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Is an Israel Landing Pad Enough?

Israel, the country itself has been described as a perpetual start-up, while also being positioned as a critical research and development centre for the world’s leading technology companies. From Internet and mobile phone applications to medical devices and biotech, Israel’s industry has indeed invested heavily in new technology. Thus, what effect could a partnership with Israel have on Australia?

There has been no short of news articles describing that Australia has purchased a one-way-ticket to the land of innovation, with Turnbull’s Innovation Statement released last week being the anticipated train to get us there. In light of this, new reports reveal that Israel would welcome an R&D partnership investment fund with Australia. This particular piece of information was made clear this week during an interview with the director general of the Israeli Ministry of Economy, Amit Lang. In specific, Lang states, “If the government of Australia, which is a big supporter of Israel, approaches the Israeli government and says: ‘Listen we want to establish a fund’, based on my knowledge the answer will be yes.”

At present, Israel already has comparable funds in partnership with the United States, Canada, Singapore and Korea. An R&D Partnership fund with Israel would most likely fortify the trade and investment relationship and be mutually advantageous to the tech sectors in both countries. Lang further notes there are enormous opportunities for closer collaboration between Australian and Israeli companies.

Moreover, in the months leading up to the release of the Innovation Statement, a number of Australian government and trade delegations visited Israel with the focus of learning innovation lessons from the ‘Start-up Nation’. Already, the influence of Israel can be seen in the statement. For instance, Australia plans for Tel Aviv to host the first-ever Australian ‘Landing Pad’. The Landing Pads, as described in the innovation agenda, are overseas hubs to assist emerging Australian companies in identifying and engaging with international opportunities in overseas markets.  Another Landing Pad is presumed to be Silicon Valley and three other locations, which will be announced shortly.

Certainly, the announcement of the first ‘landing pad’ in Israel could allow innovators to expand their reach overseas and tap into foreign capital. However, could a partnership R&D fund expedite innovation further?  A joint investment fund could presumably strengthen the technological and scientific relationship between Israel and Australia, instead of just utilising the nation as a landing pad.

Nonetheless, in the meantime, there is assistance firms can get for R&D in Australia without the joint investment fund. The government provides a generous Research and Development (R&D) Tax Incentive which is highly effective in aiding rising companies in promising future industries. Contact one of our R&D Tax Specialists today to find out if you qualify for the tax benefits.