The impact of three tax concessions aimed at increasing venture capital investment in Australia and upskilling venture capital fund managers are being evaluated by the Australian Government, after being announced five years ago.
Three venture capital fund programmes are in-scope for review: the Early-Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership (ESVCLP); Venture Capital Limited Partnership (VCLP); and the Australian Venture Capital Fund of Funds (AFOF); as well as investments made directly by foreign residents registered under Part 3 of the Venture Capital Act 2002.
To evaluate how the programmes are working in practice and to understand if they are meeting their intended objectives, quantitative and qualitative evidence is sought, together with feedback on how the concessions work in practice.
The primary focus of ESVCLP is encouraging investments in early-stage start-ups seeking to commercialise. The VCLP aims to attract foreign investment to the Australian venture capital sector, and the AFOF seeks to provide diversification and flexibility for the fund and its investors.
These tax concessions were implemented as part of the Turnbull Government’s 2016 National Innovation and Sciences Agenda.
The five-year review is part of the Government’s Digital Economy Strategy and is being undertaken jointly by Treasury and Industry, Innovation and Science Australia: an independent statutory board that advises the Australian Government on innovation, research, and science matters. The final report will be delivered to the Treasurer before the end of 2021 and will be subsequently tabled in Parliament.
As the national voice of the life sciences industry, AusBiotech champions advocacy and regularly submits commentary on behalf of its members and the Australian life science industry.
Biotech investors and AusBiotech Members are invited to read the consultation paper here and to contact Hayley Laing, Manager, Global Investment Programme, with feedback by 31 August 2021.