2.a.8. Some allied health practitioners employ assistants to provide certain services to patients. These employees are not ‘recognised professionals’ to provide a service of a kind listed in the Table and they may not legally be required to be registered or licensed, and may not be members of a National Association. The services are provided at the direction of the ‘recognised professional’, and would be generally regarded by the profession as appropriate for the treatment of the recipient. Will the service by the assistant be GST-free under section 38-10?

For source of ATO view, refer to issue 2.a of this issues register.

Section 38-10(1)(b) requires that the supplier of the service for the purposes of section 38-10 be a recognised professional. If a component of the supply is not provided by a ‘recognised professional’ it will be a taxable supply unless that assistant is directly supervised in undertaking that component.

It is considered that a person will be directly supervised where the *recognised professional:

57. attends the patient at the commencement of the treatment and at the subsequent commencement of each new treatment, and
58. is readily available for the whole of the time that the assistant is working with the patient, and
59. that the *recognised professional be available to take appropriate action in the case of an emergency, and
60. determines all of the appropriate treatment to be provided by the assisting person, and
61. can satisfactorily prove that they monitor the services of the unqualified staff.