Edited version of private advice

Authorisation Number: 1052041420948

Date of advice: 4 October 2022

Ruling

Subject: GST - other health services

Question

Are your services GST-free under section 38-10 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act)?

Answer

No, the supply of your services provided as a [redacted] is not GST-free supply of other health services, under section 38-10 of the GST Act. It is a taxable supply provided it meets the requirements of section 9-5 of the GST Act.

This ruling applies for the following period:

Year ending 30 June 20XX

The scheme commences on:

XX August 20XX

Relevant facts and circumstances

You are registered as a sole trader since [redacted] and your registered business name is [redacted] according to the Australian Business Register.

You are registered for Goods and Services Tax (GST) since [redacted] on a quarterly basis.

You are a full member of [redacted]. You have provided a copy of the membership certificate.

You have completed the following qualifications and training and have provided copies of the certification of completion:

[redacted]

You are an expert in whole health and wellbeing. You provide evidence based, natural healthcare that is effective, safe and meaningful to your clients.

You provide services through an in-depth understanding of human bioscience, emotional and social factors and is a provider of natural supplements. Your services help prevent disease by providing optimal health and wellbeing relief of symptoms by looking at the whole person and the root cause of the disease.

You provide the following services as a [redacted]:

[redacted]

Relevant legislative provisions

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Section 9-5

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Section 38-10

Reasons for decision

Goods and services tax (GST) is payable on taxable supplies.

Under section 9-5 of the GST Act, you make a taxable supply if:

(a)  You make a supply for consideration; and

(b)  The supply is made in the course or furtherance of an enterprise that you carry on; and

(c)   The supply is connected with the indirect tax zone (Australia); and

(d)  You are registered for required to be registered.

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

Under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act, a supply is GST-free if:

(a)  It is a service of a kind specified in the table in subsection 38-10(1), or of a kind specified in the regulations; and

(b)  The supplier is a recognised professional in relation to the supply of services of that kind; and

(c)   The supply would generally be accepted, in the professional associated with supplying services of that kind, as being necessary for the appropriate treatment of the recipient of the supply.

A recognised professional is a person who is registered, permitted or approved under the state or territory law to provide the listed health service. If there is no relevant state or territory law, a recognised professional is a member of a professional association that relates to the health service and has the same registration requirements nationally.

Each of these requirements must be satisfied for the supply to be GST-free under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act. Currently, there is no health services of a kind specified in the GST regulations.

Paragraph 38-10(1)(a)

Paragraph 38-10(1)(a) of the GST Act provides that the health service must be one of the listed services in the table. To satisfy this requirement, the service must be one of the actual services listed and it cannot be just similar to one of these services.

'Dietary' is specified at item 7 in the table and 'Naturopathy' is specified at item 9 in the table.

The Australian Taxation Office website contains references to discussions with the Health Industry and in particular 'Other health services' which can be found under Issue 2 of Health Industry Partnership - Issues Register. A question relating to dietary can be found under issue 2.a.6:

2.a.6. What type of recognised professional provides a service of 'Dietary' listed at Item 7 of the Table?

It is considered that dieticians and nutritionists would in certain circumstances be providing dietary services. From information supplied to the ATO it is understood there is only one professional association that may have uniform national registration for the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of recognised professional in section 195-1. This association is the Dieticians Association of Australia.

The professional association you are a member of indicate that for the purpose of the GST Act, you do not supply a service of Dietary as listed at Item 7 of the table.

You do not satisfy Item 9 Naturopathy as your accreditation is not naturopathy. As mentioned above, your service must be one that is listed in the table and not something similar under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act.

The services you provide does not meet the requirements under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act.

Additional information: Paragraph 38-10(1)(b)

Under paragraph 38-10(1)(b) of the GST Act, the services must be supplied by a recognised professional in relation to the supply of those services.

Section 195-1 of the GST Act defines the term 'recognised professional'. A question relating to the requirement of paragraph 38-10(1)(b) can be found under issue 2.a.7:

2.a.7. Paragraph (b) of the definition of recognised professional provides that a person is a recognised professional where 'the service is supplied in a state or territory in which there is no state law or territory law requiring such permission, approval or registration, and the person is a member of a professional association that has uniform national registration requirements relating to the supply of services of that kind'. What is the ATO's interpretation of '... a professional association that has uniform national registration requirements...'?

...

A number of professional associations have been identified in relation to the supply of services of the kinds listed in the Table in section 38-10(1). These professional associations often require a person to a have a minimum level of educational qualifications (usually tertiary level qualifications) before that person will satisfy the association's requirements for practitioner status. These professional associations are national associations and the registration requirements for practitioner status are the same for all practitioners regardless of the state or territory in which they practice.

The professional association must be a national association in Australia and has uniform national registration requirements for its members.

Conclusion

Your supply of services does not meet paragraph 38-10(1)(a) of the GST Act. Therefore, your supply will not be a GST-free supply under section 38-10 of the GST Act.