Fast-tracking patent examination in Australia

Australia has two mechanisms available for fast-tracking patent examination – the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) and IP Australia’s expedited examination program. Australia is part of the Global PPH (GPPH), and has a PCT-PPH and an IP Australia-EPO PPH program. On 2 June 2026, Australia joined the PPH eXtra initiative, which aims to provide clearer timeframes for examination under the PPH. However, IP Australia’s expedited examination program remains a viable option for accelerating examination without relying on a work product from another jurisdiction.

PPH programs

The PPH first launched in 2006 as a bilateral pilot program between the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO). Over the past 20 years, the PPH has become a fixture of international patent prosecution, with the GPPH emerging in 2014 and expanding to include 29 IP Offices, including IP Australia.

Under the GPPH, examination can be accelerated based on at least one claim found to be allowable by one of the participating Offices of Earlier Examination (OEEs). Similarly, under the PCT-GPPH, examination can be accelerated based on at least one claim found to be allowable by one of the participating OEEs acting as the International Searching Authority (ISA) or International Preliminary Examination Authority (IPEA).

IP Australia also has a bilateral agreement with the EPO. The IP Australia-EPO PPH program is effectively the same as the GPPH and PCT-PPH programs, allowing for accelerated examination based on at least one claim found to be allowable by the EPO, including in its capacity and an ISA/IPEA, as the OEE.

Examination under the various PPH programs requires the claims of the Australia application to sufficiently correspond – or be amended to sufficiently correspond – to one or more of the claims found to be allowable by the relevant OEE.

Typically, IP Australia allows the claims to differ from those examined by the OEE where different claim formats are permitted by different Offices (e.g., second medical use claims), to add multiple dependencies, and other non-substantive variations.

PPH examination can be requested when first requesting examination, or at any time before a first examination report is issued by IP Australia, and does not attract any additional official fees. Generally, an examination report will be issued, or the application accepted, within about three months of the relevant request being filed.

PPH eXtra

The PPH eXtra initiative was launched by the Japanese Patent Office in 2022, with a view to improving transparency around timeframes for PPH examination. Australia has now joined the Japan, Austria, China, Israel, South Korea, Finland and the United States in implementing the initiative.

According to IP Australia, “PPH eXtra builds on the existing PPH framework by improving transparency and predictability around examination timeframes for PPH requests”. Participation in the initiative will involve publication of target timeframes for examination reports, including first and subsequent examination reports, after PPH is requested, and will be updated annually.

Current timeframes can be found here, and indicate that although IP Australia has a target timeframe of 3 months, the actual average time to issuance as of 2025 is 0.6 months for a first examination report and 0.5 months for a subsequent examination report.

IP Australia’s expedited examination program

IP Australia also provides a mechanism for fast-tracking examination without the need to amend the claims or rely on a work product from another IP Office. This pathway may be useful where a corresponding application has not been allowed by an OEE, or where different claim scope may be desirable.

To expedite examination via this mechanism, it is typically sufficient to submit a simple statement as to why examination should be expedited, such as:

• commercial reasons, such as to facilitate licensing agreements, to enforce the patent against an alleged infringement, or to satisfy potential investors;

• the application relates to green technology; or

• the applicant is a small-to-medium enterprise (SME).

  
  

Like the PPH options outlined above, expedited examination can be requested when first requesting examination, or at any time before a first examination report is issued by IP Australia, and does not attract any additional official fees. Generally, an examination report will be issued, or the application accepted, within about two months of the request being filed.

conclusion

Australia offers a range of flexible options for fast-tracking examination under a variety of circumstances. Where desirable claims have already been allowed by an OEE, one of the PPH programs may offer a streamlined pathway to allowance in Australia – although allowance is not guaranteed and IP Australia will still conduct substantive examination. IP Australia’s own expedited examination procedure also remains an attractive alternative, particularly where corresponding claims have not yet been allowed elsewhere, or where different claim scope is preferred.

Authored by Dr Claire Gregg of Davies Collison Cave

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