Request an extension or variation on your R&D Tax Incentive application

The statutory deadline to register your eligible R&D activities for the R&DTI is 10 months after the end of your company’s income year in which the activities took place.

After the statutory deadline there are limits to how much additional time can be given to apply to register for the program, and what can be changed in an existing application.

If you need more time to submit your application, you must apply for an extension of time using the extension of time form in the R&DTI customer portal. You must attach evidence to support your reasons for the request.

Requesting an extension prior to the deadline, of 14 days (or less)

A request for an extension of 14 days (or less) that is made before the statutory deadline will be approved. In your application you must explain why you need extra time and why 14 days will be enough to complete and submit the application.

Other requests for an extension

If you are requesting an extension of more than 14 days (and this request is being made before the statutory deadline), or you are applying for an extension of any period of time after the deadline, you must tell us:

• the date to which you are seeking an extension
• the reason/s you could not submit your application by the deadline
• the reasons for any delay in requesting an extension to the deadline.

If you have a related pending decision, you will also need to provide details of that in your request.

You will need to justify the amount of additional time you are requesting. The longer the extension, the stronger your explanation and evidence needs to be.

The Department of Industry, Science and Resources (the department) will consider the reasons and evidence supplied in the form. We will also consider other relevant factors, such as whether you have applied for any extensions before.

Requests for extensions of time are considered on a case-by-case basis. Submitting a request will not automatically result in you getting an extension.

Time limits on extensions

Under law, the maximum amount of time for extensions is 92 days after the statutory deadline. The only exception to the 92-day cap is if the department decides to grant a further extension if you have a related pending decision.

The department cannot accept late applications or grant extensions of time to apply for an advance finding or overseas finding under any circumstances.

For more information refer to Part 3 of the Industry Research and Development Decision-making Principles 2022.

If you need to make changes to your application, you must apply for a variation using the form in the R&DTI customer portal.

The type of variations that can be made to your application depend on whether the statutory deadline has passed.

Before the statutory deadline, any change can be made to your application.

Requests to add or significantly change an R&D activity need to be made and approved before the statutory deadline. The department recommends submitting variation requests to add/change an activity at least a week before the deadline to allow enough time for review.

After the deadline, you can only vary your application to:

• remove all or part of an R&D activity
• change when an activity occurred (without increasing the length of time)
• reclassify all or part of an R&D activity
• make minor amendments (such as changing your company’s primary R&D contact, employee numbers or financial details).

For more information refer to Part 5 of the Industry Research and Development Decision-making Principles 2022.