Steps and Procedure for getting Patent in Australia

Steps and Procedure for getting Patent in Australia

“Procedure for obtaining a patent in Australia has the following steps: capturing your idea for creating complete invention disclosure, conducting a patentability search, drafting a patent application, filing the application, publication of application, examination, Office action, responding to objections, and grant of the patent.”

Table of Contents

Step 1: Going from idea to complete invention disclosure

Every invention has its beginning in an Idea. In this phase, you capture your idea properly, get clarity on each element of the innovative idea, and fill-in the blank spots with appropriate research and experiment.

from idea to invention disclosure

Preliminary search: this search is for finding answers to questions that build a working disclosure or comprehensive invention disclosure.

  • What problem my invention is intended to solve? How does it work?
  • What are the elements or components of my invention ?
  • Can I draw a block diagram or device or flowchart or sketch that explains my invention in a better way ?
  • How the elements or components are inter connected
  • How each element is functioning in accordance with other element
  • Can I search and collect information about all elements, parts or component of my invention so that there are no blank spots.

This is the most important phase for the inventor where we go from an idea stage to a working invention disclosure that can be discussed with a patent agent or attorney. we have a complete section about actions to take and worksheets Refer to the section Step 1 : from idea to invention disclosure.

Include drawings, diagrams, or sketches explaining the working of the invention. they play an important role in understanding your invention. Once you have your innovative idea completely captured with all technical details, then you perform a preliminary search.

Visit our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@Patentattorneyworldwide

The outcome : of this step is a complete invention disclosure that covers all aspects of your invention without any missing elements or blank spots.

for more details, you may watch the video on what is exact information needed to file a patent application: creating complete invention disclosure

Stage-wise Cost for getting patent in Australia

This cost requires in stages as your invention proceeds from 

  • Novelty Search AUD 370 to AUD 600 or (USD 250 to USD 400)
  • Patent drafting and filing in AUD 1500 to AUD 2200 or (USD 1000 to USD 1500), and after 1 to 2 years
  • Response to office actions typically requires AUD 750 to AUD 1500 or (USD 500 to USD 1000)

Step 2: Patentability search or Novelty search (optional step)

In this step, a comprehensive search is conducted to find out whether your invention meets patentability criteria in Australia which are : 

The patentability search is aimed towards finding out the novelty and non-obviousness of the invention, the search identifies the closes possible prior arts (known to the public) relating to your invention, and based on the results obtained an opinion about the patentability of your invention may be provided by patent agent or attorney. The patentability opinion may be positive, negative, or neutral.

A positive patentability opinion indicates you stand a good chance to get your patent granted for your invention. This search (novelty or patetability) saves us from filing patent for an invention for which 100% overlapping prior arts are readily available to public. in such cases the patentability search would give a negative opinion. The patentability report and opinion helps you decide whether to go ahead with the filing of a patent or not, chances are what you thought as a novel might already have been patented or known to the public.

Novelty search or patentability search report saves lots of time, efforts and cost for you preventing you from filing an invention which is not Novel. therefore although optional it is a recommended step in patent procedure. For more details on this Refer section on ” novelty search or patentability search ”

Costs: the patent agent or attorney’s professional fees for Novelty search can range from AUD 370 to AUD 600 or (USD 250 to USD 400) based on the complexity and subject matter of the invention.

Time: the time required is about 5-7 working days

Why patentability search or Novelty search is recommended (although optional step) ?

  • The novel aspect of the invention identified via patentability search can be leveraged while writing patent application and especially claims of patent such that our patent application stands a good chance going through the examination stage to a granted patent.
  • In case the patentability opinion is negative, then it saves a lot of cost and time which would have unnecessarily invested in proceeding with the patent filing process and eventually getting the patent application rejected. 
  • It helps you in taking decision whether to proceed with patent filing or not and estimating chances of getting patent for your invention.

Step 3: Patent drafting / Patent writing

A patent is a techno-legal document, that means patent has technical as well as legal aspects to it. Patent drafting / patent writing is a specialized job, it requires years of practice and experience with patent law as well as an understanding of the field of the invention, along with general understanding of case-laws and overall rules and regulations in patent prosecution to be able to draft a good patent application.

There are many rules and care to be taken while drafting claims, writing detailed descriptions, writing different embodiment of the invention, describing inventive step etc… which a first-timer or inexperienced patent writer may miss and hence end up not getting proper protection for invention (or sometimes even rejection of patent). Writing patent as a project report or a technical thesis (on your own ) and submitting it to patent office would be a mistake which can cause loss of opportunity to patent your invention.

To get a quick understanding, you may quickly read some granted patents from your field (domain) and realize that it is a complex document and it completely defers from a thesis or a project report written with ordinary skills.

A good patent application should :

Writing a good patent application is one of the most important step in life cycle of a patent and a good patent application written by an experienced patent agent / attorney should survive not only through the examination phase till the grant of patent but also it should survive the commercialization phase where actual money is made by licensing or selling patent rights, where competitors should not be able to work around your patent.

Writing such patent application is a skill and it is explained in detail in our section on “writing patent application (patent drafting)”

Cost of patent drafting in Australia : The cost for drafting a patent application in Australia varies in a great deal as it is dependent on multiple factors like field of invention and complexity and the cost can range from AUD 1500 to AUD 2200 or (USD 1000 to USD 1500).

Cost of drafting Provisional Patent application in Australia:

Simple inventionComplex inventionVery complex invention
AUD 600
or (USD 400)		AUD 800
or (USD 540)		AUD 1200
or (USD 800)

Cost of drafting Non-Provisional (complete) Patent application in Australia:

Simple inventionComplex inventionVery complex invention
AUD 1500
or (USD 1000)		AUD 1800
or (USD 1200)		AUD 2200
or (USD 1500)

Time required to draft a patent application in Australia : it takes about 1 to 2 weeks time for a patent attorney to draft an application for an invention. It certainly can take more time based on complexity, length of the detailed description, and availability of patent attorney’s time.

Step 4: Filing a patent application

Filing patent application into patent office: Based on the readiness of your invention, the decision has to be made whether to go for a provisional patent application or complete patent application. If you are not quite ready with a complete invention and require further research and development yet you don’t want to lose on priority date for filing patent application then going for a provisional patent application is recommended.

The patents are territorial in nature, so if you file a patent in Australia, you are getting protection in Australia only. You cannot stop the use of invention outside Australia. Therefore, if you desire that your invention should be protected in multiple countries, depending on your preference of countries, different options, paths and strategies for filing patent application are to be adopted with the guidance of a patent agent/attorney.

International patent application:  

the details about patent filing are explained in the section “filing patent application”

Attorney fees for filing patent application : generally there is no professional fees charged for patent filing patent application (provided fees is paid for patentability search and patent drafting )

There are many things needed to consider before giving an exact fees amount, as it depends on a number of sheets in the patent specification, a number of claims etc. but below are approximate costing for this stage.

  • official filing fees for Provisional patent application in Australia is AUD 110
  • official filing fees for Standard patent application AUD 370

Step 5: Publication of application

Patent application is published after the expiry of 18 months from the earliest filing date, however if requested by applicant the director may publish the patent application earlier than end of 18 month period.

Your application is published on the Australian patent database, patent office will advertise your patent in the Australian Official Journal of Patents (AOJP).

Publication of your patent means: information about your invention is available to public now.

Step 6: Examination of Patent Application

Your patent application is taken for examination after receiving request for examination. You can make such request for examination within up to 5 years time from the filing date. Once the request for examination is made the Australian patent office generally takes upto 12 months to examine your patent application.

Your patent application will move to “acceptance step” if it does not have any issue and satisfies patentability criteria. Incase your patent application has some issue or amendments to be made then the examiner will send a repot explainig the details of issue.

If the amendments are suggested by patent office then no fees needed to pay. You’ll need to pay a fee of AUD 250 if you decide to make amendments to your standard patent application before examination.

You can also request an expedited examination to have your patent examined faster.

After the application is filed, the Australian Patent Office takes the application up for examination (usually in about 12-36 months). In this stage, patent examiners at Australian Patent Office conduct their own search related to your invention (patent application) and issue and office action.

The objections raised on your patent application would be communicated with you, by official letter from the Australian Patent Office, known as an Office Action. You would get opportunity to make amendments or contest the objections raised. There is specific time within which you will have to respond to the objections, if you failed to do so the patent application will be abandoned.

for more details on Fast-track examination visit our section on examination of patent application

Step 7: Response to objections

The majority of patent applicants (inventors) will receive some type of objections based on examination report. The objections raised on your patent application would be communicated with you, by official letter from the Australian Patent Office, known as an Office Action. You would get opportunity to make amendments or contest the objections raised.

The best thing to do it analyze the examination report with patent agent / attorney and creating a response to the objections raised. This is a chance for an inventor / applicant to communicate his side of the equation and making desired changes in the patent application to comply the objections received.

Office action refers to the written document issued by the Australian Patent Office to highlight the examiner’s review of a patent application. in general, the information in office action communicates the acceptance or rejection of claims and residing reasons, prior arts, or any other specific reasons for its rejection.

Writing a response to an Office action is a chance for invetor (with the help of patent agent/attorney) to argue about the patentability of the application and comparative analysis (differentiation) of cited prior arts or some times comply to objections received by amending the patent application and making required changes so that the patent application would be granted.

If Australian Patent Office is satisfied with the response to the objections or the amended patent application. Up on finding the patent application in order of grant,  The patent is granted to you (inventor) /  applicant as early as possible !!!

Professional Fees: The patent agent /attorney fee is from AUD 750 to AUD 1500 or (USD 500 to USD 1000) for response to office action depending upon complexity, subject matter and number of objections.

Step 8: Grant of patent / Notice of Allowance

If the examiner determines that your application is in satisfactory condition and meets the requirements, you will receive a Notice of Allowance. The notice of allowance will list the acceptance fee that must be paid prior to the Patent being issued. The patent grant is mailed on the issue date of the patent.

Acceptance Fees : If your application passes examination, we’ll email your online services inbox to let you know. We’ll publish a notice of acceptance in the Australian Journal of Patents (AOJP). Third parties will then have three months from when the notice is published to oppose grant of your application. Once your application has been accepted, you’ll need to pay a standard patent acceptance (mandatory) fee AUD 250 .

Selecting right patent attorney for your invention

for more information on selecting the right patent attorney in Europe to work with and regarding deciding whether to go for a most expensive attorney or the most economic attorney for patenting your invention check our section on

Prasad Karhad
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