Researchers and Individuals

To apply for Commercialisation Australia assistance, researchers and individuals have three options:

• establish a non-tax exempt company, incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001, prior to making an application
• apply as an individual (or researcher) warranting to form such a company if an application is successful
• apply through a commercialisation office or an eligible partner entity

If you establish a company (either before or after applying for assistance) then:

• you may apply for any of the four components of Commercialisation Australia
• the funding agreement will be between the Commonwealth and the company
• assistance from the Case Manager and Volunteer Business Mentors will be available to you for up to two years.

If you apply through a commercialisation office or an eligible partner entity then:

• you may apply for the Skills and Knowledge and Proof of Concept components only
• the funding agreement will be between you, the Commonwealth, and the commercialisation office or eligible partner entity through which you have applied
• assistance from the Case Manager and Volunteer Business Mentors will be available to you for up to one year.

Commercialisation offices

Most universities and research organisations have a commercialisation office which assists researchers in commercialising their research. 

The commercialisation offices of Australian Universities and Publicly Funded Research Agencies (PFRA) do not need to register with Commercialisation Australia prior to an application for assistance. Please refer to the Customer Information Guide for more information.

The commercialisation offices of other universities and research organisations need to apply to Commercialisation Australia to be approved as an eligible partner entity before an application for assistance can be lodged.

Eligible partner entities 

An eligible partner entity is a body corporate or an entity within a body corporate whose primary purpose is to provide assistance in commercialising ideas or research. An example of an eligible partner entity could be the commercialisation office of a research organisation that does not meet the definition of a PFRA. Click here to view the list of current eligible partner entities of Commercialisation Australia.

Organisations outside the research space could also apply to be registered as eligible partner entities if they support individuals in commercialising their ideas.

If you would like to become an eligible partner entity, please email CEOofCA@innovation.gov.au.

For more details on what is required to apply for registration, please review the sample Eligible Partner Entity Application Form [103KB]

For more details on eligible partner entities and commercialisation offices, please refer to the fact sheet [77 KB]