In Australian Patent Office to be able to file an application, you will need a typed specification describing your invention. A complete application to Australian Patent Office requires the following:

• Be in English;
• Be on only one side of each A4 page;
• Have separate pages for claims and drawings;
• Not include photographs;
• Allow sufficient margins (i.e. at least 2.5 cm) on all pages;
• Fully describe the invention so that someone with a knowledge of the technology could reproduce your invention from the information given. It does not have to detail exact dimensions in the nature of a manufacturing specification, as long as those dimensions are not critical to the working of the invention;
• Give the best method you know of putting your invention into effect; and
• End with one or more claims that define the invention the patent is to cover.

Filing a provisional application in Australian Patent Office
To file a provisional application in Australian Patent Office you must include:

• A provisional specification;
• A completed Patent request: Provisional Application form (see patent forms); and
• The filing fee.

A provisional specification should be drafted carefully and include as full a description of your invention as is possible, including alternative arrangements and optional features. A provisional specification is not required to have claims.

All provisional applications in Australian Patent Office lapse after 12 months. If you do not file in Australian Patent Office a complete application associated with the provisional or file an international application within this 12 month period, you will lose any priority that it may have provided. You can mail a completed application to the Commissioner of Patents at IP Australia or deliver it to one of the Australian Patent Office state offices. Download the payment options form to see the accepted methods of payment - credit card and EFTPOS payment options are now available for all of IP Australia's services and products. Australian Patent Office will then send you a receipt listing the provisional application number. For a standard patent you can have any number of claims. An innovation patent can have only five claims.

Filing a complete application in Australian Patent Office
Your application to Australian Patent Office should include:

• A complete specification;
• Either a Patent Request: Standard Patent or a Patent Request: Innovation Patent form;
• A Notice of Entitlement form for Standard patents, (although you can file this form at a later stage if you need to); and
• The filing fee.