Private ruling: Education supplies
Date of advice: 13 May 2026
Published: 10 August 2026
Ruling period: X to X

Ruling: Question One | Is each supply by X of non-accredited Y Courses to students residing in Australia a GST-free supply pursuant to section 38-85 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act)? | Answer One | No. | Question Two | Is each supply by X of accredited Z Courses to students residing in Australia a GST-free supply pursuant to section 38-85 of the GST Act? | Answer Two | Yes. | Question Three | Is each supply by X of the following extensions to students residing in Australia a GST-free supply pursuant to section 38-85 of the GST Act? | a) Each supply of an extension granted to either complete a Y Course, or to showcase their work in undertaking a Y Course, over an extended period of up to 12 Months. | b) Each supply of an extension granted to either complete a Z Course, or to showcase their work in undertaking a Z Course, over an extended period of up to 12 Months. | Answer Three | a) No. | b) Yes. | Question Four | Is each supply by X of (a) P and (b) Q a GST-free supply pursuant to section 38-85 of the GST Act? | Answer Four | No. | Question Five | Is each supply by X to students residing in Australia of recognition of prior learning through the Process a GST-free supply pursuant to section 38-110 of the GST Act? | Answer Five | Yes.

Relevant facts and circumstances: X is a privately-owned and operated provider of on-line courses. It has been registered for GST since XXXX. It offers Y Courses and Z Courses. It does not supply any course on behalf of another entity or entities. Y Courses X has been operating Y Courses since XXXX. X provides support to students 24 hours a day seven days a week for each of the Certificate Courses. A personal tutor is also provided to assist each student and to mark their assignments. The X Courses are not Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses. X does not provide any associated items with the supply of the Certificate Courses, for example accommodation, course materials, excursions or meals. Z Courses Since XXXX, X has been registered with the Federal Government's Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) under the National Vocational and Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 (NVETR Act) as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), with the RTO code 45423. X's registration under the NVETR Act is subject to its continued compliance with the: a) VET Quality Framework; b) conditions set out in sections 22 to 28 of the NVETR Act; and c) conditions imposed on the organisation's registration under subsection 29(1) of the NVETR Act. As a result of its registration with ASQA under the NVETR Act, X was approved by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training (Australian DET) to offer accredited Z Courses. X has been delivering the Z Courses since XXX. Neither the Y Courses nor the Z Courses are approved courses within the meaning of the VET Student Loans Act 2016 (Cth). In this regard, the course content of the Z course is not significantly different to the Y Courses in the same stream. Students from both streams have established careers in their relevant industries. X does not provide any associated items with the supply of the Z Courses, for example accommodation, course materials, excursions or meals. The Z Courses operate via the same domains for the Y Course versions of those courses, and students have the option to choose which course they would prefer to undertake the higher priced accredited Z Course or the lower priced non-accredited Y Course). General Students of either a Y Course or a Z Courses can purchase any of the following: • Extensions of their course. • Portfolio extensions. Students can extend the facility that X has created for them to showcase their work via a portfolio website. • PP, allowing students to acquire additional expertise in certain disciplines and genres for specialisation. • Online live workshops. In addition, a student who has previously completed a Y Course has the opportunity to have recognised by X this prior learning via a Process. This involves a payment of a fee by the student to X. The objective behind the Process is to provide an exemption for the relevant student from having to study the relevant content of the Z Course that was previously covered in the Y Course or via a course with similar information or experience gathered in industry. To qualify for the Process, a student is required to submit various documents for evaluation by an X accredited assessor to substantiate the courses that the student has completed including a Y Course. The student is also required to provide evidence to the assessor of any work experience that the student has obtained in the field covered by the course, and may be required to complete other additional tasks to ensure all criteria are fulfilled for the student to study the relevant Z Course via the Process.

Relevant legislative provisions: A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 38-85 | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 38-110

Reasons for decision: Detailed Reasoning - Questions One and Two: Section 38-85 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (the GST Act) provides that a supply will be GST-free if it is a supply of a) an education course; or b) administrative services directly related to the supply of such a course, but only if they are supplied by the supplier of the course. For that purpose, an education course is defined by section 195-1 of the GST Act to mean: a) a *pre-school course; or b) a *primary course; or c) a *secondary course; or d) a *tertiary course; or e) [repealed]; f) a *special education course; or g) an *adult and community education course; or h) an *English language course for overseas students; or i) a *first aid or life saving course; or j) a *professional or trade course; or k) a *tertiary residential college course. Section 195-1 further defines what each of those courses mean for the purposes of the GST Act. In our view, only two of those types of courses potentially apply to the courses which are the subject of this ruling, being a tertiary course and an adult and community education course ( ACE course ). A tertiary course is defined by section 195-1 to mean: a) a course of study or instruction that is a tertiary course determined by the Student Assistance Minister under subsection 5D(1) of the Student Assistance Act 1973 for the purposes of that Act; or b) a course of study or instruction accredited at Masters or Doctoral level and supplied by a higher education institution or a non-government higher education institution; or c) any other course of study or instruction that the Student Assistance Minister has determined is a tertiary course for the purposes of this Act. Paragraph b) above does not apply to X. | Detailed Reasoning - Para a) of the definition of a tertiary course: Regarding paragraph a) of the definition of a tertiary course, currently, the relevant determination is the Student Assistance (Education Institutions and Courses) Determination 2019 (the Tertiary Course Determination). Subsection 11(1) of the Tertiary Course Determination currently states: For paragraph 5D(1)(a) ..., a tertiary course is a course: a) that is: i. specified in Column 1 of the table in Schedule 2 to this instrument and provided by an education institution specified for that course in Column 2 of that table; and ii. for a course specified in item 5 or 8 of that table-an approved course within the meaning of the VET Student Loans Act 2016 ; and iii. for a course specified in item 10 of that table-to the extent that the course consists of study in a VET course, an approved course within the meaning of the VET Student Loans Act 2016; or b) that is: i. accredited at Masters level; and ii. specified in Column 2 of the table in Schedule 3 to this instrument; and iii. provided by the education institution specified for that course in Column 1 of that table; or c) to which section 12 of this instrument applies. Neither paragraph 5D(1)(b) nor 5D(1)(c) apply to X. Hence the test remains with paragraph 5D(1)(a) and, as a consequence, with the table in Schedule 2 to the Tertiary Course Determination. There are 11 Items in Schedule 2 listing various types of courses and eligible education institutions. Column 2 of several of those Items list RTOs as the eligible education institution. Noting that X is an RTO, the most relevant of those Items is Item 5, Column 1 of which lists VET courses at the level of a) diploma; or b) advanced diploma; or c) graduate certificate; or d) graduate diploma. For the purpose of Schedule 2, and in particular Item 5, the meaning of 'VET course' is provided by section 3 of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 . In broad terms, it includes VET accredited courses. Accordingly, as the Z Courses are VET accredited courses, they fall within Item 5 of Schedule 2 to the Tertiary Course Determination. However, as noted above, a course specified in Item 5 must also be an 'approved course' within the meaning of the VET Student Loans Act 2016 . Since the Z Courses are not 'approved courses' within that meaning, they fail to come within the terms of paragraph a) of the section 195-1 definition of a 'tertiary course'. | Detailed Reasoning - Paragraph c) of the definition of a tertiary course: However, that failure means that paragraph c) of that definition, as noted above, can be considered. Specifically, the relevant Minister made A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Tertiary Courses) Determination 2017 for this purpose. Accordingly, the Z Courses satisfy paragraph c) of the section 195-1 definition of a tertiary course because they are VET courses but not approved, as per Item 1 in the table to section 6 of that paragraph c) determination. As a result, we are of the view that the Z Courses satisfy the requirements of section 38-85 and thus their supply by X is GST-free. It is not necessary to consider whether the Z Courses are ACE courses. | Detailed Reasoning - Y Courses: Conversely, since the Y Courses are not accredited, they do not come within the terms of a 'tertiary course' and thus it is necessary to consider whether they satisfy the definition of an ACE course. The threshold requirement for a course to be an ACE course is that it be 'a course of study or instruction that is likely to add to the employment related skills of people undertaking the course.' Failing that test means that the definition of an ACE course cannot be satisfied. Our view of it was provided by Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2000/27 - Goods and services tax: adult and community education courses; meaning of "likely to add to employment related skills" (GSTR 2000/27). At paragraphs 15 and 16 we stated: The test as to whether an adult and community education course is likely to add to the employment related skills of people undertaking the course is an objective test and not dependent on the subjective intention of the providers of the course or the recipients . However we consider a course satisfies the test if the course ....... is directed at people who want to add to their employment related skills; and a) the objectives of the course specify the employment related skills that participants will acquire in undertaking the course; b) the means of imparting the skills to the participants are clearly identified prior to the commencement of the course; and c) there is a reasonable expectation that the skills being developed will be used in the course of being an employee, or working in a business, occupation, profession or trade, rather than for recreational, hobby, artistic or cultural endeavours. In addition ..., you should also consider the following: • How the course is marketed. A course that markets the employment related skills that will be acquired by undertaking the course will support your conclusion that the course will, on the balance of probabilities, add to the employment related skills of the participants. • Whether the course is similar to an accredited vocational education and training (VET) program. If you can clearly demonstrate that a majority of the course content is the same as part or all of a recognised VET program, this factor will support your contention that the course is likely to add to employment related skills of people undertaking the course. • The outcomes of the course. If you can present evidence that the majority of people undertaking your course are gaining employment relevant to the skills they have acquired in the course, this would also demonstrate that the course is likely to add to the employment related skills of people undertaking the course. There must be a reasonable expectation that the course is going to "add to the employment related skills of people undertaking the course". Taking those views into account, we accept that, with the exception of the M Course, each of the Y Courses supplied by X meets the threshold requirement that they be a course of study or instruction that is likely to add to the employment related skills of people undertaking the course. In respect of the M Course, we do not accept it meets that threshold test of an ACE course and, accordingly, it fails to meet the requirements for GST-free treatment under section 38-85 of the GST Act. In respect of the other Y Courses supplied by X, namely the other Y Courses, having each satisfied the threshold test to be treated as ACE courses, it is necessary to consider the remaining tests. Thus, and relevantly paraphrasing those tests as stated in the section 195-1 definition of an ACE course, each of the abovementioned courses must be one of two things: a) The course must be of a kind determined by the relevant Minister to be an ACE course and is provided by, or on behalf of, a body that is recognised, by a State or Territory authority, as a provider of courses of a kind described in the determination; or b) The course is determined by the relevant Minister to be an ACE course. The relevant determination for both a) and b) above is currently A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Adult and Community Education Courses) Determination 2016 (the ACE Determination). Pursuant to section 6 of the ACE Determination, b) above can only be satisfied if, among other things, the entity providing the course operates on a not-for-profit (NFP) basis, or if the course is being provided on behalf of an NFP entity. X does not operate on an NFP basis and is not providing the courses on behalf of another entity or entities. Accordingly, the other Y Courses can only be accepted as ACE courses if they respectively meet the requirements of a) above. Requirement a) has two parts. Both need to be considered and satisfied for the other Y Courses to be treated as ACE courses. Given the terms of the ACE Determination, the two parts are as follows. Firstly, each course must: a) not be a course mentioned in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (f), (h), (i), (j) or (k) of the definition of 'education course' in section 195-1 of the Act; b) be a course that is available to adults in the general community; c) not be a course that is provided by, or at the request of an employer to the employees of that employer; d) not be a course that is provided by, or at the request of an organisation to the members of that organisation, e) except an organisation for which membership is open to adults in the general community; and f) not be a course that is provided by way of private tuition to an individual. Secondly, X must be recognised by a State or Territory authority as a provider of courses of the kind described in a) to f) above. As to the first part of the test in paragraph a) of the definition of an ACE course in section 195-1, we are satisfied that each of the other Y Courses meets it. As to the second part of the test, you have acknowledged that X is not explicitly recognised by any State or Territory authority as a provider of courses of the kind described in a) to f) above. In response, you made the following submission: ASQA is the national regulator for Australia's vocational education and training sector and was established under section 155 of the NVETR Act. ASQA regulates courses and training providers to ensure nationally approved quality standards are met. In this regard, it was incumbent upon X to register with ASQA and not a State or Territory authority since is a provider of online training courses to students throughout Australia as well as to overseas students. X was entitled to do so under section 16(2) of the NVETR Act which provides that a body that is part of a State or Territory may apply to the "National VET Regulator" (being ASQA) for registration, including renewal of registration, of the body as an NVR registered training organisation. It therefore follows that because of X's registration with ASQA and under the NVETR Act, X is necessarily and unequivocally recognised by all State or Territory authorities, as a provider of courses of the kind referred to in subsection 5(2) of the Determination. The registration by ASQA of X is recognition that its Y Courses that it provides meet all nationally approved quality standards. In this regard, since its registration is effected under Commonwealth law (namely, the NVETR Act) and ASQA's Australia-wide jurisdiction prevails over a State or Territory authority's jurisdiction, X's registration as an NVR registered training organisation is required to be recognised by any State or Territory authority that regulates providers of vocational education and training courses. We do not agree with that submission, and we do not accept that the second part of the test in paragraph (a) of the definition of an ACE course in section 195-1 is satisfied in respect of each of the other Y Courses, for the following reasons: 1. As a matter of fact, and as you acknowledged, X has not been recognised by a State or Territory authority. It is our view that the test requires actual recognition. 2. We make no comment on the veracity of the argument that ASQA's jurisdiction 'prevails' over a State or Territory authority's jurisdiction and that X's registration as an NVR RTO is 'required to be recognised', but it is our view, again, that the test requires actual recognition. 3. Even if we were to accept that Federal registration satisfies the requirement for State or Territory recognition, which we do not, we note that X's Federal registration is restricted to the Z Courses. It does not extend to the Y Courses. Accordingly, the other Y Courses all fail to come within the definition of an ACE course and hence their supply by X fails to meet the requirements for GST-free treatment under section 38-85 of the GST Act. For the sake of completeness, the same reasoning applies to the supply of the M Course. | Detailed Reasoning - Question Three: It is our view that the GST treatment of the supply of an extension to undertake a Y Course or a Z Course necessarily follows the treatment of the original course. An extension of a supply remains the supply. Accordingly, the supply of an extension to a Z Course is GST-free under section 38-85 of the GST Act, but the supply of an extension to a Y Course is not GST-free under section 38-85. | Detailed Reasoning - Question Four: Neither the P or Q supplied to students undertaking the J Course, form part of the relevant courses as they are optional, and separately supplied. Neither meets the definition of an education course for the purposes of section 38-85. | Detailed Reasoning - Question Five: Subsection 38-110(1) of the GST Act provides that a supply will be GST-free if the supply is the assessment or issue of qualifications for the purposes of: a) access to education; or b) membership of a professional or trade association; or c) registration or licensing for a particular occupation; or d) employment. However, pursuant to subsection 38-110(2), such a supply will not be GST-free unless the supply is carried out by a) a professional or trade association; or b) an *education institution; or c) an entity that is registered by a training recognition authority of a State or Territory in accordance with the Australian Recognition Framework to provide skill recognition (assessment only) services; or d) an authority of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory; or e) a local government body. As X is not an entity coming within the terms of paragraphs a), c), d) or e) above, it needs to qualify as an 'education institution' - paragraph b) - for the purposes of GST-free treatment under section 38-110 of its supplies of the recognition process. For that purpose, an 'education institution' is ultimately defined by subsection 3(1) of the Student Assistance Act 1973 to mean one of several defined types of institution. Thus, the following are treated as education institutions: • Any education institution that, in accordance with a determination by the relevant Minister, is to be regarded as a higher education institution, a technical and further education institution, or any other institution, authority or body. • Any secondary school. Given X is not a secondary school, it will only satisfy subsection 38-110(2) if it comes within the required terms of the relevant determination, which is the Student Assistance (Education Institutions and Courses) Determination 2019 (the Education Institutions Determination). Pursuant to section 8 of the Education Institutions Determination, an RTO qualifies as a technical and further education institution. Accordingly, as X is an RTO, its supplies of recognition of prior learning via its Process to students resident in Australia is GST-free under section 38-110 of the GST Act.