In a proposition to develop the economy away from a reliance on mining, the Australian government launched the National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA) last December. Now, the Turnbull government has followed through on the agenda’s proposal to offer new grant initiatives aligned with the objectives of the Global Innovation Strategy.
In specific, the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, announced the launch of the $18 million Global Innovation Linkages (GIL) Programme earlier this month. The programme will provide grants of up to AU$1 million (exclusive of GST) per project and will be provided over a maximum of four years. Consequently, the programme will provide $18 million over five years to help businesses collaborate to develop high quality products, services or processes that respond to strategically important industry challenges for Australia.
To be precise, the Global Innovation Linkages programme will support a small number of projects to assist Australian businesses and researchers to collaborate with global partners on projects with a strategic focus and leading-edge research and development. The programme has opened for applications and will remain open until 20 October 2016.
Ultimately, the programme will help existing businesses to grow and create jobs by allowing Australian businesses to better collaborate with businesses overseas. Furthermore, when considering other tax incentives available, such as the research and development (R&D) tax incentive, the enticement to innovate in Australia is escalating. For example, the R&D tax incentive currently entails a 43.5% refundable tax offset to firms generating less than $20 million in annual revenue (such as start-ups) and a non-refundable 38.5% tax offset to other companies. Hence, by fostering innovative activities and promoting global partnerships through funding mechanisms, the Australian economic landscape will likely observe a boost in innovative, high-growth companies.
If you would like to discuss the R&D Tax Incentive further, please do not hesitate to contact one of Swanson Reed’s offices today.