Private ruling: GST and supply of right to receive GST-free supply
Date of advice: 24 April 2026
Published: 13 July 2026

Ruling: Q1: Will the fees paid by Australian members to you be GST-free under paragraph 9-30(1)(b) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act)? | A1: The fees paid by the Australian members will be GST-free under paragraph 9-30(1)(b) of the GST Act provided the supply of health services received by the members satisfy the requirements of the GST-free provision.

Relevant facts and circumstances: • You are a non-resident entity located outside Australia and is currently registered for goods and services tax (GST) under the simplified GST registration system. • You provide an online platform service which connects credential social workers and psychologists (Health Workers) with patients (Members) throughout Australia. Health Workers and Members are individual persons. • You charge a subscription fee to a member to facilitate the exchange of health services provided by Health Workers to Members through your platform. You pay an agreed fee to the Health Workers for the services provided by them to the Members. • The Health Workers are recognised professionals in Australia and work for you as contractors. You will undertake a verification process to confirm that the Health Workers are recognised professionals in Australia. • Once a member pays the subscription fee to you, the member will have the right to receive health services according to their need from one of the listed Health Workers. The Members have the option of selecting a Health Worker using your platform. • The Members do not enter into any contracts with the Health Workers, and they do not pay any other fees to the Health Workers or to you for the health services they will receive under their Membership with you. The subscription fees will be the only fees paid by Members for the health services provided to them. • The Members have the option of selecting a membership plan with you. Currently, Members from Australia are under a weekly subscription plan. • Under the draft contract with the Members, you would be responsible and liable to provide the health services to the Members by arranging with their contracted Health Workers as per the needs of the Members. • If a member submits a request for a refund, you will refund the subscription fees paid by that member if that member does not request for any therapy sessions after becoming a member or a therapist does not provide the requested health service (no-show) to the member.

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 9-30(1) | 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 are liable to pay goods and services tax if you make a taxable supply. You make a taxable supply as per section 9-5 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) if: a) you make the supply for consideration; b) the supply is made in the course or furtherance of an enterprise that you carry on; 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. The supply of membership services provided by you through your platform where the member would receive health services is made for consideration which is the subscription fee. You provide this service in the course of carrying on your enterprise of providing the membership services to your members, your supply is connected with Australia as you provide the services in Australia, and you are registered for GST. The supply of services provided by you is not considered as an input taxed supply. However, it needs to be determined whether the supply would satisfy any of the GST-free provisions of the GST Act. Supply of right Subsection 9-30(1) of the GST Act provides that a supply is GST-free if: a) it is GST-free under Division 38 or under a provision of another Act; or b) it is a supply of a right to receive a supply that would be GST-free under paragraph (a). When the Members pay their subscription fees, the Members are entitled to receive health services from Health Workers arranged by you. Members do not pay any other additional fees to receive the health services either to you or the Health Workers. You do not provide the health services in return for the subscription fees and only provide the right to receive health services. Therefore, it is considered that when a member becomes a member by paying the subscription fees to you, they receive the supply of right from you to receive health services. The request for this private ruling is not made in relation to the supply provided by the health workers to Members or to you. Therefore, Australian Taxation Office (ATO) would not be in a position to rule on the supplies made by the Health Workers whether the supplies would satisfy the requirements of GST-free provisions. This private ruling is issued in relation to the supply of right made by you and whether the supply would be GST-free. You are required to determine whether the health services provided by the Health Workers to the Members satisfy the requirements of GST-free provisions to consider the application of subsection 9-30(1) of the GST Act. That is if the supply of right to receive a supply that would be GST-free health services, then the supply of right would be GST-free. However, we have provided the following information as a general advice to enable you to determine whether the supplies made by Health Workers to the Members would satisfy the requirements of GST-free health provision under Division 38 of the GST Act. GST-free supplies Division 38 of the GST Act sets out the supplies that are GST-free and amongst them subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act is relevant to the supply made by the Health Workers. Subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act provides that a supply 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. Amongst the services listed in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act, the following items would be relevant: Item 16 - Psychology Item 21 - Social work All three of the above requirements must be satisfied for the supply of health services provided by the Health Workers to be GST-free under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act. Service of a kind specified in the table You engage Psychologists and Social Workers as contractors to provide the health services to your members. These services are listed in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act. Recognised professional Paragraph 5 of Goods and Services Tax Industry Issues - Health Industry Partnership: Section 38-10 - Other health services provide the following: Recognised professional is defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act as: ... a person is a *recognised professional, in relation to the supply of a service of a kind specified in the table in sub-section 38-10(1), if: (a) 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 a *Territory law prohibiting the supply of services of that kind without such permission, approval or registration, or (b) 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, or (c) in the case of services covered by Item 3 in the table - the service is supplied by an accredited service provider within the meaning of section 4 of the Hearing Services Administration Act 1997. Appropriate treatment To satisfy the requirement under paragraph 38-10(1)(c) of the GST Act, the service must 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. Paragraphs 10 and 11 of the Goods and Services Tax Industry Issues - Health Industry Partnership: Section 38-10 Other health services provide the following: It is considered that 'appropriate treatment' will be established where the recognised professional assesses the recipient's state of health and determines a process to pursue, in an attempt to preserve, restore or improve the physical or psychological wellbeing of that recipient insofar as that *recognised professional's particular area of training allows and will include subsequent supplies for the determined process. 'Appropriate treatment' includes the principles of preventative medicine. Such treatment must be generally accepted in the profession associated with supplying services of that kind, as being necessary. 'Appropriate treatment' will not include supplies undertaken for a third party, which does not encompass treatment.

Does Division 165 apply to this private ruling?: Division 165 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 is a general 'anti-avoidance' rule that can apply in certain circumstances if you or another entity obtains a GST benefit from a scheme that you entered into or carried out for the main purpose of obtaining a GST benefit, or allowing another to obtain one. | It may also apply in some cases where the GST benefit arises as a principal effect of a particular scheme. An entity can get a 'GST benefit' under the GST, Luxury Car Tax or Wine Equalisation Tax laws. | If Division 165 applies, the benefit can be cancelled. For example, we might increase the net amount for a particular tax period. | Unless your private ruling specifically discusses Division 165, we have not considered the application of the anti-avoidance provisions to your case. | If you want us to rule on whether Division 165 applies in your circumstances, contact your contact officer to find out what details we will need to make the private ruling.