What happens when innovative businesses can access their R&D Tax Incentive sooner? More than 1,000 Australian innovators have discovered the answer, using R&D finance for faster access to capital, smoother cash flow, and a shorter path from idea to impact.
At Radium Capital, we’re celebrating a major milestone: $1 billion in R&D funding advanced to Australian innovators across every sector, stage, and state. As Australia’s leading R&D finance provider, we’ve led the way in making financing innovation more accessible and powerful, and providing capital and support to help the nation’s innovators thrive.
From bold idea to billion-dollar impact
Since founding in Perth eight years ago, Radium has helped redefine how the nation funds innovation, turning R&D finance from a niche concept into an essential pillar of Australia’s innovation ecosystem. Our billion-dollar milestone highlights that R&D finance isn’t just a stopgap for startups; it’s a strategic tool empowering businesses to move further, faster, by unlocking their own capital early. In short, R&D funding has come of age — and Radium Capital is leading the charge.
Managing Director Jeremy Loftus says the rapid growth of R&D financing reflects its role as a critical pillar of Australia’s innovation landscape.
“R&D finance is an enabler that helps innovators get their ideas to market faster, maintain control of their businesses, and translate their research in Australia,” he says.
In this article, we explore how Australia’s R&D funding landscape has evolved — from a novel way to access the Federal Government’s R&D Tax Incentive (R&DTI) refund sooner, to a mainstream innovation-finance strategy powering the nation’s most ambitious businesses.
Funding innovation in Australia: The R&DTI at a glance
Introduced in 2011, the R&DTI is the Australian Government’s main lever for encouraging businesses of all sizes to invest in research and development. The program enables companies to claim 43.5% or 48.5% of their eligible R&D expenditure, depending on their corporate tax rate, helping offset costs and fuel further innovation. Companies with more than $20 million in turnover receive the R&DTI as a tax offset.
In 2022–23, the government’s report on companies claiming the R&DTI found that more than 13,000 businesses invested $16.2 billion in eligible R&D, up $5 billion on the previous year.[1] However, while spending has steadily increased, it hasn’t kept pace with economic growth. In 2021–22, Australian R&D expenditure across all sectors represented 1.68% of GDP, well below the OECD average of 2.7%[2],placing Australia 22nd out of 139 countries in the 2025 Global Innovation Index. [3]
To boost national performance, the Federal Government established the Strategic Examination of R&D (SERD) in early 2025 to explore ways to strengthen Australia’s innovation ecosystem. One key challenge identified in the review was the timing of annual refunds. Because the R&DTI is processed as part of a company’s annual tax return, the lag between R&D spending and receiving refunds can place significant strain on cash flow, particularly for startups and scaleups, or companies engaged in ambitious, high-risk projects. This timing gap can limit momentum and delay commercial progress.[4]
From refund to runway: The rise of R&D finance
This challenge was exactly what Radium set out to solve when it issued its first Radium Advance on Valentine’s Day 2017. As its name implies, a Radium Advance is a type of loan that provides an advance on the company’s expected R&DTI refund. The Advance provides innovators with access to their expected refund up to 18 months in advance, allowing funds to be reinvested back into the business to boost R&D budgets, reduce capital outlay, or smooth business cash flow.
Created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, Radium’s simple, transparent and accessible financing model quickly gained traction. Eight years later, Radium has provided more than $1 billion in non-dilutive funding to over 1,000 innovative Australian businesses, helping them fund their R&D how they want, when they want.
Jeremy Loftus explains, “R&D lending offers a lifeline in an environment where funding options for research and innovation are often limited. R&D is inherently risky and has uncertain outcomes, and that often doesn’t align well with the more conservative risk appetite of traditional financial institutions or venture capital (VC).”
He says Radium’s deeper understanding of the R&D ecosystem allows the company to take a more nuanced approach to assessing and supporting ambitious, outcome-uncertain innovation projects.
“Because we give businesses access to their own expected R&DTI refund, we allow them to do R&D even when they don’t have the security a big bank would require. And because they’re business loans secured against the refund, founders don’t have to risk personal assets like their homes. It’s a fair, more sustainable form of finance.”
“R&D finance has been cemented into the innovation landscape. We’ve become essential partners for businesses at the forefront of innovation.”
A market comes of age
Australia’s historical aversion towards debt has shifted. Many companies are now incorporating a range of capital sources into their funding mix. At Radium Capital we’ve seen an upward trend of businesses strategically taking Radium Advances quarterly – or even monthly – to maximise funding for R&D throughout the year.
“CFOs and founders are realising they can gain early access to their own money – their accrued R&DTI refund – and reinvest into their business,” says Jeremy. “They’re using that extra capital to boost R&D, smooth cash flow, or position their company for a capital raise,” he says.
Radium state manager WA, SA and NT, Roy Smith, remembers how different the landscape looked with Radium began.
“Back then, R&D lending sat in a catch-all basket called ‘alternative finance’, which wasn’t well understood,” he says. “Radium worked hard to create an accessible product and to educate the market on how to use debt financing strategically to accelerate their commercialisation.”
“We’re finding that the market no longer takes a one-size-fits-all approach to innovation funding. Our clients genuinely want to understand which capital works for each part of their journey and build a diverse capital stack that will help them weather economic cycles,” he says.
Roy says Radium Advances are structured to work alongside, rather than restrict, other forms of capital.
“Innovation businesses can strategically leverage R&D lending to demonstrate a healthy balance sheet, stretch existing capital and show a strong commitment to R&D investment that can help them attract other sources of funding and collaborations,” he says.
Chief Growth Officer Georgie Wade says Radium has also invested heavily in education and ecosystem partnerships, collaborating with organisations including incubators and accelerators, innovation precincts, industry associations, and universities, as well as other funders, to ensure founders across sectors understood every funding option available.
“Access to capital remains one of the biggest challenges to innovation. And navigating the available options and deciding which levers to pull, and when to pull them, is equally as hard,” she says. “So, over the past 8 years we’ve worked diligently to help break down these barriers and ‘demystify’ innovation funding so that more Australian innovators can bring their life-changing ideas to market.”
Funding that fuels momentum
State Manager, Victoria and Tasmania, Tim Hynes, says more businesses now understand that using R&D advances strategically can have a compounding effect that boosts a company’s overall R&D budget.
“Reinvesting your Radium Advance into R&D triggers additional R&DTI refunds,” he explains. “If you access Radium Advances quarterly, you could spend up to 50% more on R&D using the same initial capital, or reduce your capital outlay by a third and redirect funds to other parts of the business.”
Tim regularly works with medtech and biotech companies running large, cash-intensive clinical trials. “R&D funding can be an accelerator that helps companies complete the R&D and trials they need to commercialise products that could save thousands of lives,” he says.
Balancing growth and control
Beyond medtech and biotech, R&D finance is powering progress in fields from clean energy to advanced manufacturing. Especially for small- to medium-sized businesses, balancing the complexities of R&D with day-to-day operational demands can be challenging. Capital raising adds further pressure and often redirects resources away from innovation itself.
“We often see clients use Radium Advances to stretch their existing working capital and delay a funding round,” Tim says. “That breathing space lets them focus on progressing their innovation programs, rather than diverting effort into capital raising.”
The non-dilutive nature of R&D finance gives founders and management teams greater control over their businesses and R&D priorities.
“By accessing funding that doesn’t dilute ownership, they can stay true to their vision and focus on R&D breakthroughs — without the pressure of delivering short-term returns to equity investors,” he says.
Clarity, confidence and continuity
Operations Manager Barb McGirr, who’s been with Radium since inception, says that behind every Radium Advance sits a culture of rigour, accountability, and learned experience.
“Radium Capital are experts in R&D Finance: it’s all we do,” says Barb.
“As one of the first R&D finance companies on the market, our pioneering platform revolutionised the way R&D lending was done – making it faster, more transparent and more accessible. This has enabled Radium to help more than 1,000 innovation businesses.”
“We’ve continued to invest heavily in market-leading systems and processes, constantly fine-tuning and improving our processes to make sure working with us is as streamlined possible,” she says.
“Through more than 3,000 transactions and $1 billion of funding, we’ve learnt a lot. Customers come to us knowing we are a safe pair of hands,” Barb says.
Georgie Wade adds, “That consistency and in-depth understanding builds trust, and trust keeps innovation moving.”
Georgie says Radium focusses on building relationships with clients from their very first Advance.
“We see it as a long-term partnership to support innovators along every stage of their journey. Where some lenders may have minimum loan amounts, or caps on the amount of capital they can provide, Radium Advances don’t have the same restrictions. This allows innovators to dial up or down their funding to align with their project requirements, and with their needs as they grow,” she says.
“Our dedicated account management and customer team, plus our community program, supports this goal of partnership, and our referral and retention rates are a testament to this.”
More than money: Connecting Australia’s innovators
Radium’s commitment to innovation goes well beyond funding. The company actively supports the ecosystem by partnering with and sponsoring Australia’s leading innovation events – from national showcases such as _SOUTHSTART, Something Tech., and West Tech Fest, to key industry gatherings like the annual AusBiotech conference and Cicada x Tech23.
Community Engagement and Events Manager Morgan Stewart says those collaborations keep Radium close to the heartbeat of Australian innovation.
“Supporting these events means we stay connected with what’s happening on the ground – the new ideas, technologies, and conversations shaping the future,” she says.
As part of its community engagement program, Radium also hosts client events designed to foster community and collaboration.
“Innovation can be a lonely business,” Morgan says. “When we bring founders together, they swap advice, share lessons, and even find new collaborators. There’s a spark that comes from connecting people who understand each other’s challenges.”
Morgan says Radium is committed to building awareness of the R&DTI and other programs available for innovators, and to designing strong support networks for innovative businesses.
“We’re on the journey with you and want to support you however possible. It might be that we can’t help you right now, but we have an expansive network so we’ll do our best to connect you with someone who can,” she says.
From a single office in downtown Perth, Radium Capital now has more than 20 team members in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, servicing clients in every state and territory, and is continuing to grow.
Funding the future of Australian innovation
With the SERD review expected to guide reforms to focus Australia’s R&D efforts, increase research translation, strengthen the R&DTI, and drive investment in R&D, Jeremy Loftus believes Australian innovators are entering their most exciting chapter.
“So many technologies are accelerating at pace, from quantum to AI and clean tech,” he says. “Australia has always punched above its weight as a powerhouse of research and ingenuity. With world-class universities, strong industry–research links, and a growing appetite for collaboration, Australia is uniquely positioned to lead the next wave of innovation. And Radium will be there to help innovators get their ideas to market faster while keeping control of the companies they’ve worked so hard to build.”
[1] Australian Taxation Office (2025). Research and development tax incentive (R&DTI) transparency report 2022–23 [online]. Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Available at: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/income-deductions-and-concessions/incentives-and-concessions/research-and-development-tax-incentive-and-concessions/research-and-development-tax-incentive/r-d-tax-transparency-reports/r-d-tax-incentive-transparency-report-2022-23
[2] Parliament of Australia (2024). R&D and Innovation in Australia: 2024 update [online]. Parliament of Australia. Available at: https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/Research/Research_Papers/2024-25/RandD_and_innovation_in_Australia_2024_update
[3] World Intellectual Property Organisation (2025). Global Innovation Index Ranking 2025 [online]. World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Available at: https://www.wipo.int/en/web/global-innovation-index/2025/index?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23070234169&gbraid=0AAAAABa-DTLyGTUIF21cyCMy1OI6NhuzK&gclid=CjwKCAjw3tzHBhBREiwAlMJoUukrBUDdg_t4OuV9MntY9DfUgU0J_RLKDyZOkoZFVP1ooJlD8isJfBoC8RoQAvD_BwE
[4] Australian Government (2025). Strategic Examination of R&D, “RD&I incentives: Incentivising breakthrough innovation and ambitious R&D Issues paper, 4 Sept. Australian Government. Available at: https://storage.googleapis.com/converlens-au-industry/industry/p/prj3708900aab024c1d7431f/page/serd_issues_paper_3_incentivising_breakthrough_innovation_and_ambitious_R_D_.pdf
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