Private ruling: Goods and services tax (GST) and psychology services
Published: September 2013

Ruling: Q1: Will GST be payable on your supplies of the service of supervising other fully registered psychologists, counsellors and other allied mental health professionals where this supervision is required to be received by the other professionals to maintain their registration? | A1: Yes.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are registered for GST. You are carrying on a business as a psychologist. You are registered by the relevant authority. You will supply the service of supervising other fully registered psychologists, counsellors and other allied mental health professionals. Registered health professionals (such as psychologists) are required to both undertake and receive a certain number of hours per year of peer supervision and consultation. This is called peer to peer supervision and consultation. There will be an agreement between the other health professional and you under which you will supply the service of supervising them. You will charge for the supervisory services you supply to these other health professionals.

Relevant legislative provisions: A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 subsection 7-1(1) | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 9-5 | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 9-40 | 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: You will not make GST-free supplies of the psychology services in question under subsection 38-10(1) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) because your supplies will not be for the treatment of the recipients of these supplies. | Detailed Reasoning - Detailed reasoning: GST is payable by you on your taxable supplies. You make a taxable supply where you satisfy the requirements of section 9-5 of the GST Act, which states: You make a taxable supply if: (a) you make the 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 Australia; and (d) you are *registered, or *required to be registered. However, the supply is not a *taxable supply to the extent that it is *GST-free or *input taxed. (*Denotes a term defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act) In your case, you will meet the requirements of paragraphs 9-5(a) to 9-5(d) of the GST Act. This is because: · you will supply the services for consideration · you will make these supplies in the course or furtherance of an enterprise that you carry on · your supplies will be connected with Australia, and · you are registered for GST. There are no provisions in the GST Act under which your supplies of the services in question will be input taxed. Therefore, what remains to be determined is whether your supplies of the services will be GST-free. Allied health services In accordance with subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act, a supply is GST-free if: (a) it is a service of kind specified in the table in this subsection (such as psychology services) (b) the supplier is a recognised professional in relation to their supplies of such services 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. You will supply psychology services to the other mental health professionals. Therefore, you will meet the requirement of paragraph 38-10(1)(a) of the GST Act. In accordance with section 195-1 of the GST Act, a person is a recognised professional, in relation to the supply of a service of a kind specified in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act if the service is supplied in a State or Territory in which the person has a permission or approval, or is registered, under a State law or Territory law prohibiting the supply of services of that kind without such permission, approval or registration. You are a recognised professional in relation to your supply of psychology services because you are registered by the relevant authority. Therefore, you will meet the requirement of paragraph 38-10(1)(b) of the GST Act. Section 195-1 of the GST Act provides that the recipient of a supply is the entity to which the supply was made. In accordance with paragraph 163 of Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2006/9, where a health professional makes a supply of services that are not for the treatment of the recipient of that supply, the requirement of paragraph 38-10(1)(c) of the GST Act will not be met. Under the arrangements in question, you will be supplying supervisory services to other mental health professionals. These other mental health professionals will be the recipients of your supplies. These supplies will not be for the treatment of the recipients of the supplies. Hence, you will not meet the requirement of paragraph 38-10(1)(c) of the GST Act. Therefore, you will not make GST-free supplies under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act under the circumstances in question because you will not meet all of the requirements of subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act. There are no provisions of the GST Act under which your supplies of the services to the other mental health professionals will be GST-free. As all of the requirements of section 9-5 of the GST Act will be met, you will make taxable supplies to the other mental health professionals. Hence, GST will be payable by you on your supplies of these services.