An applicant must be:
- A company incorporated in Australia.
- A corporation that is an Australian resident for tax purposes.
- A foreign corporation that carries on R&D activities though a permanent establishment in Australia.
- A corporation acting as trustee of a public trading trust.
Ineligible applicants include those that are:
- Tax exempt entities or majority owned or controlled by a tax exempt entity.
- A partnership, a sole trader or a trust other than a public trading trust.
Your R&D must be undertaken on your own behalf, meaning you must:
- Bear technical and financial risk;
- Be able to influence or control the conduct and direction of the R&D; and
- Either own or have effective ownership of the R&D results, including the right to exploit the results.
Activities must be undertaken within Australia. Where the relevant conditions are met, overseas activities may be deemed eligible, however, a separate submission must be made to AusIndustry, which must approve these activities in the income year in which the overseas activity is taking place.
The R&D Tax Incentive allows for foreign corporations undertaking R&D in Australia regardless of where the resulting intellectual property is held, provided certain conditions are satisfied.
