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Edited version of private ruling
Authorisation Number: 1011835803945
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Ruling
Subject: GST and massage services
Question 1
Are you, a qualified remedial massage therapist, making a GST-free supply under subsection 38-10(1) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act), when supplying remedial massage services to patients?
Decision 1
No, you are not making a GST-free supply under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act when you supply remedial massage services to patients. You are making a taxable supply under section 9-5 of the GST Act.
Relevant Facts
You are a qualified remedial massage therapist and you are registered for goods and services tax (GST).
You are carrying on a remedial massage therapy enterprise.
You are not a Physiotherapist, Acupuncturist, Chiropractor, Nurse, Occupational Therapist or an Osteopath.
You supply remedial massage service to your patients.
Some of your patients receive government funding for these massage services.
Reasons for decision
Under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act, an entity makes a GST-free supply of health services if:
· it provides a service of a kind specified in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act or of a kind specified in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Regulations 1999 (GST Regulations) (paragraph 38-10(1)(a) of the GST Act); and
· the entity is a recognised professional in relation to the supply of services of that kind (paragraph 38-10(1)(b) of the GST Act); and
· the supply would generally be accepted, in the profession associated with supplying services of that kind, as being necessary for the appropriate treatment of the recipient of the supply (paragraph 38-10(1)(c) of the GST Act).
Massage therapy is not listed in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act. Therefore, massage therapy, in itself, does not satisfy the requirement in paragraph 38-10(1)(a) of the GST Act.
However, the requirement in paragraph 38-10(1)(a) of the GST Act is satisfied where the supplier is supplying one of the services listed in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act and massage therapy is a standard technique or a component of the supply of that listed service. For example, 'Physiotherapy,' 'Acupuncture', 'Chiropractic', 'Nursing', 'Occupational therapy' and 'Osteopathy' are services in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act for which massage therapy may be considered a standard technique or a component of the supply.
You are supplying remedial massage services. You are not supplying any of the relevant services listed in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act or the GST Regulations. Therefore, the requirement in paragraph 38-10(1)(a) of the GST Act is not satisfied and the supply is not GST-free under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act.
You are registered for GST and your supplies satisfy the other positive limbs of section 9-5 of the GST Act. Furthermore, the supply is not GST-free under Division 38 of the GST Act or input taxed under Division 40 of the GST Act. Therefore, you are making a taxable supply under section 9-5 of the GST Act when supplying massage services to a patient.
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