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Edited version of your written advice
Authorisation Number: 1051501323121
Date of advice: 02 April 2019
Ruling
Subject: Supply of equine therapy
Question
Is the supply of equine therapy by you to participants who have a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan in effect a GST-free supply under section 38-38 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999?
Answer
No, the supply of equine therapy by you to participants who have a NDIS plan in effect is not a GST-free supply under section 38-38 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999.
Relevant facts and circumstances
● You carry on an enterprise of providing equine therapy to those who suffer from certain medical conditions as part of their treatment.
● You do not receive any government funding.
● You provide equine therapy to patients (participants) who have a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan in effect.
● Each participant has a written service provider agreement with you which outlines the therapy that will be undertaken.
● The therapy that you supply to your patients is “reasonable and necessary supports” as defined in the participant's plan.
● You are not paid directly from the NDIS portal. Depending on the condition of the participant, you receive payment for your services to those participants under a NDIS plan from the following sources:
1. Australian Foundation for Disability (AFFORD) https://www.afford.com.au/ who makes make the payment on behalf of the participant.
2. Planned Partners https://planpartners.com.au/ who make the payment on behalf of the participant as the participant does not have the ability to manage their own payments.
3. Directly from the participant, where the participant has the ability to manage their own payments.
● You are not the supplier of residential care. Accordingly you do not supply equine therapy as part of supplying residential care.
Reasons for decision
Under section 38-38 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) if the following conditions are met, the supply to a participant under the NDIS scheme is GST-free:
● The participant has a plan in effect.
● The supply is of reasonable and necessary supports that are specified in the statement of supports in the participant's plan.
● There is a written agreement between you and the participant (or another person).
● The supplies are of a kind determined in a legislative instrument by the Minister responsible for Disability Services.
Your services meet the requirements outlined under the first three dot points mentioned above under section 38-38 of the GST Act. The issue to be determined here is whether the supply of equine therapy is of a kind determined in a legislative instrument by the Minister responsible for Disability Services (in other words whether the supply of your equine therapy services meets paragraph 38-38(d) of the GST Act which requires the supplies to be of a kind determined in a legislative instrument by the Minister responsible for Disability Services). The relevant legislative instrument to consider is the GST-free Supply (National Disability Insurance Scheme Supports) Determination 2017 (Determination). In particular, it is necessary to determine whether the supply of your equine therapy services meets either paragraph 3 or 4 of the Determination.
Paragraph 3 of the Determination states:
3 Supplies that are GST-free
For the purposes of paragraph 38-38(d) of the Act, a supply of a kind described in Schedule 1 is GST-free if the supply also meets the other requirements of section 38-38 of the Act.
Given that the supply of your equine therapy meets the other requirements of section 38-38 of the GST Act, it is necessary to see whether the supply of your equine therapy is of a kind described in schedule 1 of the Determination. The supply of your equine therapy does not fall within any of the items in Schedule 1 of the Determination which is stated as follows:
Schedule 1—Supplies of supports that are GST-free*
*subject to meeting the requirements set out in section 3 of this Determination
Item |
Supply |
1 |
Specialist Disability Accommodation and accommodation / tenancy assistance |
2 |
Assistance in coordinating or managing life stages, transitions and supports, including daily tasks in a group or shared living arrangement |
3 |
Household tasks |
4 |
Assistance with and training in travel / transport arrangements, excluding taxi fares |
5 |
Interpreting and translation |
6 |
Assistance to access and maintain education and employment |
7 |
Assistive equipment for recreation |
8 |
Early intervention supports for early childhood |
9 |
Management of funding for supports in a participant’s plan |
Paragraph 4 of the Determination states:
4 Supplies that are GST-free if they are listed in other Determinations
For the purposes of paragraph 38-38(d) of the Act, a supply of a kind described in Schedule 2 is GST-free if:
(a) the supply also meets the other requirements of section 38-38 of the Act; and
(b) the supply is of a kind listed in any of the following:
(i) Schedule 1 to the GST-free Supply (Care) Determination 2017;
(ii) section 6 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (GST free Supply
(iii) Residential Care—Government Funded Supplier) Determination 2015;
(iv) sections 6 or 7 of the GST-free Supply (Health Services) Determination 2017; or
(v) such later replacement determination from time to time that has been made for the
(vi) purposes of sections 38-15, 38-25 and 38-30 of the Act.
Accordingly, in order to satisfy paragraph 4 of the Determination, it is necessary to determine whether:
● the supply of your equine therapy services falls within Schedule 2 of the Determination; and
● the services are covered by one of the determinations listed under paragraph 4(b) of the Determination (other determinations).
Schedule 2
Schedule 2—Supplies of supports that are GST-free if they are listed in other determinations*
*subject to meeting the requirements set out in section 4 of this Determination
Item |
Supply |
1 |
Assistance with daily personal activities |
2 |
Specialised assessment and development of daily living and life skills, including community participation |
3 |
Assistive equipment for general tasks and leisure, including assistive technology specialist assessment, set up and training |
4 |
Behavioural support and therapeutic supports |
5 |
Home modifications |
It has been contended that the supply of your equine therapy services falls under items 2 Schedule 2. The other item that we consider relevant is item 4.
Are the services covered by one of the other determinations?
The other determinations are:
1. Schedule 1 to the GST-free Supply (Care) Determination 2017 (Care determination);
2. Section 6 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (GST free Supply— Residential Care—Government Funded Supplier) Determination 2015 (Residential care determination);
3. Sections 6 or 7 of the GST-free Supply (Health Services) Determination 2017 (Health services determination)
When considering the other determinations, those that would fall within items 2 and 4 of Schedule 2 are:
● Specialised assessment and development of daily living and life skills, including community participation. Examples of supplies covered include:
● counselling (Care determination),
● training in use of aids and appliances (Care determination),
● day care (Care determination),
● assessment of person’s care needs (Care determination),
● individual care planning or case management (Care determination),
● social activities in a residential care setting (Residential care determination),
● recreational therapy in a residential care setting (Residential care determination).
● Behavioural support and therapeutic supports. Examples of supplies covered include:
● counselling,
● personal care (Care determination),
● community paramedical services (Care determination),
● individual care planning or case management (Care determination),
● treatment and procedures in a residential care setting (Residential care determination),
● support for people with a cognitive impairment in a residential care setting (Residential care determination),
● emotional support in a residential care setting (Residential care determination),
● rehabilitation support in a residential care setting (Residential care determination).
The relevant services to consider from the above two lists for the purpose of this case are:
● social activities in a residential care setting (Residential care determination),
● recreational therapy in a residential care setting (Residential care determination),
● treatment and procedures in a residential care setting (Residential care determination),
● support for people with a cognitive impairment in a residential care setting (Residential care determination),
● emotional support in a residential care setting (Residential care determination),
● rehabilitation support in a residential care setting (Residential care determination).
It is our view that these services are those that are provided to residents in a residential facility by an entity that is supplying residential care. Given that you are not an entity that supplies residential care your supply of equine therapy are not covered by any of the other determinations.
Accordingly, the supply of equine therapy by you does not meet paragraph 4 of the Determination either. As such the supply of your services does not meet the fourth requirement of section 38-38 of the GST Act. Therefore, the supply of your equine therapy services is not GST-free under section 38-38 of the GST Act.
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