Edited version of private advice

Authorisation Number: 1051526180913

Date of advice: 6 June 2019

Ruling

Subject: GST and Special Education Courses

Question 1

Are your supplies of individual literacy/maths sessions and group sessions GST-free supplies of special education courses for the purposes of section 38-85 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999?

Answer 1

Yes.

Question 2

Are your supplies of various services you make GST-free supplies of administrative services related to the special education courses you provide as per section 38-85 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999?

Answer 2

Yes.

Question 3

Are your supplies of course materials you make considered to be GST-free supplies of course materials related to the special education courses you provide as per section 38-95 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999?

Answer 3

Yes.

This ruling applies for the following period

The scheme commences on: 1 June 2019

Relevant facts and circumstances

·        You provide individual and group services targeted to support those who have specific learning difficulties, from aged 5 to adults.

·        You deliver specifically planned sessions that are unique to each child. Your courses generally have a start and end date.

·        Students come to you to supplement their current education. They require a more specialised approach with educational goals that are individually targeted.

·        You apply interactive teaching for all of your students. The instruction is delivered predominantly to the students but can also include parents and other teachers. There is a continual offer of support with emails or face to face questions with the therapists being able to answer or offer further guidance. Careful monitoring is made to ensure students meet their targets with a regular review being conducted about this progress.

·        Your sessions are specifically prepared for children with additional needs. Often this is from the instructions set out by other leading experts: psychologists, speech therapists or the child's paediatrician.

·        In your sessions students have the opportunity to develop the following skills: reading - accuracy, comprehension and fluency, spelling, writing, sentence construction, grammar, punctuation, maths concepts and following instructions.

·        Not all students who come to your service meet the criteria of 'disability', however may be considered 'at risk' and require a boost to skills in a particular education area.

·        You provide some administrative services such as parent meetings and report writing. You also provide certain course materials for your students.

Relevant legislative provisions

Section 38-85 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999

Section 38-95 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999

Reasons for decision

Detailed reasoning

Special Education Course

The supply of an education course is GST-free under subsection 38-85(a) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act). 'Education course' is defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act to include, among other things, a special education course.

To be a special education course as defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act, a course must be one that:

(i) is a course of education

(ii) provides special programs, and

(iii) the special programs are designed specifically for children with disabilities or students with disabilities (or both).

The criteria for special education courses are addressed in Goods and Services Tax Ruling: supplies that are GST-free as special education courses (GSTR 2002/1).

A course of education

In the context of a 'special education course' in section 195-1 of the GST Act, GSTR 2002/1 explains that a course of education should be given a wide meaning to include a course or program of study involving systemic instruction, training or schooling in areas of scholastic and academic pursuits, vocational skills or personal development that is delivered for a group of children or students or to an individual child or student in the form of lessons or classes, or a unit or module that forms part of a larger course. It needs to have elements of interactive teaching, ongoing support and guidance, assessment, monitoring and the provision of feedback.

Special programs designed specifically for children or students (of all ages) with disabilities

Paragraph 19 of GSTR 2002/1 provides that a special program is one designed specifically to meet the special needs of children or students (of all ages) with disabilities, to reduce or prevent the impact of disabilities for students (of all ages) or children with disabilities, or not made available to people generally. Paragraph 20 of GSTR 2002/1 explains that the program as a whole must be recognised as a special program, though it is not necessary that every part of the course is 'special'.

What needs to be considered is the whole of the circumstances of the creation and delivery of the program to decide whether it is designed specifically for children or students with disabilities.

Relevant matters include the character of the program that is provided which may be established by considering its content, where it is delivered and how it will be delivered.

Paragraphs 33 and 34 of GSTR 2002/1 provides that a disability exists where an individual has difficulty in executing activities or has problems being involved in life situations because some body function or structure is impaired. This would include, but is not limited to, conditions such as a learning disability/specific learning difficulty (including dyslexia), autism spectrum disorder, physical disability, an emotional disorder, a language disorder, a hearing impairment, a visual impairment or an intellectual disability that causes the individual difficulty in executing activities or problems involving life situations.

We are satisfied that the individual and group sessions you provide meet the above requirements as they are:

·        Courses of education- they are not ad hoc sessions but have a start and end date being a series of lessons/classes, have elements of interactive teaching, ongoing support, monitoring and review of progress and are delivered by qualified and highly skilled educators.

·        They are special programs designed to meet the needs of children with disabilities.

·        You are not providing treatment or therapeutic care.

Administrative Services

Subsection 38-85(b) of the GST Act states administrative services directly related to the supply of an education course will be considered GST-free only if they are supplied by the supplier of the course.

Paragraph 65 of GST Ruling 2000/30 (GSTR 2000/30) states that administrative services that would be considered GST-free include:

(a) enrolment processing;

(b) issue of identity cards;

(c) assessment of students;

(d) processing academic and sporting results;

(e) preparation and printing of student progress reports;

(f) arrangement of meetings with students, parents, guardians;

(g) record-keeping;

(h) administration of Speech Days and other similar school activities;

(i) administration of the school library;

(j) administration of a textbook scheme;

(k) administration of the sale, lease or hire of school equipment to students as part of the supply of an education course to the students; and

(l) administration of the supply of course materials.

We consider that the additional services you provide are all directly related or linked to your supply of a special education course. These supplies are only made in respect of a child attending one of your courses. We consider that they are in the nature of assessment of students and/or arrangement of meetings with students, parents and guardians. Therefore, your supplies of these, in respect of a child undertaking one of your courses, are GST-free.

Course Materials

Under section 38-95 of the GST Act, a supply of course materials for a subject undertaken in an education course is GST-free. The term 'course materials' is defined as: materials provided by the entity supplying the course that are necessarily consumed or transformed by the students undertaking the course for the purposes of the course.

We accept that the course materials you provide are necessarily consumed up during the course by your students and for the purposes of the course. Therefore, they are GST-free supplies of course materials.