Private ruling: GST and remittance services
Date of advice: 18 December 2025
Published: 9 February 2026
Ruling period: 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2029
Date scheme commenced: 8 September 2025

Ruling: Q1: Are you making a taxable supply under section 9-5 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) when you receive a payment from a remittance provider? | A1: Where the payment received relates to money that is transferred overseas or being transferred between entities located overseas, you are making a GST-free supply under table item 4 of subsection 38-190(1) of the GST Act. Where the payment received relates to money that is transferred from overseas into Australia or within Australia, the supply is a taxable supply. | Q2: Are you a financial supply facilitator for the purposes of section 40-5.07 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Regulations 2019 when you provide services to a remittance provider? | A2: No.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You and Entity A entered into a "Referring Party / Introducing Broker Agreement" (IB Agreement). You provide a service of referring a prospective client to Entity A. Entity A provides remittance services which includes funds transferred from an: • Australian entity to an overseas entity. • Australian entity to another Australian entity. • overseas entity to an Australian entity. • overseas entity to another overseas entity. When a client wants to remit money: • You collect and compile the client's information and documents. • You forward the client's information to Entity A, who will undertake the 'Know Your Customer', 'Anti Money-Laundering' and 'Counter Terrorism Finance' checks. Entity A decides whether to accept the client as a customer. • Entity A gives you the "interactive brokers rate" for the foreign currency transaction. • You determine a markup for the transaction and quote the client the "customer rate". • If the client decides to proceed with the transaction, they send funds directly to Entity A's nominated bank account or a client-specific virtual account established by/for Entity A. • Once cleared funds are received, Entity A executes the foreign currency remittance and directs funds to the client's nominated beneficiary's account. • After completion, Entity A confirms the margin (the difference between the customer rate and the interactive brokers rate) and pays you a commission in accordance with the IB Agreement.

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 38-190(1) | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Regulations 2019 section 40-5.07 | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Regulations 2019 section 40-5.09 Question 1 | Detailed reasoning | Generally, an entity makes a taxable supply under section 9-5 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) where the entity: • makes a supply for consideration (payment); and | • the supply is made in the course or furtherance of an enterprise; and | • the supply is connected with the indirect tax zone (Australia); and | • the entity is registered or required to be registered for GST; and | • the supply is neither GST-free, not input taxed. | You entered into a 'Referring Party / Introducing Broker Agreement' with Entity A to introduce or refer clients to Entity A in order for Entity A to provide foreign exchange and remittance (money transfer) services to the client. Entity A pays you a commission for the services. | As such, you are making a supply to Entity A for consideration (payment of the commission). The supply is made in the course or furtherance of your enterprise, the supply is connected with Australia as you provide your services within Australia and you are registered for GST. | Consequently, your supplies will be taxable supplies unless they are GST-free or input taxed. | GST-free supply | Subsection 38-190(1) of the GST Act discusses when supplies of things, other than goods or real property, for consumption outside the indirect tax zone (Australia) are GST free. | Relevantly, table item 4 of subsection 38-190(1) of the GST Act provides that certain supplies which are made in relation to a right are GST free: A supply that is made in relation to rights if: | (a) the rights are for use outside of the indirect tax zone; or | (b) the supply is to an entity that is not an *Australian resident and is outside the indirect tax zone when the thing supplied is done. | This means that your supplies will be GST-free where: | • the supply is made in relation to rights, and | • the rights are for use outside Australia. | Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2003/8 Goods and services tax: supply of rights for use outside Australia - subsection 38-190(1), item 4, paragraph (a) and subsection 38-190(2) (GSTR 2003/8)provides guidance on 'when a supply of a thing is 'a supply that is made in relation to rights'. Paragraphs 75 to 77 of GSTR 2003/8 state: | Category 3 - Supplies of services directly connected with rights | 75. A supply of services (including the provision of advice or information)that has a direct connection with rights is a supply that is made in relation to rights for the purposes of item 4. | 76. The Commissioner considers that the context and the broad policy to tax domestic consumption expenditure both suggest that a reasonably close relationship must exist between a service and a right for the service to be covered by item 4. If this were not the case, and a more remote connection were sufficient, services supplied between Australian residents that would ordinarily be thought of as being consumed in Australia could, because of the remote connection, be rendered GST-free. Additionally, if a more remote connection were sufficient, there would be a disparity between services that are connected with tangible property (which would only be GST-free if they are directly connected with that property) and services connected with intangible property (which may be GST-free on the basis of the more remote connection). | 77. With this in mind, the Commissioner considers that a supply of services is a 'supply that is made in relation to rights' for the purposes of item 4 if the services are directly connected with rights. A service will be directly connected with rights if for example: | • the service facilitates a dealing in or exercise of the rights; or | • the service affects (or its purpose is to affect) or protects the nature or value (including indemnity against loss) of the rights | Further paragraphs 28A to 29 in GSTR 2003/8 state: | 28A. Item 4 only applies to a service that facilitates a dealing in rights if the essential character or substance of the dealing is one of rights. Similarly, item 4 only applies to services that affect or protect the nature or value of a thing if the essential character or substance of that thing is rights. | 29. Examples of supplies that fit within the three categories outlined at paragraphs 27B to 28 of this Ruling include supplies of intellectual property rights (category 1), supplies of shares (category 2) and supplies of brokerage services in relation to shares (category 3). | In relation to supplies of services which assist of facilitate a dealing in rights, GSTR 2003/8 provides examples in the table at paragraph 79A: | Service | Our view on why these services fall within item 4 | Legal services for the preparation for a contract for the sale of copyright. | The services facilitate a change in the ownership of the rights. | Legal service of preparing and lodging an application for registration of a trademark. | The services directly relate to the creation of a right. | Brokerage services in relation to the sale of shares. | The services facilitate a change in ownership of the shares. | Accordingly, in order for a service to be a supply that facilitates a dealing in rights; or affects or protects the nature or value of right, the service needs to have a direct connection with the right that is identified. In this regard, the Goods and Services Tax Determination GSTD 2015/1 Goods and services tax: is the supply of brokerage services that facilitates the sale or purchase of financial products on overseas securities or futures exchanges, a GST-free supply under paragraph (a) of item 4 in the table in subsection 38-190(1) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999? (GSTD 2015/1) states the brokerage services have a direct connection with rights supplied under shares because, through the acquisition of the share, the recipient of the brokerage services acquires the rights that are attached to the share. The service supplied by you is a referral service. This includes forwarding applications completed by clients to Entity A and undertaking any services necessary to enable the client to proceed with Entity A to undertake the remittance or foreign currency exchange. If the transaction is executed, Entity A pays you a commission. | Therefore, as provided in paragraph 77 of GSTR 2003/8 and consistent with the view in GSTD 2015/1, you are providing services which assist or facilitate a dealing in rights under the remittance services supplied by Entity A. | The second requirement for a supply to be GST-free under table item 4 in subsection 38-190(1) of the GST Act is that the rights are for use outside of Australia as explained at paragraph 108A of GSTR 2003/8: 108A. A supply does not fall within item 4 simply on the basis that the essential characteristics of the rights demonstrate that they may be used outside Australia. It is the intended use of those rights that determines if the supply that is made in relation to the rights falls within item 4. The extent to which the supply is taxable or GST-free is not affected by the actual use of the rights, other than as potential evidence of the intended use. | It is the intended use of the rights attached to a remittance service that is relevant in determining whether the rights are for use outside of Australia. The remittance services provided by Entity A essentially allow the transfer of money from one person or place to a different person or destination. Where the recipient of the funds is located outside of Australia, the rights that are created through the transaction are for use outside of Australia. This is because the payee acquires the right to be repaid the amount of the credit balance in the account with the recipient bank. | Consequently, your supply of services to Entity A in relation to the transactions where the recipient account is located outside of Australia (that is, in a bank account that it not in Australia) is GST-free under table item 4 of subsection 38-190(1) of the GST Act. This is because your supply is a supply that is made in relation to rights and those rights are for use outside of Australia. Where the recipient account is not located outside of Australia, your supply of services are not GST-free. | Input Taxed Supply | Generally financial supplies are input taxed under section of the GST Act. They are defined in section 40-5.09 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Regulations 1999 (GST Regulations) as the provision, acquisition or disposal of an interest in Australian currency or foreign currency is a financial supply (amongst others). | As you are not providing a supply in foreign currency and there are no other provisions in the GST Regulations that may apply, your supplies are not input taxed financial supplies. Consequently, your supplies to Entity A are GST-free where the recipient of the transaction between Entity A and the client has a right to a balance in an account that is located outside of Australia. Otherwise, your supplies are taxable supplies. | Question 2 | Detailed Reasoning | A financial supply facilitator is defined by section 40-5.07 of the GST Regulations as 'an entity facilitating the supply of the interest for a financial supply provider'. The Goods and Services Tax Ruling, GSTR 2004/1 Goods and services tax: reduced credit acquisitions explains the meaning of 'financial supply facilitator' and states: | 31.... The facilitating of a supply refers to activities that help forward (assist) the supply, rather than those that simply assist the financial supply provider. An entity facilitates the supply of an interest where its activities have the effect of helping forward or assisting the supply, therefore, the activities must have a sufficient nexus with the supply of an interest by a financial supply provider. | 32. To have a sufficient nexus, the activities of the entity must have an identifiable association with the supply that goes beyond a mere general association. An identifiable association does not mean that the activities have to be directly linked to the supply, however it does require that there be a substantial connection so as to exclude activities that are only generally related (for example, promotion, advertising, product design, market research or similar types of activities). The activities must relate to and assist a particular supply, not merely contemplated supplies. In the absence of this identifiable association, an entity will not be a financial supply facilitator of the supply of an interest. | 33. An entity is a financial supply facilitator of a particular supply. ... Being a financial supply facilitator is not a characteristic of an entity, but describes the entity's role in a particular transaction. | The word 'facilitates', requires that an entity have an active, rather than a passive or minor role. As such, a financial supply facilitator facilitates the acquisition of an interest where its activities have the effect of helping forward or assist a particular financial supply, rather than where those activities simply assist the financial supply provider. | It follows that the activities of a financial supply facilitator must have a sufficiently close connection with the acquisition of an interest by a financial supply provider. | Your supplies to Entity A involve introducing the prospective client. Consequently, you are not a financial supply facilitator. This is because you do not help facilitate the foreign exchange or remittance services directly. That is, you do not undertake activities that help forward or assist with the transfer. Your activities assist the financial supply provider with the obtaining of clients.