Register of Approved Occupational Clothing

About this grant

If your business has a non-compulsory uniform, you must register it before your employees can claim tax deductions for the costs of the uniform. You may also be eligible for a reduction in fringe benefits tax (FBT) if you provide the uniform to your employees for free or at a reduced cost.

Eligibility requirements

All of the following criteria must be met:

• Employers who have an eligible non-compulsory uniform available for their employees to wear.
• Overview
• Any employer in Australia can apply to register their non-compulsory uniforms and accessories in the Register of Approved Occupational Clothing. It’s free to register a uniform set.
• A non-compulsory uniform is a set of clothing and accessory items that:
• distinctly identifies a particular employer, product or service
• isn’t compulsory for employees to wear to work.
• The uniforms can’t be clothing and accessory items that are:
• compulsory
• protective such as goggles, shields, hard hats and safety boots
• occupation-specific clothing such as a chef’s check pants and white shirt
• upper body items only, or lower body items only
• conventional clothing that does not have an identifier or logo attached.
• Find out more about claiming deductions for non-compulsory uniforms, including eligible uniforms and clothing items, and details of the concessions available.
• Australian Taxation Office
• Eligibility
• What are the eligibility criteria?
• The design of the non-compulsory uniform must meet the
• Approved Occupational Clothing Guidelines
• (the Guidelines). Some of the uniform design basics to meet the Guidelines are:
• The uniform must be a complete outfit with either a full body garment such as a dress, or a top and bottom garment such as a shirt and trousers, blouse and skirt.
• A company identifier, such as discrete logo, name or initials, must be permanently attached to all items in the uniform. This includes accessories.
• For clothing, the identifier or logo must be at least 80% of a 4cm square area.
• For accessories, such as a tie or scarf, the identifier or logo must be at least a 1cm square area.
• Identifiers or logos must be in a contrasting colour or shade to the garments they are attached to. They must be visible from 2m away.
• You must permanently attach the identifier or logo to each garment. This may include embroidering, iron on or heat seal.
• The entire garment range can have a maximum of 8 colours. This includes different shades of a colour. It excludes those found in the identifier or logo.
• There is a limit to the number of colour/pattern/print combinations allowed. We base this on the number of employees in a class.
• When the uniform is worn by different groups of employees, there must be a common theme. A common theme requires the same colour lower body garment to be worn by all employees.
• The uniform must be appropriate for the duties of the employee.
• Applying
• How do you apply?
• Apply to register your uniform through our online portal. You’ll need to set up an account when you first log in, and select the Register of Approved Occupational Clothing as the program you're applying for.
• The application form is intended for use by employers only. Read the
• Guidelines
• before you apply.
• We suggest submitting your application before starting production, purchase and embroidery of garments. This will help ensure the uniform sets comply with the Guidelines.
• Apply to register your approved occupational clothing
• Apply now
• Using the online portal
• Technical help
• See our customer portal's
• frequently asked questions
• to help with your queries. If you can't find your answer,
• contact us
• for assistance.
• Further guidance
• Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
• What information will I need to submit my application?
• You will be required to provide:
• your organisation’s name, ABN, and address details
• a contact person’s name, email address and telephone number
• details of the clothing being registered, including the type of garments and colours
• the number of people employed who may wear the garment
• a description of different groups within your business who may wear different uniforms e.g. administration team or ground staff.
• How long does it take for applications to process?
• Applications are processed in the order they are received. Depending on the workload, decisions are usually made within 10 working days. It may take longer to make a decision if further information is required.
• What happens if my application does not meet the registration requirements?
• Where your application does not meet the requirements for registration, we will email you to provide advice on what changes need to be made to meet the requirements. We will then set your application back to draft to allow you to make the changes and resubmit the application.
• If the application is not resubmitted within 90 days, we will contact you to advise your application has been withdrawn and registration refused. The notice of decision to refuse your application will set out the reasons for refusal and your review rights.
• If my registration is refused, what happens next?
• Where your application does not meet the requirements for registration, we will withdraw your application and refuse registration. This does not prevent you from commencing a new application to reapply for registration.
• You can request a review of your application before you submit it to check that it meets the requirements. Email
• raoc@industry.gov.au
• with your request.
• What if I am not happy with a decision to refuse registration?
• Any entity whose interests are affected by the decision can request a review of the decision to refuse registration via email to
• raoc@industry.gov.au
• or subject to the
• Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024
• (‘
• ART Act
• ’), apply to the
• Administrative Review Tribunal
• (ART) for a review of the decision.
• A request may also be made under section 268 of the
• ART Act
• by (or on behalf of) such an entity for a written statement in relation to the decision that:
• sets out the findings on material questions of fact, and
• refers to the evidence or other material on which the findings are based, and
• explains the reasons for the decision.
• Before you go to the ART, you can also reach out and request an internal review of the decision. This can be requested via email to
• raoc@indstry.gov.au
• where the decision will be escalated to a Manager for independent review. There is no cost for this.
• To be eligible, must uniforms be purchased from a uniform supplier, or can they be purchased from any clothing retailer?
• Uniforms may be purchased from any supplier, manufacturer or retailer as long as the uniform set meets the criteria in the Guidelines.
• If an employer provides employees a partial or full subsidy for uniforms, is it still necessary for the employer to apply for registration?
• To receive the benefits of being registered the employer needs to apply to the Register, whether or not an employer provides employees partial or full subsidy for uniform sets.
• What is the process to update a uniform on the Register?
• Follow the link to the application form in the
• applying
• section of this page.
• Our organisation has changed our business name, does this affect our registration?
• If you need to change your business or contact details, email
• raoc@industry.gov.au
• with details of your previous and current business and contact details. A team member will contact you to confirm the update.
• How can someone find out what is on the Register for an organisation?
• You can search for what you have registered for your organisation through the 'apply now' link under the
• applying
• section of this page. Once you log in, you will be able to check your submitted applications, including a summary of what items your organisation has registered.
• Otherwise, send an email to
• raoc@industry.gov.au
• . Include your ABN, business name and address in the email request.
• If the majority of employees of a business wear a compulsory uniform, however some staff wear a non-compulsory uniform, is the employer exempt from registering the design of the non-compulsory uniform set?
• For employers and employees to receive the benefits of registration, the employer needs to apply to register non-compulsory uniform sets for the group of employees that has the option to wear them.
• If an employer discovers they can register non-compulsory corporate uniforms after they have been purchased, can approval be back-dated?
• Provided the uniform set meets the Guidelines, registration approval can be recorded at the time the uniform was first used.
• If an identifier / logo is required on all uniform items, where should it be placed on skirts, pants and shorts?
• While there is no rule about precisely where logos must be placed on lower body garments, they cannot be on the waistband because they could be concealed by a belt.
• Can I have two different identifiers / logos on different items of uniform (e.g. a company logo with a word on shirts and a company logo without words on pants)?
• Provided the two different logos are distinctive, and reflect the corporate image of the employer, they can be considered a uniform set on the Register. However, if every item of clothing has a different logo, the uniform is not considered a set and cannot be accepted on the Register.
• Can shoes, short socks, stockings and underwear form part of a uniform?
• These items cannot form part of a uniform set on the Register in any circumstance. However, when worn with shorts, socks long enough for the identifier to be clearly visible from a two metre distance are eligible.
• Can the logo feature colours which are different to the uniform?
• The logo can contain numerous colours, as long as it contrasts to the clothing, and is visible from a two metre distance. The maximum of eight colour combinations (depending on staff numbers) only applies to the clothing.
• If an employer registers a uniform for employees, are contractors covered?
• For the purposes of the Register, contractors are defined as employees. Once an employer has registered a uniform set, all the benefits available to employees are available for contractors.
• If a franchisor/holding company registers a uniform, are franchisees/subsidiary companies using identical uniforms covered by the same application?
• A franchisor/holding company can lodge one application where all franchisees will have access to the same uniforms and benefits.
• An individual franchisee may lodge a separate application if they wish to have a separate uniform.
• How is the Common Theme assessed?
• There must be one common colour for lower body garments to act as a common theme for a uniform set. This colour must be worn by all employees.
• What is a class of employees?
• A class is the group or category of employees who will wear the uniform.
• There can be one class for the whole organisation which includes people from various departments or work areas. Most small organisations would only have one class of employees.
• Two or more classes should be nominated if there is a different uniform for separate groups of employees. For example, administration, teachers, groundskeepers, retail staff, stores people.
• In this instance, the uniforms would need to have a common colour to meet the requirement of a common theme between classes.
• Need help?
• Let us answer your question via phone or email and if we can't help, we'll put you in touch with someone who can.
• Phone:
• 13 28 46
• Email:
• raoc@industry.gov.au

What the funding covers

• Registering a uniform will allow your employees to claim tax deductions for the costs of the uniform, its laundry, dry-cleaning and repair.

How to apply

1. 1Visit https://business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/register-of-approved-occupational-clothing for application details

Application tips