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Edited version of your private ruling
Authorisation Number: 1012566105002
Ruling
Subject: Adult and community education courses
Question 1
Is the supply of training seminars and assessments covering reptile awareness and safety a GST-free supply of an adult and community education course?
Answer
Yes, you are making a GST-free supply of an adult and community education course.
This ruling applies for the following periods:
N/A
The scheme commences on:
N/A
Relevant facts and circumstances
· The taxpayer (you) operates a business of showing and exhibiting venomous and non venomous animals.
· GST is paid on income derived from this source.
· You have been approached by various workplaces and government departments to conduct training seminars covering the education of venomous reptiles. The seminars count towards a qualification or certificate of attainment ('Statement of Attainment') in workplace health and safety.
· These courses are not snake handling and snake relocation courses. They are reptile awareness and safety courses. The courses aim to provide people with fundamental and essential personal safety skills for the environment.
· The course is, according to your promotional literature, designed for anyone who works in an environment where reptiles may be present. It is marketed as a component to regular workplace health and safety skilling, or as a stand alone unit to address due diligence and risk management.
· It is also suitable for anyone who comes into contact with reptiles in the normal environment, such as fire brigade volunteers or volunteers.
· Participants learn how to identify basic reptiles, reptile hazards, assess and control reptile risk and basic reptile first aid. It also covers animal welfare requirements and legislation.
· All learning materials, a snake bite first aid kit and Statement of Attainment are included with the course.
· You are not a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) but you deliver and assess the course under a Delivery Partnership with an RTO.
· You advise that both of these entities treat the health and safety courses that they provide as GST-free.
· The course is offered to the public at large. Currently it is also offered through businesses and as of next year it will be offered to the general public through the RTO.
Relevant legislative provisions
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Section 7-1
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Section 9-5
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Subdivision 38-C
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Section 38-1
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Section 38-85
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Section 195-1
Reasons for decision
Section 7-1 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (the GST Act) provides that GST is payable on taxable supplies.
Section 9-5 of the GST Act defines a taxable supply, but also provides that a supply is not a *taxable supply to the extent that it is *GST-free or *input taxed.
Section 38-1 provides that if a supply is GST-free, then no GST is payable on the supply. Subdivision 38-C of the GST refers to education.
In particular, section 38-85 of the GST Act states:
A supply is GST-free if it is a supply of:
(a) an *education course; or
…
(Items marked with an *asterisk are defined in the Dictionary at section 195-1).
The term 'education course' is defined at section 195-1 of the GST Act as meaning:
(a) a *pre-school course; or
(b) a *primary course; or
(c) a *secondary course; or
(d) a *tertiary course; or
(f) a *special education course; or
(g) an *adult and community education course; or
(h) an *English language course for overseas students; or
(i) a *first aid or lifesaving course; or
(j) a *professional or trade course; or
(k) a *tertiary residential college course.
The course you provide does not fit within any of the abovementioned definitions except for the course mentioned in paragraph (g), being an adult and community education course.
The term 'adult and community education course' is also defined within section 195-1 of the GST Act as a course of study or instruction that is likely to add to the employment related skills of people undertaking the course and:
(a) is of a kind determined by the * Education Minister to be an adult and community education course and is provided by, or on behalf of, a body:
(i) that is a * higher education institution; or
(ii) that is recognised, by a State or Territory authority, as a provider of courses of a kind described in the determination; or
(iii) that is funded by a State or Territory on the basis that it is a provider of courses of a kind described in the determination; or
(b) is determined by the * Education Minister to be an adult and community education course.
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Adult and Community Education Courses) Determination 2000 determines the kinds of courses, and the courses, that are adult and community education courses for the definition of adult and community education course in section 195-1 of the Act.
Subsection 1(5) of the Determination states:
(1) For paragraph (a) of the definition of adult and community education course in section 195-1 of the Act, a course of study or instruction of the kind mentioned in subsection (2) is determined to be an adult and community education course.
(2) For subsection (1), the course of study or instruction must:
(a) not be a course mentioned, in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (h), (i), (j) or (k) of the definition of education course in section 195-1 of the Act; and
(b) be a course that is available to adults in the general community; and
(c) not be a course that is provided by, or at the request of an employer to the employees of that employer; and
(d) not be a course that is provided by, or at the request of an organisation to the members of that organisation, except an organisation for which membership is open to adults in the general community; and
(e) not be a course that is provided by way of private tuition to an individual.
Note In addition to being of the kind described in subsection (2), the course of study or instruction must be a course of study or instruction that is likely to add to the employment related skills of people undertaking the course and provided by, or on behalf of, a body that:
(a) is a higher education institution; or
(b is recognised, by a State or Territory authority, as a provider of courses of the kind described in subsection (2); or
(c) is funded by a State or Territory on the basis that it is a provider of courses of the kind described in subsection (2).
See paragraph (a) of the definition of adult and community education course in section 195-1 of the Act.
You have stated that the training seminar is available to adults in the general community. The course is not specifically provided by, or at the request of, an employer to their employees or an organisation to its members. Nor is the course provided by way of private tuition to an individual. Therefore the course is not one which is excluded from the definition of an adult and community education course by subsection (2) of the determination applies.
The note to subsection (2) of the determination requires that the course must be provided by, or on behalf of, a body that is recognised by a State or Territory authority as a provider of course of the kind described in subsection (2). You are not a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), but you provide the seminars under a Delivery Partnership with two RTO's.
An RTO is a training provider registered by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) or a state regulator to deliver vocational education and training (VET) services.1 Both Allens Training Pty Ltd and Down to Earth Results Pty Ltd are registered as RTOs by the national VET regulator ASQA.
ASQA is established by section 155 of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 pursuant to a referral of powers by States to the Commonwealth2. It is therefore considered that bodies recognised by ASQA will satisfy paragraph (b) of the note to subsection (2) of the determination.
The note to subsection (2) further requires that the course be likely to add to the employment related skills of people undertaking the course. Goods and Services Tax Ruling Goods and services tax: adult and community education courses; meaning of "likely to add to employment related skills (GSTR 2000/27) discusses the meaning of "likely to add to the employment related skills". If an entity satisfies the criteria outlined in GSTR 2000/27 then this requirement will be satisfied. The criteria are stated at paragraph 15 of GSTR 2000/27:
(a) It is directed at people who want to add to their employment related skills; and
(i) The objectives of the course specify the employment related skills that participants will acquire in undertaking the course; and
(ii) The means of imparting the skills to the participants are clearly identified prior to the commencement of the course; and
(iii) There is a reasonable expectation that the skills being developed will be used in the course of being an employee, or working in a business, occupation, profession or trade, rather than for recreational, hobby, artistic or cultural endeavours.
This particular course is directed at people who want to add to their employment-related skills, and the skills and the means of imparting them are clearly identified.
This course is also not for recreational, hobby, artistic or cultural purposes. This course is designed to improve and increase reptile awareness and safety around reptiles for people during their work.
Therefore, we consider that the course that you provide is an education course within the meaning of section 38-85 of the GST Act and, accordingly, the supply of this course by you is a GST-free supply.
1 http://www.asqa.gov.au/about-vet/about-rtos/about-rtos.html.
2 Section 4 National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011.
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