuously held for at least 12 months and less than 10 years may be disregarded. Capital losses on shares held less than 10 years must be disregarded.

To meet the early-stage test, the company must meet four requirements:

The company must have been incorporated or registered in the Australian Business Register
The company (plus any wholly owned subsidiaries of the company) must have total expenses of $1 million or less in the previous income year
The company (plus any wholly owned subsidiaries of the company) must have assessable income of $200,000 or less in the previous income year
The company's equity interests are not listed for quotation in the official list of any stock exchange, either in Australia or a foreign country.