How to register R&D activities with AusIndustry, step by step

Registering your research and development activities with AusIndustry is the critical first step in accessing the R&D Tax Incentive, and it must happen before you lodge anything in your company tax return. Many business owners overlook registration, or they leave it too late, and then the entire offset for that income year is lost. The process itself is not complex when you break it down, but it does require specific information, a clear narrative, and strict compliance with the timelines set by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Department of Industry, Science and Resources.

This article is general information only and does not constitute tax, financial, or legal advice. Every business is different, and the rules can change from year to year. Always confirm your position with a registered tax agent or the ATO, and follow the most current guidance published by AusIndustry at business.gov.au.

Understanding AusIndustry R&D Registration: Why It Matters

Before you claim the R&D tax offset in your company tax return, you must register your R&D activities with AusIndustry through the R&DTI customer portal. This registration is separate from the tax claim: AusIndustry assesses whether your activities are eligible under the law, and then you take that registration number to the ATO when you lodge your return.

If you are new to the incentive, our plain-English guide What is the R&D Tax Incentive? covers the fundamentals, including the difference between the refundable and non-refundable offset components and who may be eligible. For a quick overview of how GrantsMAX helps first-time claimants navigate the whole process, see GrantsMAX for first-time claimants.

According to the ATO, you must register your activities within 10 months after the end of the income year in which you conducted them. For example, for activities in the 2023 to 24 income year ending 30 June 2024, registration is generally due by 30 April 2025. The Steps for claiming R&D tax offset page on the ATO website confirms this timeline. Always verify the deadline for your income year, because laws and administrative dates can change.

Registration is not a one-off; if you conduct eligible R&D every year, you must lodge a new registration for each income year.

Prerequisites: What You Need Before You Start

Before you log into the portal, gather the essential building blocks. Skipping any of these can stall your registration or lead to a rejection.

1. An active Australian Business Number (ABN)

Your company must have an ABN to interact with AusIndustry systems. If you do not have one, you will need to register. The Register for an Australian Business Number (ABN) page on business.gov.au walks you through the application. Ensure that your ABN is linked to the correct legal entity and tax file number, because AusIndustry will cross-check these details.

2. myGovID and Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM) setup

Accessing the R&DTI customer portal requires a digital identity. You need a standard myGovID (now part of the Australian Government Digital Identity system) and the appropriate authorisations through Relationship Authorisation Manager. The myGovID and RAM page on the Australian Business Register site explains how to set up both. You must be the principal authority of the business, or a person authorised by the principal authority, to act on behalf of the company for R&D registration purposes.

3. A clear understanding of your R&D activities

Registration requires you to describe your core R&D activities (the experiments, trials, and development work that generated new knowledge) and your supporting R&D activities (those that directly support the core activities). Eligibility Assessment & Risk Flags inside GrantsMAX can help you map your work to the legislative definitions before you put pen to paper. You can learn more about what constitutes core and supporting activities in our Introduction to GrantsMAX, which explains the framework we use across all funding programs.

4. Supporting records

While you do not upload evidence during registration, you must already have contemporaneous records that substantiate the activities you are registering. Accountants and AusIndustry will later expect these records, so having them organised from the start saves enormous time. Think lab notebooks, project plans, test results, timesheets, and accounting data. If your books live in Xero, MYOB, or QuickBooks, GrantsMAX can read that data securely and prepare a complete evidence index as part of your application pack. See Secure Read-Only Connectors for details.

Step 1: Confirm Your Business Structure and ABN Details

Before you open the portal, log into the Australian Business Register and verify that your ABN details are current. Check that your entity name, business structure (company, trust, partnership), and GST registration status match what AusIndustry expects. Because the R&D Tax Incentive is only available to companies (generally incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001), you must be certain you are lodging as the correct entity. Sole traders and partnerships cannot claim the incentive, though a company that is a member of a trust or partnership may be eligible if the R&D is conducted by that company. The Department of Industry, Science and Resources provides an overview of the Research and Development Tax Incentive on its website, clarifying the entity requirements.

Step 2: Set Up myGovID and RAM for Business Portal Access

If you have not already done so, download the myGovID app and verify your identity to a standard strength. You will need at least two Australian identity documents (driver license, passport, Medicare card, etc.). Once your myGovID is active, log into RAM and link your myGovID to your business’s ABN. The principal authority must authorise others, such as your accountant, to act on behalf of the business. Many businesses will authorise their registered tax agent at this stage, so the agent can later complete the registration or the tax claim. The Master the AusIndustry R&D Portal: Step-by-Step Instructions guide by The Gild Group contains a helpful visual walkthrough of myGovID and RAM setup in the context of R&D registration.

Step 3: Log In to the R&DTI Customer Portal

Navigate to business.gov.au and locate the R&D Tax Incentive page. The official government gateway is Apply for the R&D Tax Incentive. Click “Apply now” or the equivalent button, which will redirect you to the R&DTI customer portal login. Use your myGovID to authenticate. Once inside, you will see any existing registrations and the option to start a new one.

The portal interface has been updated over recent years to improve data capture and alignment with the legislative requirements. Advisory firm SW has published an article, R&D Tax Incentive: Updated online application form for registering R&D activities, which discusses the current structure and what has changed. It is worthwhile reading it to understand the data points you will be asked about.

If you are an accountant acting for a client, you may need to switch businesses within the portal. If your firm manages multiple clients, the Annual Refresh & Accountant Channel in GrantsMAX white-labels the entire data preparation and narrative drafting process, so you can deliver a ready-to-register pack for every client from their cloud accounting data.

Step 4: Start a New Registration and Enter Core Business Information

Select “Start a new registration” and choose the relevant income year. The form will ask for your entity details, which should auto-populate from your ABN record. Confirm these are correct. You will then enter:

• Contact details for the person managing the registration.
• The principal activity of your business (using the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification, ANZSIC, code).
• An estimate of your total R&D expenditure for the income year. This should be based on your accounting records, and you can revise it later if needed. GrantsMAX can pull these figures directly from your Xero, MYOB, or QuickBooks file, ready for your accountant to review. GrantsMAX for SMBs on cloud accounting explains how.

You will also declare whether you are an eligible company and confirm that the activities you are about to describe meet the legislative definitions. This is a legal declaration, so it is critical that you have already reviewed your activities with a qualified advisor.

Step 5: Describe Your R&D Activities and Projects

This is the heart of the registration. For each project or group of related activities, you must provide:

• A concise project title.
• A description of the core R&D activities: the systematic, investigative, and experimental work you undertook to generate new knowledge. Explain the hypothesis, the method, the experiments, and the observations. A practical guide from Xero, R&D Tax Incentive: Eligibility & Claim Guide for AU Manufacturers, gives manufacturing-specific examples that transfer well to many industries.
• A description of any supporting R&D activities: these are activities directly related to the core R&D, such as building a prototype solely for experimentation, or maintaining analytical equipment used in trials. However, you cannot simply list your everyday business operations. The supporting activities must have a direct, close, and relatively proximate relationship with the core activities.
• The registered R&D entity (your company) and any other parties involved (such as a university or a research service provider).

When describing activities, be specific but concise. Avoid vague language like “we improved our software.” Instead, outline the technical challenges you faced, why existing knowledge was insufficient, and the experimental steps you took. If you are a technology company, our GrantsMAX for technology companies page details how we help structure these narratives from your engineering data. For manufacturers, GrantsMAX for manufacturers shows how process improvement and new product development can be articulated as eligible activities.

Remember, you are registering for the activities you actually conducted, not hypothetical plans.

Step 6: Define the R&D Activities and Supporting Evidence

Under the current portal structure, you may be prompted to indicate the types of evidence you hold for each activity. While you do not attach documents, this prompt serves as a self-assessment that you have the records to substantiate your claim. Typical evidence includes:

• Project plans and management reports
• Design documents, drawings, or prototypes
• Test protocols, test results, and analysis
• Records of experiments, including failures
• Timesheets and payroll records for staff involved in R&D
• Contracts with third parties (if relevant)

GrantsMAX’s AI Application Pack Drafting assembles an evidence index from your cloud accounting data and any narrative inputs you provide, so you arrive at the registration stage with a clear map of what supports each activity. This is particularly valuable for first-time claimants and GrantsMAX for small businesses that may not have dedicated R&D documentation processes.

Step 7: Submit the Registration and Receive Your Registration Number

Review all your entries carefully. Once you are satisfied, submit the registration. The portal will generate a registration number and a confirmation. Print or save this confirmation, as you will need the registration number to claim the offset in your company tax return. The ATO’s Steps for claiming R&D tax offset page explains how the registration number fits into the tax schedule.

After submission, AusIndustry may review the registration and ask for further information. This is normal and does not mean your claim is under audit. Respond promptly and through the portal.

After Registration: What Comes Next

With your registration number in hand, you can now work with your registered tax agent to prepare the R&D tax incentive schedule and lodge your company tax return. The tax agent will calculate the notional R&D expenditure, apply the relevant offset rate, and determine whether you receive a refundable or non-refundable offset.

The Government has announced a proposal to lift the refundable-offset turnover threshold from $20 million to $50 million for income years starting on or after 1 July 2024. At the time of writing, this change is not yet law. For more on how this may affect your business, see GrantsMAX for growing companies. Always check the ATO and business.gov.au for the current status.

Never underestimate the importance of having a registered tax agent review and lodge your claim. GrantsMAX prepares an evidence-backed pack from your own data, but the final review and lodgement is always done by a registered tax agent. The business owns the claim. This division of responsibility ensures compliance with Tax Practitioners Board regulations and gives you confidence that the figures are correct.

If your company is an R&D-active startup, GrantsMAX for R&D-active startups illustrates how the platform identifies what you may be eligible for and drafts the narrative, leaving your accountant to focus on the tax technicalities.

Pro Tips and Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Pro tip: Start registration early, not on the deadline. The 10-month window can feel generous, but if AusIndustry requests further information, you want time to respond. Late registrations are generally not accepted.

Warning: Avoid vague activity descriptions. Descriptions that simply repeat the legislative language or list standard business activities will be flagged. Be specific about the scientific or technological uncertainties and the hypotheses you tested.

Pro tip: Keep your records contemporaneous. The law requires that records are created at or near the time the activities are undertaken. Back-dating or creating records months later weakens your position.

Warning: Do not assume all technical work is eligible. Many improvements and cost-saving measures, while valuable, do not meet the legislative definition of core R&D. A review with a qualified advisor is essential. Grant & R&D Discovery and Matching in GrantsMAX helps you see not only the R&D Tax Incentive but also EMDG and state innovation grants, so you do not miss alternative funding.

Pro tip: Involve your tax agent early. They can guide activity classification and ensure your registration aligns with the tax claim later. Accountants and bookkeepers can explore Who it is for to see how GrantsMAX supports the entire advisor workflow.

How GrantsMAX Supports Your R&D Registration Journey

GrantsMAX is an AI grant agent that connects to your business’s accounting data via secure, read-only connectors to Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, Microsoft 365, and Google Workspace. It then discovers government grants and R&D tax incentives you may be eligible for and prepares a complete, evidence-backed application pack, including activity narratives, cost structures, and an evidence index.

The critical point for compliance: GrantsMAX does not lodge, file, or guarantee anything. A registered tax agent reviews, refines, and lodges the pack. You own the claim. This separation is built into the GrantsMAX model, and it aligns with ATO and Tax Practitioners Board expectations. For more on this, see Introduction.

By automating the data gathering and initial drafting, GrantsMAX cuts the preparation time from weeks to hours, which is especially valuable for small teams. GrantsMAX for small businesses and GrantsMAX for SMBs on cloud accounting explain how the platform fits businesses without a dedicated finance function.

Key Takeaways

• R&D registration with AusIndustry is a separate, mandatory step that must be completed within 10 months after the end of the income year, before you claim the tax offset in your company tax return.
• You need an ABN, a myGovID with RAM authorisation, and a clear description of your core and supporting R&D activities.
• The registration is done through the R&DTI customer portal on business.gov.au, and you should follow the most current AusIndustry guidance for your income year.
• Supporting records are not uploaded during registration, but you must hold them from the start; GrantsMAX can help you compile them from your cloud accounting data.
• A registered tax agent must review and lodge the final claim; GrantsMAX prepares the evidence-backed pack but never lodges.
• Proposed changes to the refundable-offset turnover threshold are not yet law; verify the current rules before making any decisions.

Ready to simplify your R&D claim preparation? Join the GrantsMAX waitlist at www.grantsmax.com and be among the first to let your accounting data do the heavy lifting, so you can focus on the innovation that drives your business forward.