Amounts incurred on your R&D activities must be claimed under the R&D tax incentive. If an amount meets the eligibility requirements of the R&D tax incentive, it must be claimed under Division 355 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997).
If your R&D activities are registered with the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) and you meet other eligibility requirements for the R&D tax incentive, you can only claim your expenditure on those activities under the R&D tax incentive.
If you choose not to claim under the R&D tax incentive, you can't claim it elsewhere in your tax return, except in certain circumstances for amounts incurred to an associate.
You can only claim a deduction under section 8-1 (or other provisions) of the ITAA 1997 if the expenditure doesn't meet the eligibility requirements under Division 355. For more information, refer to section 355-715 of the ITAA 1997.