Australia offers an examiner's opinion before you file, and the application fee depends on how you word your goods and services. This guide shows the steps, the timing, the government fees, and the rules that are particular to Australia.
Each further class: AUD 250, with picklist wording
Typical time
From 7.5 months
with no objection
Opposition period
2 months
from the advertisement of acceptance
Lasts
10 years
from the filing date, then renewed every 10 years
How filing works
Four Steps, From the Search to the Certificate
1
Search Before You File
A search shows whether an earlier trademark stands in the way before you pay the application fee. We check the Australian register for trademarks that are the same or similar for your goods and services.
2
A Qualified Local Attorney Files
A qualified local attorney files your application with IP Australia and provides the address for service that the office requires. The goods and services are drafted with picklist wording where it fits your business.
3
Examination and Acceptance
IP Australia usually examines an application three to four months after filing. If the examiner raises an issue, you have 15 months from the first report to resolve it.
4
Opposition Period, Then Registration
An accepted trademark is advertised for two months, and anyone can oppose it in that time. With no opposition, IP Australia registers the trademark and protection counts from the filing date.
What is different here
Six Facts About Filing in Australia
Picklist Wording Sets the Fee
The application fee is AUD 250 for each class when your goods and services come from IP Australia's picklist. With your own wording, it is AUD 400 for each class.
TM Headstart Gives an Early Opinion
For AUD 200 per class, an examiner assesses your trademark within five business days, before you formally apply. Converting to an application costs a further AUD 130 per class, and the filing date is the day you convert.
An Address in Australia or New Zealand
Every application must state an address for service in Australia or New Zealand. For owners abroad, the qualified local attorney who files the application provides it.
Fifteen Months to Answer a Report
If the examiner raises an issue, you have 15 months from the first report to have the application accepted. An extension costs AUD 100 for each month.
Seven and a Half Months Minimum
IP Australia does not register a trademark until at least seven and a half months after its priority date, which for most applications is the filing date. Expedited examination does not shorten this.
The Three-Year Use Requirement
A registered trademark can be removed if it has not been used in Australia for a continuous period of three years. For a trademark filed on or after 24 February 2019, that challenge can be made once it has been on the register for three years.
Timeline
What Happens, and When
The usual path, with no objection and no opposition.
Day 1
Filed
A qualified local attorney files your application with IP Australia, and your filing date is set.
Months 3 to 4
Examination
IP Australia usually examines an application three to four months after filing.
From month 5
Acceptance Advertised
Acceptance is advertised no earlier than five months after the priority date, and the two-month opposition period begins.
From 7.5 months
Registered
With no opposition, the trademark registers, with no separate registration fee.
Every 10 years
Renewal
You can renew in the 12 months before expiry, or within six months after it for an added fee.
What it costs
Government Fees at IP Australia
Step
Government fee
Note
Application, one class
AUD 250
With picklist wording. AUD 400 with your own wording. No separate fee at registration.
Each further class
AUD 250
With picklist wording. AUD 400 with your own wording.
TM Headstart (optional)
AUD 200 + AUD 130 per class
The request fee, then the fee to convert the request into an application.
Renewal
AUD 400 per class
Paid online. In the six months after expiry, add AUD 100 for each month or part of a month.
Opposition
AUD 250
To file a notice of intention to oppose. The statement of grounds and particulars is free up to 3 grounds and 10 cited trademarks. Hearing fees are separate.
The opponent files a notice of intention to oppose within the two-month opposition period, and a statement of grounds and particulars within one month after that. You then have two months from receiving the statement to file a notice of intention to defend, which has no fee. If you do not file it, the application lapses. If you do, both sides file evidence and IP Australia decides the opposition.
Yes. Under Australian law, the owner of an unregistered trademark is the first person to use it in Australia for those goods or services. Where nobody has used it, the first person to apply is, in most cases, the owner. An earlier user can oppose an application on the ground that the person applying is not the owner.
You can still renew in the six months after the registration expires. You pay the renewal fee of AUD 400 per class, plus AUD 100 for each month or part of a month after expiry. If the trademark is not renewed in those six months, the registration lapses. IP Australia sends a reminder two months before the renewal is due.
Yes. Australia is a member of WIPO's Madrid System (the Madrid Protocol), so an international application based on your home trademark can include Australia. IP Australia examines it under Australian law, and you need an address for service in Australia or New Zealand to answer an objection or an opposition. On that route the fees are paid to WIPO in Swiss francs and include a fee for Australia for each class; on the direct route you pay IP Australia's application fee for each class.
