Private ruling: GST - education courses
Date of advice: 27 June 2025
Published: 25 August 2025
Ruling period: 1 July 20YY to 30 June 20YY
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 20YY

Ruling: Q1: Are xxxx (You) making a GST-free supply under section 38-85 of A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 when you supply courses? | A1: Yes, you are making GST-free supplies when you provide these courses.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You provide training courses and products related to xxx and xxx. You are registered for GST. You have been accredited with the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO). All of the courses that this ruling relates to consist of units that have received accreditation from the ASQA.

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

Reasons for decision: Summary: Section 38-85 of the GST Act provides that a supply of an education course is GST-free. The term 'education course' is defined in section 195-1 of theGST Act to include, amongst other things, a tertiary course. The term tertiary course is defined in section 195-1 and means: (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 (aa) 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 (b) any other course of study or instruction that the Student Assistance Minister has determined is a tertiary course for the purposes of this Act. | Detailed Reasoning - Student Assistance Minister's Determination: The Student Assistance (Education Institutions and Courses) Determination 2019 provides that a vocational education and training (VET) course (within the meaning given in section 3 of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 ) provided by a RTO is a tertiary course. The Determination defines a RTO as 'a training organisation that is registered on the National Register as a registered training organisation'. a) Section 3 of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 , provides that a VET course means the units of competency or modules of a course that is accredited by the National VET Regulator (which is the Australian Skills Quality Authority). This means that any units of competency or modules of a VET course which are accredited by the ASQA and are within the scope of registration of the RTO delivering the training are determined to be tertiary courses. As such, the courses that you supply within the scope of your registration as an RTO satisfy the definition of a tertiary course for the purposes of section 38-85 of the GST Act and supplies of these courses are GST-free.