Free to download and adapt
R&D Tax Incentive templates
Three templates for keeping R&D records as the work happens: an activity register, an experiment record for hypotheses and results, and a record keeping checklist. Records made at the time are what a registration is drafted from, and what AusIndustry or the ATO will ask to see.
R&D activity register
DownloadCSV, opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets
One row per activity, with columns for what the AusIndustry registration asks about each one: why the outcome could not be known in advance, the sources you checked, the hypothesis, the experiment, how results are evaluated, conclusions, the new knowledge sought and the evidence kept. Supporting activities name the core activity they support, how they directly support it and, where the law requires it, their dominant purpose.
Two example rows, marked illustrative, show the level of detail. Delete them before you start.
Experiment record
DownloadMarkdown, pastes into Notion, Confluence, Google Docs or a repository
A page for each experiment cycle: the problem and its measurement, what you checked first, a hypothesis that a result could disprove, the experiment design, how results will be evaluated, a dated log and a conclusion.
Write the first five sections before the work starts and leave them as written; add to the log as you go.
Record keeping checklist
DownloadMarkdown checklist
The records to create before the work starts, while it happens, when an experiment finishes and after the income year ends, from hypotheses and dated results to time records, contractor agreements and records of overseas work.
Keep records for at least five years, in a form you can produce if AusIndustry or the ATO asks.
Where the records go next
After the income year ends, the registration is drafted from these records. The registration field checker checks each answer against the form's character limits. The glossary explains the terms the form uses.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I have to use these templates?
- No. AusIndustry does not prescribe a format. What matters is that your records show what was done, when, by whom and why, and that they were made at the time. Tickets, pull requests, lab notebooks and design documents your team already keeps can do that; these templates give the same information a consistent shape.
- Do the templates make an activity eligible?
- No. They help you record the work. Whether an activity is eligible depends on the work itself and the law, and the company is responsible for what it registers.
- Can I adapt them?
- Yes. They are free to copy and change for your own records.
Source on record keeping: business.gov.au, records to show eligibility. General information, not tax advice.