Specialist
R&D Tax Law
Legal and technical advice on Australia's R&D Tax Incentive — eligibility, activity characterisation, documentation, expenditure and disputes, including complex and high-value claims.
A legal question before it is a claim.
Whether an activity is eligible under the R&D Tax Incentive is a question of statutory construction applied to technical facts. It is decided on how the activity is characterised, what was recorded at the time, and how the expenditure is treated.
We advise on that question directly — on registrations, on the evidence supporting them, and on responses to AusIndustry and the ATO when a claim is examined.
We work alongside accountants, tax agents and R&D advisers rather than replacing them, and we are engaged most often where a claim is large, technically contestable, or already under review.
Eligibility
Eligibility turns on whether the activity meets the statutory definition, not on whether the work was innovative or difficult. We advise on the threshold questions before a registration is lodged, and on defending eligibility after it is.
- Statutory tests applied to the actual activity
- Registration scope and activity boundaries
- Eligible entity and R&D entity questions
- Advance and overseas findings
- Where eligibility is likely to be contested
Core and Supporting Activities
The characterisation of an activity as core or supporting decides much of the claim. We advise on how activities are described, separated and evidenced.
- Experimental activity and hypothesis framing
- Technical uncertainty and outcome that could not be known in advance
- Systematic progression of work
- Dominant purpose for supporting activities
- Excluded activities and boundary cases
Technical Documentation
Documentation is not paperwork produced at claim time. It is the primary evidence of what was done and why.
- Project and activity level documentation structures
- Hypothesis, experiment and conclusion records
- Technical narratives that match the registration
- Version control and authorship
- Documentation frameworks for ongoing R&D programs
Contemporaneous Evidence
The question a reviewer asks is what existed at the time. We advise on what contemporaneous evidence is required and how to build it into normal engineering and development workflow.
- What contemporaneous means in practice
- Evidence generated by existing systems and tooling
- Time and cost allocation records
- Reconstruction risk where records are thin
- Remediation before a review escalates
Expenditure
Expenditure questions decide the size of the claim and are frequently where reviews land.
- Notional deductions and at-risk rules
- Associate and related-party expenditure
- Contracted R&D and payments to associates
- Apportionment between R&D and non-R&D activity
- Salary, on-cost and overhead treatment
Feedstock
Feedstock adjustments are commonly missed and commonly assessed. We advise on when the adjustment applies and how it is calculated.
- Feedstock inputs, transformation and outputs
- Adjustment calculation and timing
- Production-scale and trial-production activity
- Interaction with the clawback provisions
- Documentation supporting feedstock positions
Aggregated Turnover
Aggregated turnover determines which offset applies and is complicated by connected and affiliated entities, foreign groups and trust structures.
- Connected entity and affiliate analysis
- Foreign parent and group inclusion
- Trust and partnership structures
- Grouping changes across income years
- Consequences of crossing the threshold
AusIndustry Reviews
Where AusIndustry examines a registration, the response is a legal exercise in applying the statutory tests to the recorded facts.
- Response strategy and scope management
- Technical narratives and supporting evidence
- Site visits and technical interviews
- Findings, decisions and internal review
- Correcting registrations where required
ATO Reviews and Disputes
ATO examination focuses on expenditure, entitlement and the integrity provisions. We manage the process and the dispute pathway.
- Information requests and voluntary disclosures
- Position papers and technical submissions
- Amended assessments and penalties
- Objections and settlement
- Litigation pathway and forum selection
Complex Claims
Large and technically contested claims need positions taken deliberately, documented and capable of surviving review years later.
- High-value and multi-year programs
- Software and platform development claims
- Claims involving overseas activity
- Group and multi-entity structures
- Prior-year exposure and remediation
Working with Accountants and Advisers
We are engaged by accountants, tax agents and R&D advisers to take the legal and technical questions, and to hold the line where a claim is examined.
- Second opinions on eligibility positions
- Legal review of registrations before lodgement
- Review and dispute representation
- Privilege and engagement structuring
- Ongoing support for firms with R&D-heavy client bases
Questions we are asked most often
Is R&D tax advice a legal service?
Eligibility and expenditure questions are questions of statutory interpretation applied to technical facts. Where a claim is contested, the analysis and the response are legal work.
When should a lawyer be involved?
Before lodgement where the position is contestable, and immediately where AusIndustry or the ATO has commenced a review.
Do you replace our R&D consultant?
No. We take the legal and technical questions and work alongside existing accountants and advisers.
What if our documentation is thin?
It is assessed honestly, remediated where it can be, and the position is framed around what actually exists.
Can you act once a review has started?
Yes. Reviews are frequently where we are first engaged.
Do you advise on overseas R&D activity?
Yes, including overseas findings and activity conducted by offshore group entities.
Discuss an R&D tax matter.
Tell us where the claim sits — pre-lodgement, under review, or in dispute.