Private ruling: GST - personal support services
Date of advice: 16 July 2025
Published: 8 September 2025
Ruling period: XX XXX 20YY to XX XXX 20YY
Date scheme commenced: The date this ruling is issued.

Ruling: Q1: Are your supplies of personal support services to a NDIS participant GST-free in accordance with section 38-38 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act)? | A1: Yes.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You have an Australian Business Number (ABN) and is registered for the Good and Services Tax (GST). You provide personal support services to NDIS participant, who requires 24/7 care. The participant has a self-managed NDIS plan under section 37 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act) and approved by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). You are the main support worker and you do not provide support services to any other NDIS participants. You were engaged directly by the participant to provide the support. The participant's NDIS plan specifies an amount of time or quantity of the reasonable and necessary supports, but their plan generally runs out early due to the degenerative nature of their condition and the support needed increasing. The majority of their funding gets paid via their core budget. You have supplied a copy of the written services agreement (Services Agreement) between you (as the Service Provider) and the Participant. The Services Agreement commenced on 19 November 20YY and will continue on an ongoing basis unless terminated by either party in accordance with section 7 of the Services Agreement. The Service Agreement states that you agree to deliver personal care services to the participant: • Personal care assistance • Oral hygiene support • Assistance with mobility and transfers • Assistance with evening routines • Exercise support • Standing assistance and physical position support The Service Agreement provides that the payments are to be made to you from the participant's NDIS funding, managed through the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). You agreed to submit invoices in accordance with the NDIA pricing arrangements and service booking requirements. The participant's payments to you is managed by Company 1, and you submit invoices to the participant's Company 1accounts team. You have supplied a sample invoice which provides in the description the support services provided and item codes for pricing. You have not been including GST on the support services provided to the participant as you understood the care that you give the participanat falls under the GST-free (Care) Determination 2017.

Relevant legislative provisions: A New Tax System (Good and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 9-5 | A New Tax System (Good and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 38-38

Reasons for decision: Summary: 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 the indirect tax zone; 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. You satisfy the requirements of paragraphs 9-5(a) to 9-5(d) of the GST Act. That is, you supply the services in question for consideration and in the course or furtherance of an enterprise that you carry on. The supplies of the services are in Australia, and you are registered for GST. There are no provisions of the GST Act under which your supplies of the services are input taxed. Therefore, what remains to be determined is whether your supplies of the services are GST-free. Supplies made by a supplier of disability supports to a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant [1] may be GST-free where the requirements of the relevant GST law provisions are satisfied. Section 38-38 of the GST Act provides that certain supports provided to NDIS participants are GST-free. Relevantly, section 38-38 of the GST Act states: A supply is GST-free if the supply: (a) is a supply to a participant (within the meaning of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 ) for whom a participant's plan is in effect under section 37 of that Act; and (b) is a supply of one or more of the reasonable and necessary supports specified in the statement included, under subsection 33(2) of that Act, in the participant 's plan; and (c) is made under a written agreement, between the supplier and the participant or another person, that: (i) identifies the participant; and (ii) states that the supply is a supply of one or more of the reasonable and necessary supports specified in the statement included, under subsection 33(2) of that Act, in the participant ' s plan; and (d) is of a kind that the *Disability Services Minister has determined in writing. All the above requirements under 38-38 of the GST Act must be satisfied for your services to be GST-free. A participant's plan will contain a statement of supports and will identify those that are approved as reasonable and necessary. The written agreement can be between the supplier and a person other than the participant. Other people can include those who manage the plan and funding for the participant. This would include the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), a plan management provider registered with the NDIA or someone like a guardian or relative of the participant. | Detailed Reasoning - NDIS plan is in effect: The participant's NDIS plan must be in effect under section 37 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act), which means it must be approved by the NDIA. The plan ceases to be effective when it is replaced by another plan, or when the NDIS participant ceases to be a participant in the NDIS. | Detailed Reasoning - Reasonable and necessary supports: The supply must be of one or more reasonable and necessary supports, as defined in the participant's NDIS plan. Where the participant's NDIS plan specifies an amount (such as time or quantity) of reasonable and necessary supports, any supplies of supports in excess of these specifications will not be a GST-free NDIS supply. | Detailed Reasoning - Made under a written agreement: There must be made a written agreement between you, the supplier, and the NDIS participant (or another person). The written agreement must: • identify the NDIS participant, and • state that the supply is a supply of one or more of the reasonable and necessary supports specified in the statement included, under subsection 33(2) of the NDIS Act, in the participant's NDIS plan. | Detailed Reasoning - A supply covered by the Disability Services Minister's Determination: For the supply to be GST-free, as well as meeting the other three requirements outlined above, your supply to the NDIS participant must be of a kind covered by the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (GST-free Supply - National Disability Insurance Scheme Supports) Determination 2021 (NDIS Determination). The NDIS Determination applies to supplies made on or after 1 July 2021 which are made on or before 30 June 2025. The NDIS Determination has 2 tables: • The table in subsection 6(1) - supplies of supports that are GST-free (Table 1). • The table in subsection 6(2) - supplies of supports that are GST-free if they are listed in other determinations (Table 2). If your supply is covered by an item listed in Table 1, the requirement to be covered by the NDIS Determination is satisfied. If Table 1 doesn't apply, you can consider Table 2. When an item in Table 2 is relevant to your supply, the requirement to be covered by the NDIS Determination is only satisfied if the item is also covered by one of 3 other determinations. The supplies covered by Table 1 of the NDIS Determination are: • specialist disability accommodation and accommodation or tenancy assistance (the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Specialist Disability Accommodation) Rules 2020External Link sets out the requirements that must be met to supply specialist disability accommodation) • assistance in coordinating or managing life stages, transitions and supports, including daily tasks in a group or shared living arrangement • household tasks • assistance with and training in travel or transport arrangements, excluding taxi fares • interpreting and translation • assistance to access and maintain education and employment • assistive equipment for recreation • early intervention supports for early childhood • management of funding for supports in a participant's plan. Your supply of support services to the participant are not covered by Table 1 of the NDIS Determination. Therefore, we need to consider if your supply falls under Table 2 of the NDIS Determination. | Detailed Reasoning - Table 2: If your supply is not covered by Table 1, the supply is only covered by the NDIS Determination if it is both: • listed in Table 2, and • listed in any one of 3 other determinations: ­ Schedule 1 to the GST-free Supply (Care) Determination 2017 (Care Determination), ­ 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), or ­ Sections 6 or 7 of the GST-free Supply (Health Services) Determination 2017 (Health Services Determination). The supplies listed in Table 2 are: 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. Examples of supplies that are both covered by Table 2 and one of the other 3 determinations are provided below. Table 2: Schedule 2 items | Detailed Reasoning - Examples of supplies covered by Schedule 2 and one of the three other determinations: 1. Assistance with daily personal activities Care Determination Personal care Medication management Continence management Training in use of aids and appliances 2. Specialised assessment and development of daily living and life skills, including community participation Care Determination Counselling Training in use of aids and appliances Day care Assessment of person's care needs Individual care planning or case management 2. Specialised assessment and development of daily living and life skills, including community participation Residential Care (Government Funded) Determination Social activities in a residential care setting Recreational therapy in a residential care setting 3. Assistive equipment for general tasks and leisure, including assistive technology specialist assessment, set up and training Care Determination Basic equipment for social support (sale or hire) Provision and monitoring of personal alert systems (sale or hire) Assessment of person's care needs Training in use of aids and appliances 3. Assistive equipment for general tasks and leisure, including assistive technology specialist assessment, set up and training Residential Care (Government Funded) Determination Goods to assist with toileting and incontinence management in a residential care setting (sale or hire) Furnishings in a residential care setting (sale or hire). 4. Behavioural support and therapeutic supports Care Determination Counselling Personal care Community paramedical services Individual care planning or case management 4. Behavioural support and therapeutic supports Residential Care (Government Funded) Determination Treatment and procedures in a residential care setting Support for people with a cognitive impairment in a residential care setting Emotional support in a residential care setting Rehabilitation support in a residential care setting 5. Home modifications Care Determination Home modifications which are supplies that assist a person to remain living at home In this case, the participant is a NDIS participant and has a NDIS plan in effect. You have stated that your supply of personal support services you provide to the participant is one or more of the reasonable and necessary supports that are specified in the statement of supports included under subsection 33(2) of that Act in the participants NDIS plan. You have a written agreement with the participant which lists the personal support services you provide, which are covered by item 1 in Table 2 in the NDIS Determination. The written agreement meets all the requirements of section 38-38 of the GST Act and therefore your supply of support services to the participant are GST-free under section 38-38. [1] within the meaning of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013