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Edited version of private ruling
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Ruling
Subject: supply of GST-free tertiary courses
Question
Is the supply of the program, which will comprise units of competency from an accredited course within the scope of your RTO registration, a GST-free supply of a tertiary course?
Answer
Yes.
Relevant facts and circumstances
You are a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and are registered for GST.
You provide, amongst other qualifications, an accredited course (accredited course) within the scope of your RTO registration.
You intend to conduct a program, which is full time training program of some weeks duration. The program will have interactive classroom lessons and practical industry training. At completion of the program, a "statement of attainment" is issued to the participant for each competency they have completed as part of the program. The units of competency completed by the participant at the end of the program are units from the accredited course.
The statement of attainment qualifies as partial completion of the accredited course which you conduct and such a course is nationally recognised to comply with the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF).
The National Training Information Service (NTIS) website lists the accredited course as a course in an endorsed training package.
Reasons for decision
GST is payable on taxable supplies. Section 9-5 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) states:
You make a taxable supply if:
a. you make the supply for *consideration; and
b. the supply is made in the course or furtherance of an *enterprise that you *carry on; and
c. the supply is *connected with Australia; and
d. you are *registered, or *required to be registered.
However, the supply is not a *taxable supply to the extent that it is *GST-free or *input taxed.
(*denotes a term defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act)
Under section 38-85 of the GST Act, the supply of an education course is GST-free. 'Education course' includes, amongst other things, a tertiary course.
'Tertiary course' is defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act as:
(a) a course of study or instruction that is a tertiary course determined by the *Education Minister under subsection 5D(1) of the Student Assistance Act 1973 for the purposes of that Act; or
(aa) a course of study or instruction accredited at Masters or Doctoral level and supplied by a *higher education institution or a *non-government higher education institution; or
(b) any other course of study or instruction that the Education Minister has determined is a tertiary course for the purposes of this Act.
The Student Assistance (Education Institutions and Courses) Determination 2009 (No. 2) (Determination No. 2009/2) defines a tertiary course as a full-time course that includes a vocational education and training program provided by a higher education institution or a registered training organisation.
You conduct the program and you are a registered training organisation. You state that a participant of the program will attend the full time program for the duration of the program. The program will have interactive classroom lessons and practical industry training.
Determination No. 2009/2 further defines a vocational education and training program as a course that leads to an award of an Australian Qualifications Framework guidelines (AQF) qualification or a Statement of Attainment, and the course must be:
· an accredited vocational education and training course; or
· a sequence of training consisting of one or more subjects or modules where each subject or module is from an accredited vocational education and training course; or
· a structured approach to the development and attainment of competencies for a particular AQF qualification specified in an endorsed training package.
'Statement of Attainment' is not defined in Determination No. 2009/2. The following definition is provided in the NSW Vocational Education and Training Act 2005:
'statement of attainment' means formal certification by an RTO that a person has achieved:
(a) part of a qualification, or
(b) one or more units of competency from a training package endorsed by the relevant Commonwealth agency, or
(c) all the units of competency or modules comprising learning outcomes for an accredited course that does not meet the requirements for a qualification
A participant who completes the program is awarded a Statement of Attainment. The Statement of Attainment recognises the participant as having achieved certain competencies in the accredited course.
Additionally, the units of competency must be for a particular accredited course specified in an endorsed training package.
The statement of attainment qualifies as partial completion of the accredited course which you conduct and such a course is nationally recognised to comply with the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF). The NTIS website lists the accredited course as a course in an endorsed training package.
This means the competencies above can be used toward satisfying the requirements of an accredited course specified in the endorsed training package. As such, the program satisfies the requirement that it leads to a statement of attainment and the program is an accredited vocational education and training program.
Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2001/1 Goods and services tax: supplies that are GST-free for tertiary education courses deals with supplies of tertiary courses that are GST free. Paragraph 24 of GSTR 2001/1 states:
24. Where you supply one unit of a tertiary course that is covered by the Education Minister's determination and the recipient is enrolled in that unit, the supply of that unit is GST-free.
Accordingly, the supply of the program which will comprise units of competency from the accredited course is a GST-free supply of a tertiary course.
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