Free tool
AusIndustry registration field checker
Every core R&D activity field on the AusIndustry registration form is capped at 4,000 characters, and 6 of them have a minimum. Paste a draft to see its live character count against both, and flags for the wording that most often weakens a registration: no statement of what was unknown, no testable hypothesis, business-as-usual phrasing, marketing language and missing conclusions.
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you paste is sent to Rand or anyone else, and nothing is saved.
A testable proposition that could be proven wrong, naming the variable and a measurable target under defined conditions.
0 of 4,000 charactersForm minimum 650
Paste text above to see the checks.
Field limits at a glance
The limits for each core R&D activity field on the current form, plus the supporting activity description.
| Field | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Describe the Core R&D Activity | None | 4,000 |
| Hypothesis | 650 | 4,000 |
| Sources Investigated | None | 4,000 |
| Why Outcome Could Not Be Known in Advance | 600 | 4,000 |
| Experiment | 650 | 4,000 |
| Evaluation of Results | 530 | 4,000 |
| Outcome | 340 | 4,000 |
| New Knowledge | 600 | 4,000 |
| Supporting activity description (supporting activity) | None | 4,000 |
What the checks look for
- Length against the form's maximum and, where one applies, its minimum.
- Characters the portal may reject, such as curly quotes, long dashes and bullets.
- Whether the text says what was technically or scientifically unknown.
- A testable hypothesis with a measurable target or failure condition.
- An experimental method, a measured evaluation and a stated conclusion, in the fields that need them.
- Business-as-usual phrasing, marketing language and commercial framing.
The checks are phrase matches, so treat a flag as a prompt to reread, not a verdict. For what each field needs, see what the registration form asks and how to write the technical narrative.
Frequently asked questions
- What are the character limits on the R&D Tax Incentive registration form?
- Each core R&D activity field on the AusIndustry form accepts up to 4,000 characters. 6 fields also have a minimum: Hypothesis (650), Why Outcome Could Not Be Known in Advance (600), Experiment (650), Evaluation of Results (530), Outcome (340), New Knowledge (600). Describe the Core R&D Activity and Sources Investigated have no minimum.
- Is the text I paste stored or sent anywhere?
- No. The checker runs entirely in your browser. The text is never sent to Rand or any other service, is not saved between visits, and is excluded from analytics and session recordings.
- Why does the AusIndustry portal reject text that looks fine?
- The portal only accepts standard keyboard characters. Text copied from a word processor often carries curly quotes, long dashes, bullet symbols or non-breaking spaces, and the portal can error on them, sometimes only at submission. The checker lists every such character it finds so you can replace it.
- If my text passes every check, is my activity eligible?
- Not necessarily. The checks look at length and wording only. Eligibility depends on the activity itself: a core R&D activity must be experimental work whose outcome could not be known in advance, conducted to generate new knowledge. The R&D Tax Incentive is self-assessed, so keep contemporaneous evidence of the work.
- Which version of the form do the limits apply to?
- The current online registration form, released by AusIndustry on 15 August 2025, which splits each core activity into separate questions for the description, sources investigated, why the outcome could not be known, hypothesis, experiment, evaluation, conclusions and new knowledge.
- Who submits the registration?
- The company does. It registers its R&D activities with AusIndustry within 10 months of the end of its income year, then its tax agent or accountant claims the offset in the company tax return. Rand prepares the registration from a director-approved claim pack for the company to submit.
General information only, not tax, legal or financial advice. Field limits reflect the AusIndustry online form released 15 August 2025. Always check the live form before submitting.