Can anyone explain the nature of R&D refund?, page-2

From what I can tell it's an incentive for small companies with turnover of less than $20m to spend on R&D to build their tech/IP in order to become more competitive.

I would assume all small companies on the ASX aim to maximise their refund.

Yes it's significant, they spend a very approx $120-160k/Q on R&D, hence they get most of that back.

AER have annual rev of perhaps now $1.3-1.5m (see what next Q says). The tax refund gives a boost to cash reserves at the eoy. The refund last year was approx $487k

As far as I can see, the R&D refund is a nice boost, particularly for companies like AER that actively pursue R&D to enhance their core business