Edited version of private ruling

Authorisation Number: 1011607473653

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Ruling

Subject: GST and education course

Question

Are your supplies of the following courses GST-free:

· first aid management of anaphylaxis

· basic oxygen administration

· oxygen first aid for dive accidents

· perform CPR

· apply first aid

· administer oxygen in an emergency situation

· operate a semi automatic defibrillator in an emergency

· perform diver rescues

· first aid instructor course, and

· oxygen instructor course?

Advice/Answers

No. Your supplies of the following courses are not GST-free:

· first aid management of anaphylaxis

· basic oxygen administration

· oxygen first aid for dive accidents

· perform CPR

· apply first aid

· administer oxygen in an emergency situation

· operate a semi automatic defibrillator in an emergency

· perform diver rescues

· first aid instructor course, and

· oxygen instructor course.

Relevant facts

You are registered for GST and in business as first aid instructor.

You are not a Registered Training Organisation (RTO).

You are not recognised or funded as a provider of an adult and community courses. You are not an accredited ACE provider.

You have been granted a trainer licence by an entity (entity A) which is an RTO.

You entered into an agreement with entity A. Amongst other things, the agreement provides that:

You will abide by the rules and regulations and follow the course outline set forth in the most recently published edition of the relevant manual.

You will keep and maintain any and all such records required by entity A.

The appropriate entity A's course and training materials must be used to fulfil training requirements.

You will bear the sole responsibility for determining that a participant has met all criteria for certification in accordance with current entity A standards.

You are granted a limited license to use entity A's name and promote the course as specified and for no other purpose.

You do not enter into any agreement with entity A to act as its agent.

The participants approach you directly for enrolment details and entity A does not directly supervise the training. You conduct the assessment to participants and report to entity A which then issue Certificate of Attainment to participants who successfully completed the course.

The participants pay the course fees to you and you are not required to remit any fees to entity A. You invoice the participants using your name.

Part of the courses you supply are accredited courses which are within the scope of entity A's registration at National Training Information Service's (NTIS) website.

You also supply courses that are not registered within its scope of registration at NTIS's website.

You advised that people who wish to work in childcare service have to complete the apply first aid course. This qualification is required to be renewed every three years.

You advised that the electricians are required to undertake the perform CPR course before they can be issued with an electrician licence. This qualification is required to be renewed every 12 months.

You estimate a percentage of the courses you conduct are requested and paid by the employers for their staff.

You conduct the courses in group lessons except in very few occasions that the courses are provided on individual basis.

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) provides that you make a taxable supply if:

· you make the supply for consideration

· the supply is made in the course or furtherance of an enterprise that you carry on

· the supply is connected with Australia, and

· you are registered or required to be registered for GST.

However, the supply is not a taxable supply to the extent that it is GST-free or input taxed.

From the information provided, you have satisfied the requirements in paragraphs 9-5(a) to (d) of the GST Act as:

· you receive fees for the supply of the courses

· the supply is in the course of a business that you carry on

· the supply is connected with Australia as you carry on your business in Australia, and

· you are registered for GST.

The supply of the courses is not input taxed under any provision of the GST Act. Therefore, what is left to determine is whether the supply is GST-free.

Section 38-85 of the GST Act provides that a supply of an education course is GST-free.

An education course is defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act to include, amongst other things, a tertiary course, a first aid or life saving course, a professional or trade course or an adult and community (ACE) course.

These are the only types of education courses from the definition in section 195-1 of the GST Act that could be relevant to your situation.

In deciding whether each of your courses listed in this ruling satisfy the requirements of a GST-free supply of an education course, it is necessary to consider whether these courses satisfy the definition of a tertiary course, a first aid or life saving course, a professional or trade course or an ACE course.

Tertiary course

A tertiary course is defined in the GST Act to be a course that is determined by the Education Minister to be a tertiary course for the purposes of the Student Assistance Act 1973.

To be GST-free as a tertiary course, a course must be specified in the Education Ministers determination under subsections 3(1) and 5D(1) of the Student Assistance Act 1973. The Education Ministers Determination No. 2002/1 provides that an accredited vocational education and training program, delivered by a higher education institution (as defined) or an RTO, is a tertiary course.

Based on the information provided, you conduct the courses listed in this ruling for your own business purposes. You maintain an active status as a training instructor with entity A and use their presentation and training material in your courses to your own customers. You invoice your customers directly for the course fee. Although entity A is an RTO, you are not. You cannot take on the RTO status of entity A unless you enter into agreement with them that amounts to an agency agreement. In this case, you do not enter into any agreement with entity A to act as its agent. As such, you do not act on their behalf.

As you are neither an RTO nor a higher education institution, the courses that you supply do not satisfy the definition of a tertiary course.

First aid or life saving course

To be GST-free as a first aid or life saving course, as defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act, a course must satisfy both of the following requirements.

First requirement

Under section 195-1 of the GST Act, a first aid or life saving course must be one that principally trains individuals in one or more of the following:

· first aid, resuscitation or other similar life saving skills including personal aquatic survival skills, but not including swimming lessons

· surf life saving, or

· aero-medical rescue.

Second requirement

The first aid or life saving course must be provided by a body that is:

· registered (or otherwise approved) by a State or Territory authority that has the responsibility for registering (or otherwise approving) bodies that provide such courses, or

· approved to provide such courses by a State or Territory body that has responsibility for approving the provision of such courses.

In your state a first aid or life saving course satisfies the second requirement of the definition in section 195-1 of the GST Act if it is provided by an RTO.

When you provide a first aid or life saving course you do not meet the second requirement as you are not an RTO.

Therefore, although the courses you provide may satisfy the first requirement in providing the first aid or life saving courses, you have not satisfied the second requirement as a recognised provider and as such the first aid and life saving courses conducted by you do not meet the definition of a first aid or life saving course.

Professional or trade course

You contend that the 'apply first aid' course is a prerequisite for entry into child care works and you also contend that the perform CPR' course is a prerequisite for electricians to gain entry into the trade. Therefore we will consider if your courses satisfy the definition of a professional or trade course.

Professional or trade course is defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act to mean a course leading to a qualification that is an essential prerequisite:

· for entry to a particular profession or trade in Australia; or

· to commence the practice of (but not to maintain the practice of) a profession or trade in Australia.

Leading to a qualification

Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2003/1 explains supplies that are GST-free as professional or trade courses. Paragraph 45 of GSTR 2003/1 identifies documents that are qualifications or that provide evidence of a qualification. These include a statement of satisfactory completion, a certificate (including a degree or diploma), a licence or an accreditation. It does not matter that the qualification is issued by a third party, not the course provider.

You have informed us that the participants will be issued with the relevant certificate of competency or attainment by entity A upon their successful completion. It is therefore accepted that the courses mentioned in this ruling you provide lead to a qualification.

Qualification to be an essential prerequisite

Paragraph 48 of GSTR 2003/1 states that a qualification is an essential prerequisite if it is mandatory for a person to have the qualification before he or she can enter into or commence the practice of a particular profession or trade.

This necessarily requires the imposition of penalties or sanctions if a person enters into, or commences the practice of, the profession or trade without the relevant qualifications.

The qualification must be a legal requirement, for example a law, regulation or industrial agreement or be one imposed by a professional or trade organisation, either nationally or on a state basis.

However, paragraph 15 of GSTR 2003/1 states that a course that leads to a qualification that is an essential prerequisite for maintaining or progressing within the practice of a profession or trade is not a professional or trade course.

Further, the qualification must be specific to the profession or trade in question. Qualifications that are general in nature and that relate to the entry to, or the commencement of the practice of, a number of professions or trades, are not essential prerequisites for entry to, or to commence the practice of, a particular profession or trade.

Apply first aid course

Paragraph 49 of GSTR 2003/1 states:

A qualification that is imposed for reasons other than for entry to, or to commence the practice of, a profession or trade, is not an essential prerequisite for the purposes of a professional or trade course. Similarly, a qualification required by an employer or group of employers, but which is not imposed by an industrial instrument, or a professional or trade association at either the national level, or State or Territory level will not be an essential prerequisite.

It may be that the child care centre licensees expect their employees to hold the first aid qualification. However, you have not provided evidence that the course is an essential prerequisite for entry to, or to commence the practice of child care work. Similarly you have not provided evidence that the qualification is imposed by the legislations to restrict entry into child care work. Therefore, the supply of this course is not a GST-free supply of a professional or trade course.

Perform CPR course

Paragraph 66 of GSTR 2003/1 states:

Qualifications that are general in nature and that relate to the entry to, or the commencement of the practice of, a number of professions or trades, are not essential prerequisites for entry to, or to commence the practice of, a particular profession or trade

Accordingly, the essential prerequisite must be in relation to a particular profession or trade.

The qualification to perform CPR is generic in nature and not for a particular profession or trade. This qualification is also required by people in other professionals or trades to perform their works/duties. The perform CPR course does not lead to a qualification that is an essential prerequisite for entry into a particular profession or trade. Therefore, it does not satisfy the definition of a profession or trade course, and is therefore not a GST-free supply of a professional or trade course.

First aid instructor and oxygen instructor courses

The qualifications gained from these courses are not an essential prerequisite in relation to the entry to, or the commencement of the practice of, a particular profession or trade. They are an enhancement course to enable the instructors to confidently teach the programs. Therefore, they are not a GST-free supply of a professional or trade course.

The remaining courses that are mentioned in this ruling is also considered not GST-free as they fail to satisfy the requirements in section 195-1 of the GST Act as a GST-supply of a professional or trade course.

We will now consider whether the courses are GST-free supply of ACE courses.

Adult and community course (ACE)

To be a GST-free as an ACE course, a course must:

· be likely to add to the employment related skills of people undertaking the

· course

· be of a kind determined by the Education Minister to be an ACE course;

· and

· be provided by, or on behalf of, a body that is:

· a higher education institution; or

· recognised or funded by the relevant State or Territory authority as a provider of ACE courses; or

· a body corporate operating on a not-for-profit basis that has not been refused recognition, or disqualified, by a State or Territory authority as a provider of ACE courses.

You are not a higher education institution; you are not recognised or funded as a provider of ACE courses nor are you a body corporate operating on a non-profit basis. Therefore, the courses you supply are not an ACE course and are not GST-free.

Conclusion

The courses mentioned in this ruling that you supply do not meet the definition of an education course for the purpose of section 38-85 of the GST Act. Accordingly the courses you supply are not GST-free.

As the supplies are neither GST-free nor input taxed and the supplies satisfy all of the requirements of section 9-5 of the GST Act, your supplies of the courses mentioned in this ruling are taxable supplies and therefore subject to GST.