States and territories: greater trade mark intensity across Australia’s largest jurisdictions
Resident trade mark growth in 2025 was driven overwhelmingly by Australia’s largest jurisdictions. Both filing volumes and filing intensity increased in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, accounting for the bulk of national growth.
- New South Wales filings rose from 17,183 to 20,011, with trade marks per 1,000 firms increasing from 19.17 to 21.83.
- Victoria increased from 14,263 to 16,172, with intensity rising from 19.33 to 21.44.
- Queensland grew from 9,466 to 10,835, with intensity increasing from 18.54 to 20.68.
Together, these 3 states explain most of the national uplift in resident trade mark activity in 2025, reflecting deeper engagement with brand protection in Australia’s largest business centres.
Across other jurisdictions, results were more mixed but generally positive.
- Western Australia recorded one of the strongest relative increases, with applications rising from 3,677 to 4,560 and intensity from 14.40 to 17.13.
- South Australia increased modestly, from 2,738 to 2,905, with intensity rising from 16.65 to 17.22.>
- Tasmania and the Northern Territory both recorded noticeable increases in intensity (from 9.06 to 11.89 and 11.42 to 15.78, respectively), albeit from smaller bases.
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Australian Capital Territory was the only jurisdiction to decline, with applications falling from 789 to 738 and intensity easing from 21.73 to 19.95.
Figure 3.8
Trade mark applications by Australian states and territories, 2025
Source: IP Australia; ABS. Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, July 2021 – June 2025. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
Australian filings abroad: modest recovery in outward activity
In 2024, Australians filed 17,414 trade mark applications abroad, a moderate increase on 2023 and the first rise in 3 years, based on the latest available data from WIPO. Despite this uptick, filings remain 24.5% below their 2021 peak.1
Total trade mark classes filed overseas increased by 6.7% to 43,036, suggesting some broadening of portfolio scope alongside the recovery in application numbers.
Leading destinations
The leading destinations for Australian filings remain the United States, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), and Canada.
Among the next leading destinations, applications to China, India and Singapore declined in 2024, consistent with moderating global growth. The strongest increases were to the Philippines (+32.6%) and Thailand (+27.1%), both rebounding from falls in 2023.
Overall, the data point to a stabilisation rather than a renewed expansion in outward filing activity, with growth concentrated in selected markets rather than broad-based across jurisdictions.
Figure 3.9
Leading overseas destinations for Australian trade mark applications (class count), 2024
Source: WIPO IP Statistics Database
The role of the Madrid system
Trade mark applicants can seek protection in multiple jurisdictions through a single international application under the Madrid system.
For many applicants, the Madrid system has become the default pathway for multi-jurisdictional protection, offering procedural efficiency in building out an international portfolio. Grenada joined the Madrid system in December 2025 bringing the total number of countries covered to 132 – representing more than 80% of world trade. As it has expanded to cover more countries, the share of Australian classes filed abroad through the Madrid system has increased, from 45.0% in 2019 to 56.6% in 2024.
Endnotes
- WIPO IP Statistics Database.