For background on what design registration protects and when it is the right choice, see our overview of design protection in Australia.
Stage 1: Filing the design application
The process begins with the filing of a design application with IP Australia. The application must include clear representations — either drawings or photographs — showing the visual features you wish to protect. These representations are the foundation of your design right, so they need to accurately and completely depict the shape, configuration, pattern, or ornamentation that distinguishes your product.
Quality of representations is critical. The scope of your protection is defined by what the representations show. Incomplete or ambiguous drawings can result in a narrower scope of protection than intended, or leave room for a competitor to argue that their product does not fall within the registered design.
The scope of your design protection is defined by the quality and completeness of your representations. What is not shown is not protected.
Patentec will prepare your design representations to ensure they capture the essential visual features of your product in sufficient detail to support the broadest defensible scope of protection.
Stage 2: Registration or publication
Once your design application has been filed, you have six months in which to decide whether to request registration or publication of the design.
Registration is the standard path and is usually requested at the time of filing. At this stage, IP Australia conducts only a formalities check — the design is not examined for newness or distinctiveness. The formalities assessment typically takes around eight weeks. If any issues are identified, you will have two months to resolve them before the application lapses.
Publication is a lesser-used defensive strategy. It does not give you any enforceable rights, but it establishes the design as published prior art, which prevents others from obtaining rights over the same or a substantially similar design. Publication can be a useful approach when your primary objective is to preserve freedom to operate rather than to enforce exclusive rights.
Registration establishes your design rights. Publication establishes prior art to prevent others from claiming the same design.
Stage 3: Certification
A registered design is not enforceable until it has been certified. Certification involves a substantive examination by IP Australia, during which the design is assessed against the legal requirements of newness and distinctiveness by reference to the global design landscape.
Certification can be requested at any time after filing. In practice, many design owners choose to defer certification until an infringement issue arises, keeping upfront costs lower while still maintaining a registered position. When certification is requested, the examination process takes approximately 13 weeks.
If the design passes examination, it is certified and becomes fully enforceable. If issues are identified, you will have the opportunity to respond before a final decision is made.
A registered design becomes enforceable only after certification — the substantive examination for newness and distinctiveness.
Duration of protection
A registered design provides protection for an initial period of five years from the filing date. This can be renewed once for a further five years, giving a maximum total protection period of 10 years.
Grace period for prior disclosure
If your design has been publicly disclosed before you file your application, you may still be able to secure a design right in Australia under the grace period provisions. The grace period allows a design to be disclosed publicly under certain conditions without destroying the ability to obtain a valid registration. However, relying on the grace period introduces risk — particularly for international protection, where different countries apply different rules. Filing before any public disclosure remains the safest approach.
Stage 4: International design protection
Design rights are territorial. If you intend to sell your product overseas, foreign design applications should be filed within six months of the Australian filing date to claim the benefit of your original priority date under the Paris Convention.
This six-month window is shorter than the 12-month period available for patent applications, making early planning essential. Missing the deadline does not prevent you from filing internationally, but you lose the benefit of the earlier Australian priority date — which can be critical if a similar design has been published in the interim.
The Paris Convention priority period for designs is six months — half the time available for patents. Plan your international strategy early.
For more information on protecting your design in foreign markets, see our guide to international design registrations.
Next steps
If you have a new product design and need guidance on the registration process, contact Patentec for a complimentary consultation. We will assess your design, prepare the application and representations, and manage every stage of the process through to registration and, where needed, certification.