Private ruling: GST - medical aids and appliances
Date of advice: 20 October 2025
Published: 22 December 2025
Ruling period: 1 April 20xx to 31 March 20xx
Date scheme commenced: 1 April 20xx

Ruling: Q1: Is the supply of products by xxxx (you) GST-free supplies of medical aids and appliances under subsection 38-45(1) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act): | A1: No. The products are not covered by Schedule 3 of the GST Act or specified in the GST regulations. Consequently, they are not GST-free supplies of medical aids and appliances under section 38-45(1) of the GST Act.

Relevant facts and circumstances: xxxx (you) are registered GST and lodge BAS returns quarterly. As part of your primary business activities, you supply paramedic-designed medical ID communication aids that links (via a unique QR) to a secure online medical profile containing the wearer's conditions, medications, allergies, emergency contacts and clinicians. The product range includes: • medical ID wristbands • necklaces • keyrings • wallet cards • other accessories (e.g., ID fridge magnet). Customers pay a single price for the physical identifier together with activation/access and basic support for the linked medical profile. No ongoing subscription is charged. The products are designed for people to enable and aid communication of critical medical information when the wearer cannot communicate or self-advocate (e.g., unconscious, non-verbal, cognitive impairment, seizure, anaphylaxis). Sales of the products occur via your website. You currently have no third-party retailers. You are preparing to expand into pharmacies and health stores once GST classification is confirmed. You are a registered NDIS provider. Product characteristics Function (what it does): The products are all a medical identification & communication aid. The wearer (or their carer) registers an account through the web portal or mobile app and creates a medical profile containing conditions, medications, allergies, clinicians, and emergency contacts. The profile is owner-managed and can be edited at any time; updates are immediately reflected when any of the person's QR items are scanned. Each of the products carries a unique QR identifier that can be linked to the same profile. Lost items can be deactivated, and replacements re-linked without changing the underlying profile. When scanned by responders or clinicians, the profile opens as a read-only page to communicate information; only the account holder can create or edit content in the app/portal. No automatic calling/alerting/monitoring occurs. Each product has a permanent QR plus clear scan prompt text (e.g., "Emergency - Scan for Health Info") Operational workflow (how it works): 1. Smartphone camera scans the engraved/printed QR code. 2. Secure URL opens the wearer's profile. 3. Profile displays key medical details and emergency contacts; no login is required for viewing. 4. Carers/clinicians use the information to guide assessment and treatment. Intended users: People with chronic disease, polypharmacy, dementia/cognitive impairment, epilepsy, diabetes, anaphylaxis risk, and older persons; National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)/Home Care Package (HCP)/aged-care participants. I ntended environment of use: Community, home, workplace, schools, aged-care, and pre-hospital/clinical settings (first responders, Emergency Department (ED) triage, General Practitioner (GP) rooms). What it does not do: The products do not place calls or send alerts automatically. The products do not monitor vitals, track location, detect falls, or provide clinical decision support. Data protection: The user profiles show only the fields the wearer elects to store and this is stored securely. No Protected Health Information (PHI) is written onto the physical product beyond the QR/short link. Manufacturer details Manufacturer's intended use & intended users The physical components are manufactured to your specifications by xxxx (Manufacturer). The manufacturer produces these items specifically for you to allow users to carry the permanent QR identifier to be used as medical identification & communication aids. Intended use: When worn or carried, the item's QR code is scanned by a smartphone to open a read-only medical profile so first responders, clinicians and carers can view the wearer's conditions, medications, allergies and emergency contacts. Intended users: People with an illness or disability, including those with chronic disease, polypharmacy, dementia/cognitive impairment, epilepsy, diabetes, anaphylaxis risk, and older persons; also NDIS/HCP/aged-care participants and their carers. What it is not intended for: These products do not contain electronics and do not place calls, send alerts, detect falls, track location or otherwise summon emergency services. They are information communication aids only. Design features evidencing intent: • Permanent engraved/printed QR identifier integrated into each item • Human-factors labelling/scan prompt (e.g., "Medical History - Scan QR Code") and medical symbol. • Packaging and instructions stating "scan to view medical profile".

Relevant legislative provisions: A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 38-45

Reasons for decision: Summary: Under subsection 38-45(1) of the GST Act, a supply of a medical aid or appliance is GST-free if the medical aid or appliance: a) is covered by Schedule 3 to the GST Act, or in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Regulations 2019 (GST Regulations); and b) is specifically designed for people with an illness or disability and is not widely used by people without an illness or disability. For a medical aid or appliance to be GST-free it must meet all of the above conditions. Paragraph 38-45(1)(a) - covered by Schedule 3 You have contended that the products would be considered a GST-free supply of medical aids and appliances under section 38-45 of the GST Act as being specifically designed for people with an illness or disability, and not widely used by people without an illness or disability. Further to this, you consider the products to be covered by Schedule 3 of the GST Act as either Item 33 'medical alert device' or as 'communication aids for people with disabilities'. | Detailed Reasoning - Communication aids for people with disabilities: Items 4 to 14 of Schedule 3 of the GST Act lists the following medical aids and appliances as possible communication aids for people with disabilities: Item 4: Communication boards and voice output devices Item 5: Communication cards Item 6: Page turners Item 7: Eye pointing frames Item 8: Software programs specifically designed for people with disabilities Item 9: Printers and scanners specifically designed for software and hardware used by people with disabilities Item 10: Switches and switch interfaces Item 11: Mouth/head sticks/pointers Item 12: Alternative keyboards Item 13: Electrolarynx replacements Item 14: Speech amplification/clarification aids Further, Item 2 of Regulation 38-45.01 of the GST Regulations lists: Item 2: Communication aids for people with disabilities: a) tracheostomy appliances and accessories; and b) laryngotomy appliances and accessories The products are not any of the medical aids and appliances listed under Items 4 to 14 of Schedule 3 of the GST Act or Item 2 of Regulation 38-45.01 of the GST Regulations. Therefore, they are not communication aids for people with disabilities under Schedule 3 of the GST Act or Item 2 of the GST Regulations. | Detailed Reasoning - 'Medical Alert' device: For the purposes of Item 33, a 'medical alert' device' is interpreted to mean a device which is designed for the purpose of alerting medical or caring personnel, or an ambulance service, that a person is in need of emergency medical assistance or that the person has a medical condition that may require specific treatment. In a Sales Tax context, in determining how goods might be covered by one or other of the items in the various Schedules, the tribunals and courts have often looked to the 'essential character' or 'objective characterisation' of goods. Essential character tests have been established by the Courts in cases such as Thomson Australia Holdings Pty Ltd v. Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1988) 20 FCR 85; 88 ATC 4916; (1988) 19 ATR 1896 and FC of T v. Rotary Offset Press Pty Ltd 71 ATC 4170; (1971) 2 ATR 411 . Davies J. said in Thomson Australia Holdings: the task of the court is to determine the essential character of the goods, what essentially the goods are, not some characteristic that the goods might have. Essential character derives from the basic nature of the goods, from what they are, though composition, function and other factors necessarily play a part. Similarly, for GST, to determine whether a thing is covered by an item in Schedule 3 or the GST Regulations, it is considered necessary to have regard to the essential character of the thing. This means deciding what the goods essentially are, as distinct from merely identifying one of a number of characteristics the goods might have. This approach relies upon deciding what is the basic nature of the goods and involves consideration of what the goods might be used for. The primary purpose of a 'medical alert' device is to alert. The products do not place calls or send alerts. The primary function of the products is to provide an instrument for displaying a user's medical profile so that first responders, clinicians and carers can view the user's conditions, medications, allergies and emergency contacts Consequently, as the products are not covered by any items in Schedule 3 of the GST Act nor are they specified in the GST Regulations, they are not GST-free supplies of medical aids and appliances under subsection 38-45(1) of the GST Act.