I have an app idea: where do I start, and how do I protect it?

Updated October 22, 2026 · 6 min read

Start by proving people want it, not by hiring a developer. An idea on its own can’t be protected in Australia: copyright covers how you express an idea, not the idea itself. Your real protection is a confidentiality agreement before you share the details, keeping anything you might patent secret until you file, and owning the code once it is written. Test the idea with a simple prototype and real potential customers, then pay to build only the one job they want done.

Origami kitchen at night: a person shows a folded-card phone prototype to a listener across the table, beside a notebook of app sketches, a small lockbox and a few paper coins

What you can protect, and what you can’t

What	Protected?	Cost and time in 2026	For an app
The idea itself	No	–	Copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the idea
Confidential details	Yes, by agreement	A non-disclosure agreement; IP Australia has a free generator	Use one before you show anyone the details
Code, designs and text	Yes, automatically	Free; no registration	Make sure the code is assigned to you
Name and logo	Yes, as a trade mark	From A$250 per class online; at least seven months	Worth checking before you choose a name
How it works	Rarely, as a patent	Provisional application A$100 online; standard A$400 plus A$550 for examination	Most apps can’t be patented
Screen designs	No	–	Screens and icons can’t be registered as designs

Copyright “does not protect ideas or information, only the original expression”, says the Attorney-General’s Department. It is free and automatic, and it covers computer programs, according to business.gov.au. A trade mark costs at least A$250 and takes at least seven months to register, according to IP Australia’s fees.

Patents rarely fit apps. Most apps perform known functions and generally won’t be patentable unless they solve a technical problem or change how a phone or computer works, says IP Australia. Screens and icons have no physical form and can’t be registered as designs, according to its designs manual, updated in August 2026.

Sign a non-disclosure agreement first. IP Australia suggests one before you show your ideas, designs or business methods to contractors, designers or investors, and to mark anything you share as confidential. It offers a free NDA generator.
Keep a possible invention secret until you file. Don’t demonstrate, sell or post it publicly before you apply for a patent. Australia gives a 12-month grace period after a public disclosure, but not every country does, according to IP Australia.
Own the code. A contractor automatically owns the IP they create unless the contract says otherwise, and business.gov.au uses software as its example in its advice on preparing a contract. Get the assignment in writing before work starts.
Ignore pressure to pay. Scammers send official-looking letters about trade marks with urgent deadlines, claims that someone else is about to take your name, and unsolicited offers of logo, website or trade mark services, warns IP Australia.

Test it before you pay for a build

The government’s guide to developing a new product puts research first, to stop you “wasting time and money developing something people don’t want”: define the idea in one or two sentences, identify the market, check competitors and ask real people. Then make a basic prototype, give it to potential customers, watch how they use it and change it.

In practice, that means:

Write down the problem the app solves, and for whom, in one sentence.
Talk to people who have that problem now. Ask what they do about it today and what it costs them.
Show them a clickable mock-up and watch where they get stuck.
Count who asks when they can use it, or offers to pay. That is your evidence.

People are already on their phones: 97% of Australian adults used one to go online in the six months to June 2025, and 83% used at least one app for messages or calls, according to ACMA’s 2026 reports on internet use and communication. The question is whether they want your app enough to install it. For some ideas, a website that works well on a phone is enough to test it.

What it costs to build and run

A developer’s time is most of the cost. Employed software and applications programmers earn a median of A$67 an hour, according to Jobs and Skills Australia; freelancers and agencies charge more because their rates cover overheads. The fewer features in the first version, the fewer hours you pay for.

Selling through the app stores adds its own costs:

	Apple App Store	Google Play
To join	US$99 a year, charged in local currency where available	US$25 once
Commission on sales	30%, or 15% in the Small Business Program for developers earning up to US$1 million a year, and 15% for qualifying subscriptions	For Australian users from 30 September 2026: 10% plus a 5% billing fee on the first US$1 million a year, with higher rates for some other sales

Sources: Apple Developer Program, Apple Small Business Program, Google Play registration and Google Play service fees, checked in October 2026. To sell paid apps, Apple requires Australian developers to have an ABN and be registered for GST.

Government help, realistically

Industry Growth Program: currently paused to new applications, according to business.gov.au.
R&D Tax Incentive: for Australian companies spending at least A$20,000 a year on experiments whose outcome can’t be known in advance. Companies with turnover under A$20 million get a refundable offset of their company tax rate plus 18.5%, according to the ATO. Market research and testing don’t count, and building a standard app usually isn’t R&D, according to business.gov.au. The 2026–27 Budget announced changes from 1 July 2028, including a A$50,000 minimum spend, according to the ATO.
CSIRO Kick-Start: A$20,000–60,000 of matched funding to do research with CSIRO, for companies with turnover under A$10 million or trading less than three years, according to CSIRO.
State programs: some states fund early versions. NSW’s MVP Ventures offered A$20,000–75,000 to small incorporated companies; its 2026 round has closed.

Most grants need a company, a co-contribution and work that counts as research, so most first versions are paid for by their founders.

Keep the first version small

Of the businesses that started in 2022–23, 49.2% were still trading in June 2026, and 47.9% in information media and telecommunications, according to the ABS. A small first version, tested with real customers, keeps the cost of being wrong low.

Before you spend:

You can describe the problem and who has it in one sentence.
At least some potential customers have tried a prototype and asked for more.
Anyone you show the details to has signed a confidentiality agreement.
You have checked the name against registered trade marks.
The developer’s contract assigns the code to you and fixes the scope of the first version.
You have budgeted for app store fees and updates after launch.

Sources

Fees, rules and programs were checked in October 2026 and can change. General information, not legal, tax or financial advice.

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