Edited version of private advice

Authorisation Number: 1052114538588

Date of advice: 23 May 2023

Ruling

Subject: GST and other health services

Question

Is your supply of dietary advice a GST-free supply of a health service under subsection 38-10(1) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act)?

Answer

No.

Relevant facts and circumstances

You are a nutritionist who provides nutrition and dietary services.

You hold a degree in nutrition. You are a member of an association of natural therapists.

You work with private clients who are mostly referred to you by their general practitioners.

Most of your income comes from consultations where you provide dietary advice. You assess your client's state of health and determine the course of treatment in an attempt to preserve, restore and/or improve their physical and psychological wellbeing.

The treatment service that you provide is accepted as necessary and appropriate treatment of the patient association guidelines.

There is no Medicare benefit payable for the service you provide.

You are not a member of the Dieticians Association of Australia.

You do not provide naturopathy services.

You are not currently registered for GST. You estimate that your GST turnover will be $75,000 or more in the coming months and will be registering for GST then.

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 Subsection 38-10(1).

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 Section 195-1.

Reasons for decision

Summary

Your supply of dietary advice is not a GST-free supply of health service under subsection 38-10(1) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act).

Detailed reasoning

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

a)    it is a service of a kind specified in the table in this subsection, 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 profession associated with supplying services of that kind, as being necessary for the appropriate treatment of the *recipient of the supply.

Each of these requirements must be satisfied for the supply to be GST-free under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act.

Service of a kind specified in the table

To qualify, the service must be the provision of one of those actual services listed and not just something similar to one of the services.

You are a nutritionist providing dietary services to your clients.

'Dietary' is a health service listed as Item 7 in the Table.

Recognised professional

To satisfy the requirement of paragraph 38-10(1)(b) of the GST Act, the service must be supplied by a recognised professional in relation to the supply of dietary services.

To be a 'recognised professional' as defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act in relation to a service specified in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act, the person performing the service must have permission, approval or be registered under Australian state or territory law, in the state or territory in which the service is supplied, to provide that service. Where no such law exists, the person must be a member of a professional association that has uniform national registration requirements in relation to supplies of services of that kind.

There is no Australian state or territory law that requires a dietician to have permission, approval or to be registered to supply dietary services. Therefore, to be a recognised professional in the supply of dietary services, the dietician must be a member of a professional association that has uniform national registration requirements in relation to supplies of services of that kind.

Issue 2.a.6 of the Health Industry Partnership - issues register considers the type of recognised professional that provides a service of 'Dietary' listed at Item 7 of the Table and it states:

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.

In this case, you advised that you hold a degree in nutrition and you are a member of an association of natural therapists. However, you are not a member of the Dieticians Association of Australia.

As such, you are not considered a recognised professional in relation to the supply of dietary services for the purposes of paragraph 38-10(1)(b) of the GST Act.

As you do not meet all the requirements of subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act, the supply of dietary advice is not a GST-free supply of other health services.

Taxable supply

Your supply of dietary advice is neither GST-free nor input taxed under a provision of the GST Act or under the provision of any other Act, as such when you register for GST, your supply of dietary service will be a taxable supply under section 9-5 of the GST Act where:

•         you supply your services for payment of some kind

•         you make the supply in the course of operating your business and

•         the services are done in Australia.