June, 2025

Robyn Denholm comments on R&D Spending Gap

June 9th, 2025

In recent comments published by The Australian, Robyn Denholm, the Australian-based Tesla chair, has expressed concerns over slowing business investment in Australia, noting that “Australia is not living up to its full potential” in terms of investment and R&D She highlighted that Australia’s combined government and business spending on R&D has fallen to 1.68% of GDP since 2008, compared to the OECD average of 2.73%. This R&D spending gap equates to approximately $25 billion per year.  “We need to see […]

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Swanson Reed Submission to Review of National R&D System – April 2025

April 14th, 2025

In the May 2024 federal budget, The Albanese Government announced a strategic examination and review of Australia’s R&D system to align it with national priorities and improve outcomes. The Government subsequently announced that the review would be led by Robyn Denholm, Chair of Tesla and an experienced leader in R&D at some of the world’s most innovative companies; the review panel also includes: Emeritus Professor Ian Chubb AC, former Chief Scientist and Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University. Professor Fiona Wood AO, […]

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If R&D Tax Law is going to be changed effective 1 July, (as announced in the FY25 MYEFO), how about making these changes too?

January 30th, 2025

A surprising announcement was made by The Government in the FY25 MYEFO released in late December 2024, which took the unprecedented step of announcing an eligibility restriction to be applied to specific sectors. The MYEFO budget papers noted: The Government will exclude activities related to gambling and tobacco from Research and Development Tax Incentive eligibility for income years starting on or after 1 July 2025. Research and development activities related to gambling can exacerbate addiction and associated harms, while activities related […]

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R&D Tax Incentive expenditure exceeded the Industry Department’s projections

November 4th, 2024

Reporting by InnovationAus has detailed how the value of Australia’s Research and Development Tax Incentive (“RDTI”) has significantly exceeded the Industry Department’s projections by nearly $860 million for the last financial year. Recent Government data reveals that the RDTI accounted for 30.9% ($4.23 billion) of all Commonwealth R&D investment in 2023-24, an increase from the expected 27% ($3.37 billion). The revised RDTI expenditure significantly influenced the total estimated R&D expenditure for the 2023-24 financial year, which increased from $12.6 billion to $13.8 billion. The final […]

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