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Edited version of your written advice

Authorisation Number: 1012696179385

Ruling

Subject: Medical services

Question

Are the services provided to your patients GST-free?

Advice

Yes

Relevant facts and circumstances

• You are registered for goods and service tax (GST).

• You are a registered nurse in Australia.

• You carry on a business of providing services in your capacity as a registered nurse.

• You are a trained nurse in your field of expertise

• You hold membership to an Australian nurses association.

• You confirmed that Medicare benefits are not payable for your services.

Reason for decision

Under subsection 38-7(1) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Service Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act), the supply of a medical service is GST-free. The meaning of 'medical service' is defined under section 195-1 of the GST Act as:

You advised that Medicare benefit is not payable for your services to the patient. Therefore, your services do not fall within the first limb of the meaning of medical service under section 195-1 of the GST Act.

The nest issue is to determine whether you are making supplies under the second limb of the meaning of medical service under section 195-1 of the GST Act. This requires the services to be provided by (or on behalf of) a medical practitioner and the service is generally accepted in the medical profession as being necessary for the appropriate treatment of the recipient of the supply.

The term medical practitioner is defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act to mean a person who is a medical practitioner for the purposes of the HI Act. The meaning of medical practitioner is defined in the HI Act as:

You advised that you are a registered nurse in Australia and you carry on a business of providing services in your capacity as a registered nurse.

The next issue is to consider whether your services are appropriate treatment for your patients.

Appropriate treatment

The meaning of appropriate treatment is outlined in Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website www.ato.gov.au. For GST purposes, a medical practitioner is providing appropriate treatment when they use their professional skills to:

Appropriate treatment includes preventative medicine.

Therefore appropriate treatment is established where the medical practitioner assesses the patient's state of health and determines a process (treatment) to preserve, restore or improve the patient's physical or psychological wellbeing and this includes treatment for preventive medicine.

In addition, the definition requires the appropriate treatment must be 'generally accepted in the medical profession' as being necessary. The words 'generally accepted in the medical profession' indicate that it will ultimately be the medical profession that determines what services are generally accepted medical services.

You are a trained nurse in Australia and hold membership to an Australian nurses association. You provide your services in your capacity as a registered nurse. Your services are appropriate treatment for your patients. Therefore your services are medical services under the second limb of the meaning of medical services as outlined in section 195-5 of the GST Act.

However, under subsection 38-7(2) of the GST Act, a supply of a medical service is not GST-free under subsection 38-7(1) of the GST Act if:

Based on the information provided, we consider your services are not excluded from being GST free medical services by subsection 38-7(2) of the GST Act. Therefore, the medical services you provide to your patients are GST-free under subsection 38-7 (1) of the GST Act.

Please note: From 1 July 2012, where a supply of a medical service made to a patient is GST-free, that supply will also be GST-free where the recipient of the supply is an:

You may find more information on medical services from the Australian Taxation officer website www.ato.gov.au

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