Australian IP report 2025
States and territories
Among Australian states and territories, New South Wales (NSW) is the leading source for standard patent applications in Australia (38.9% of resident applications), followed by Victoria (23.3%) and Queensland (17.3%). However, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is the most patent-intensive, with just over 2 applications per thousand businesses in the territory (see Figure 2.7).
In 2024, filings increased in South Australia (+31.5% on their level in 2023), Tasmania (+30.8%), Western Australia (+7.9%) and Victoria (+5.4%). Applications fell in NSW (–3.9%) and Queensland (–6.1%), while filings from the Northern Territory were stable.
Figure 2.7 Patent applications by Australian states and territories, 2024
Source: IP Australia; ABS. Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, August 2024. Retrieved 03 February 2024.
Australian filings abroad
For Australian exporters, markets in which they can secure patent protection become more attractive to the firm because it excludes others from selling the same technology. In response to obtaining patents in a given market, exporters are estimated to increase export volumes to that market by 6%.1
The leading destination markets for Australian patents are the US, the European Patent Office (EPO), China, Japan, and Canada (see Figure 2.8).
Australian patent filings abroad declined for the second consecutive year in 2023, falling by 3.9% to 9,045, based on the latest available data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Significant decreases were observed in filings to New Zealand (–27.9% on their 2022 level), Japan (–9.6%), and the US (–9.2%). These declines were partially offset by growth in filings to China (+8.0%) and India (+14.3%).
Australians can seek patent protection in other countries by filing through the PCT or directly at IP offices in their target markets. Prior to 2023 there had been an increasing trend in usage of the PCT by Australians taking their ideas global. In 2023, the share of Australian filings abroad routed through the PCT fell sharply, from 72.6% to 67.6%. The decline is consistent with an overall decline in global PCT filings, by 1.8% in 2023, which WIPO attributed to economic uncertainty and rising interest rates.
Figure 2.8 Leading overseas destinations for Australian patent filings abroad, 2023
Source: WIPO IP Statistics Database
- de Rassenfosse, G., Grazzi, M., Moschella, D. & Pellegrino, G. (2022). International patent protection and trade: Transaction-level evidence. European Economic Review, 147, Article 104160.