About Innovation & R&D Grants
Australia has one of the world's most generous R&D support frameworks. The R&D Tax Incentive alone distributes over $4 billion per year — providing a 43.5% refundable tax offset for eligible experimental activities. Combined with competitive grants from Entrepreneurs' Programme and state innovation bodies, businesses investing in genuine innovation have multiple funding paths.
Featured Programs
Highest value firstThe Hydrogen Headstart program provides long-term revenue support to underwrite large-scale renewable hydrogen production projects in Australia. Funding is provided in the form of Headstart Production Credits (HPC), offering support per unit of production over a 10-year period of operations. The program aims to accelerate development of Australia's renewable hydrogen industry, support domestic decarbonisation, and help Australia connect to new global hydrogen supply chains.
A $1.5 billion grant program administered by ARENA that supports pre-commercial innovation, demonstration and deployment of renewable energy and low emission technologies. The program focuses on three priority areas: Green Metals ($750 million), Renewable Energy Technology Manufacturing ($200 million), and Low Carbon Liquid Fuels ($250 million), to support Australia's transition to a net zero economy.
The Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund provides up to $1.5 billion in grant funding focusing on renewable energy and low emission technologies critical to Australia's renewable energy transition. Grant funding is available across three priorities: Green Metals ($750 million), Renewable Energy Technology Manufacturing ($200 million initial tranche), and Low Carbon Liquid Fuels ($250 million).
A concession program for green hydrogen producers to significantly reduce their electricity costs in NSW. Up to $1.5 billion is available to support the development of the green hydrogen industry and drive down production costs.
A $1 billion Commonwealth program supporting the commercialisation of Australian solar photovoltaic (PV) innovations and enhancement of solar PV supply chains. The program funds innovative solar PV manufacturing facilities across the solar supply chain through multiple funding rounds.
Funding under Phase 4 of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) Program is available from 1 July 2023 to support Eligible Funding Recipients to deliver priority local road and community infrastructure projects across Australia. LRCI Phase 4 continues the objective of the program to provide temporary, targeted support for creating and maintaining local jobs through road infrastructure and construction activities in communities across Australia. The intended outcomes of the program are to: deliver benefits to communities, such as improved road safety, accessibility and visual amenity; and create local short-term employment opportunities through funding construction projects Eligibility: Eligible Funding Recipients for Phase 4 are the same as for Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the LRCI Program. Grant Activity Timeframe: Phase 4 project construction can only begin once funding recipients have in place an executed Grant Agreement and Approved Work Schedule. Total Amount Availa
Eligibility Notes
R&D Tax Incentive eligibility requires: an Australian company (not sole trader or trust), conducting experimental activities with uncertain outcomes, and expenses incurred in Australia (or approved overseas). Registration with AusIndustry must occur within 10 months of the end of the income year — do not miss this deadline.
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14 additionalCommon Questions
Does software development qualify as R&D?
Yes, if it involves genuine technical uncertainty — developing a new algorithm, exploring an uncertain technical approach, or solving a problem where the solution is not known.
What if my R&D fails?
Failure is not a problem — the R&D Tax Incentive is specifically designed for activities with uncertain outcomes. Successful and unsuccessful experiments both qualify as long as the experimental approach was genuine.
Is there a cap on the R&D Tax Incentive claim?
No cap for the 43.5% rate (companies under $20M turnover). Special clawback rules apply if your R&D expenditure is over $150M in a year.
Grant information is sourced from official government websites and updated regularly. Always verify details with the official source before applying.