FinTech Australia warns digital sectors risk being left out of national R&D review
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The news: Industry body FinTech Australia has warned that financial and other digital technologies risk being unintentionally excluded from future innovation funding unless explicitly recognised in the federal government’s landmark review of Australia's research and development performance.
The context: The group said the absence of digital technology from the government’s five priority areas for long-term R&D focus — defence, health, agriculture, energy and resources — threatens to crowd out innovation in emerging sectors like fintech, AI, and cybersecurity.
The R&D Tax Incentive has long been essential to bridging early-stage development gaps for startups. That program is expected to come under scrutiny as part of the federal government’s ongoing Strategic Examination of Research and Development — a system-wide review of how Australia funds and incentivises innovation.
FinTech Australia believes modernising the incentive to better accommodate software-led and digital R&D will be critical to ensuring the review doesn’t inadvertently narrow support for technology-driven industries.
FinTech Australia's recommendations include:
- Explicitly including digital technology (e.g. fintech, AI, cybersecurity) as a national focus area;
- Modernising the R&D Tax Incentive to reflect software-led, agile innovation;
- Introducing sector-specific eligibility criteria for high-growth digital startups;
- Reforming the Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership (ESVCLP) program to boost domestic capital formation;
- Ensuring enabling sectors like fintech are not crowded out in funding allocations; and
- Maintaining predictability and simplicity in RD&I policy to support long-term planning.
What they said: “Every industry today leverages technology, so the term ‘digital’ can seem redundant,” said FinTech Australia CEO Rehan D’Almeida.
“But with fintech in particular, there are world-leading innovations unique to Australia that may not qualify for the R&D Tax Incentive under the proposed framework. That’s our key concern.
“It’s not an understatement to say that the R&D Tax Incentive is the lifeblood of the fintech and startup sectors. We’ve consistently flagged this with policymakers. A narrow focus could undermine Australia’s future competitiveness.”
The source: FinTech Australia media release
