Trademark Registration in Australia
Australia is one of the few countries that lets you hear the office’s view before you file. With TM Headstart your mark is assessed before it becomes a formal application. Let us work through the class plan and the New Zealand distinction together.
Get your price for Australia within 24 hoursA written quote by class and scope · see the fees and official charges ↓A free attorney check and filing for your brand
Share your mark and target goods or services, and we will check the risk of an obstacle before IP Australia, whether TM Headstart makes sense on your file and the right class plan free of charge. You decide whether to proceed once you have seen the result.
Application details
Step 1 / 2Two short steps. We do not ask for a passport or identity document at this stage.
Who needs an Australian trademark registration?
For brands entering Oceania, Australia is the centre of the regional plan.
Brands exporting to Australia
Manufacturers selling through a distributor or their own channel. Registration is the step to take before any distribution agreement.
E-commerce and marketplace sellers
Brands selling through Amazon.com.au, eBay and their own store. Platform brand programmes generally require a national registration or filing.
Software and SaaS companies
Companies selling subscriptions to Australian business customers. A service mark application is built on a description of services.
Food, cosmetics and supplements
Where TGA or food regulations apply, product registration and trademark registration are separate processes; planning them together saves time.
Café, restaurant and retail concepts
Brands opening in Sydney and Melbourne. Concept names are copied quickly; registration is the basis of any franchise agreement.
Planning Oceania expansion
Australia and New Zealand produce separate rights. If the whole region is the target, two filings are planned.
TM Headstart: the office’s view before you file
This is where Australia differs from other countries. You can get the office’s preliminary assessment before moving to a formal application.
A paid pre-assessment
IP Australia reviews your mark and goods and services list and reports likely obstacles. It is not an application but a view given before one.
Five business days
The report usually arrives within five business days. That is a clear advantage where you want to see the risk quickly.
Room to adjust
If the report is unfavourable you can narrow the list, revisit the mark, or simply not convert it into an application at all.
Moving to a formal filing
If you decide to proceed, the file converts into a standard application and the remaining fee is paid. The filing date arises at conversion.
Address for service and representation
Representation rules in Australia are more flexible than in the US or Canada, but the address point should not be overlooked.
Class plan and examination grounds
The two grounds most often raised in IP Australia examination are distinctiveness and earlier rights.
Multi-class in one filing
Australia allows several classes in a single application, with fees calculated per class. That is a clear simplification compared with the Gulf states.
The picklist advantage
Choosing from IP Australia’s pre-approved goods and services descriptions lowers both the fee and the examination risk. Free-form wording can trigger extra review.
Distinctiveness
Descriptive signs and indications of geographic origin have their distinctiveness questioned. The office may ask for evidence of distinctiveness acquired through use.
Earlier rights
Where a similar earlier mark is found, an examination report issues. Failing to answer in time can cause the application to lapse.
IP Australia fees and costs that can arise later
In the table below, official fees and service fees sit on separate lines. Because the tariff is updated, we do not publish fixed amounts here.
Australia, New Zealand, the US and the Madrid route
The four routes most often compared when entering Oceania and Western markets. Click a column heading to open that page.
Documents and information
The document set on an Australian file is light; the real work sits in the wording of the list and the TM Headstart decision.
From filing to registration
Timelines depend on the office’s current workload and how the file develops; no fixed period is given on this page.
- 1Assessment and strategyWe review the mark and target goods and services, then set the class plan and whether to use TM Headstart.
- 2Search and list preparationIdentical and similar signs are assessed and the list is built from pre-approved descriptions wherever possible.
- 3TM Headstart (optional)If chosen, the pre-assessment request is sent; the report arrives within five business days and strategy is updated accordingly.
- 4FilingThe file is submitted through the IP Australia system and an application number issues. An application number is not a registration certificate.
- 5Examination and publicationThe office reviews formal requirements, distinctiveness and earlier rights; an accepted application is published in the official journal.
- 6Opposition period and registrationThe opposition window runs after publication. If no opposition arrives, or it resolves in your favour, the certificate issues.
After registration: use, watching and renewal
An Australian registration is also a right that needs managing.
Non-use risk
Three years after registration, an unused mark becomes open to cancellation on a third party’s request. Evidence of use should be archived from the outset.
Watching
Monitoring similar applications is a separate service; the office does not notify you automatically.
Renewal
Protection renews in ten-year periods and the renewal fee is calculated by class count.
Keeping the register current
Changes of name, address and ownership must be recorded.