Private ruling: GST - supply of services
Date of advice: 25 February 2026
Published: 20 April 2026
Ruling period: 25 February 20XX to 28 February 20XX

Ruling: Q1: Are your supplies of XX services to the following National Disability Insurance Scheme ( NDIS ) participants GST-free supplies under section 38-38 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 ( GST Act): (a) NDIS participants under 9 years who fall within the NDIS Early Childhood Approach ( NDIS ECA ), being children under 6 years with developmental delay or under 9 years with disability; or (b) NDIS participants 9 years and older who are residents of a residential care facility ( RCF ); or (c) NDIS participants of all ages including 9 years and older not a resident of a RCF, a resident under treatment in a psychiatric hostel or participating in a full-time residential substance abuse program | A1: Your supplies of XX services to NDIS participants: (a) under 9 years who fall within the NDIS ECA, are GST-free under section 38-38 of the GST Act. (b) 9 years and older who are residents of a RCF, are GST-free under section 38-38 of the GST Act. (c) 9 years and older who are not a resident of a RCF, a resident under treatment in a psychiatric hostel or participating in a full-time residential substance abuse program, are not GST-free under section 38-38 of the GST Act.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are a registered NDIS provider and registered for goods and services tax ( GST ). You provide XX services to non-NDIS participants and to NDIS participants who are: • under 9 years who fall within the NDIS ECA , being children under 6 years with developmental delay or under 9 years with disability. • 9 years and over who are also residents of a RCF. • 9 years and over who are not residents of a RCF or a resident under treatment in a psychiatric hostel or participating in a full-time residential substance abuse program. The XX you provide involves the structured use of music-based strategies such as interactive music-making, movement, listening, rhythm work and sensory-motor activities to achieve individual therapeutic goals identified for the participant. Your music therapist's use an evidence based musical technique to achieve individualised, non-musical therapeutic goals such as communication, cognitive development, emotional wellbeing, social interactions and mobility. Other activities involved in XX services include: • assessments; and • reports and therapy recommendations; and • meetings as required to support therapeutic goals of the participant; and • travelling by the therapist to NDIS participants location to deliver the XX services. You employ registered music therapist that are registered with the Australian XX Association ( AMTA ) and XX assistants that are not registered who work under the direction of registered music therapists to provide XX services. You provide XX services to NDIS participants of all ages in a number of settings including: • the NDIS participants private residence; or • aged care facilities; or • RCF; or • in your studio; or • in the community. You do not provide your XX services to NDIS participants who are residents of a psychiatric hostel or participate in a full-time residential substance abuse program for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander persons.

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 section 38-38 | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 subsection 177-10(5)

Reasons for decision: Summary: Subdivision 38-B of the GST Act sets out when supplies of certain health services are GST-free. Relevantly, section 38-38 of the GST Act provides that a supply of a disability support to a NDIS participant is GST-free if the supply: (a) is a supply to a participant within the meaning of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act 2013) for whom a participant's plan is in effect under section 37 of the NDIS 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 the NDIS 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. Your supplies are GST-free if you satisfy all of the requirements of section 38-38 of the GST Act. Each of these requirements is considered below. | Detailed Reasoning - NDIS plan is in effect: To satisfy paragraph 38-38(a) of the GST Act, the supply must be made to NDIS participants whose NDIS plan is in effect under section 37 of the NDIS Act and approved by the National Disability Insurance Agency ( NDIA ). NDIS plans cease to be in effect when they are replaced by another plan, if the plan is a new framework plan or in any case when the NDIS participant ceases to be a participant (subsection 37(2) of the NDIS Act 2013). The NDIS plans from NDIS participants to whom you make supplies of XX services indicate that each of those plans is in effect. On that basis, paragraph 38-38(a) of the GST Act is satisfied. | Detailed Reasoning - Reasonable and necessary supports: To satisfy paragraph 38-38(b) of the GST Act, your supply must consist of one or more reasonable and necessary supports, as outlined in the participant's NDIS plan. Based on the information provided, your supply of XX services consists of one or more reasonable and necessary supports, as specified in the NDIS participant's plan. On that basis, paragraph 38-38(b) of the GST Act is satisfied. | Detailed Reasoning - Made under a written agreement: To satisfy paragraph 38-38(c) of the GST Act, a written agreement must be made between you and the NDIS participant (or another authorised person). The written agreement must: (a) identify the NDIS participant; and (b) 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. You enter into written NDIS Agreements with each of your NDIS participants for whom you supply XX services. Those NDIS Agreement identify the participant and sets out the services to be supplied specifying the individual XX supports to be delivered, including type of sessions, the duration of sessions, travel components and the prices for associated recommendations, reports and assessments. These are the specific supports that the participant is engaging you to deliver under the written NDIS Agreement. Accordingly, the requirement in paragraph 38-38(c) of the GST Act is satisfied. | Detailed Reasoning - A supply of a kind determined by the Disability Services Minister: The last requirement is that the supply must be of a kind determined in writing by the Disability Services Ministers. The A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (GST - free Supply-National Disability Insurance Scheme Supports) Determination 2021 , as amended ( NDIS Determination 2021 ), and the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (GST - free Supply - National Disability Insurance Scheme Supports) Amendment (Application Period) Determination 2025 (the 2025 Amending Determination ) (together, the NDIS Determination ), is made under subsection 177-10(5) of the GST Act. Together, they apply to supplies made on or after 1 July 2021 and on or before 30 June 2027 and provide as follows: • subsection 6(1) of the NDIS Determination (Table 1) lists the supplies of supports covered by the Determination; and • subsection 6(2) of the NDIS Determination ( Table 2 ) lists the supports that are covered only if they are also covered by another listed determination. If a supply is covered by Table 1 of the NDIS Determination, the requirement in paragraph 38-38(d) of the GST Act is satisfied. However, if the supply is not covered by Table 1 but is covered by Table 2 of the NDIS Determination, your supply must also be covered by one of the other determinations listed under paragraph 6(2)(b) to satisfy paragraph 38-38(d) of the GST Act. We must consider whether your supplies of XX to the following categories of NDIS participants are a supply of a kind covered by the NDIS Determination: (a) NDIS participants under 9 years who fall within the NDIS ECA, being children under 6 years with developmental delay or under 9 years with disability; or (b) NDIS participants 9 years and older who are residents of a RCF; or (c) NDIS participants 9 years and older who are not a resident of a RCF, resident of a psychiatric hostel or a participant in a full-time residential substance abuse program? | Detailed Reasoning - (a) Table 1 NDIS participants under 9 years who fall under ECA: (emphasis added) The only item in Table 1 potentially applicable to XX is Item 8 'Early intervention supports for early childhood' ( Item 8 ). The NDIA which administers the NDIS defines early childhood to include: • children younger than 6 with developmental delay; or • children younger than 9 with a disability (The Early Childhood Approach for Children Younger Than 9', NDIS (NDIS website current as of 28 November 2025 To determine whether your supply of XX to NDIS participants within the NDIS's early childhood definition is a kind covered by Item 8, it is necessary to consider the nature of the therapeutic intervention supplied. Item 8 is directed to specialised, developmentally focussed interventions tailored to young children with disability or developmental delay. Your XX services are delivered by a qualified registered music therapist using structured, evidence-based, goal-directed interventions (e.g., interactive music-making, rhythm, sensory-motor activities) aimed at developmental and functional outcomes (communication, cognition, emotional wellbeing, social interaction and mobility). These characteristics show the supply is therapeutic (not recreational) and aligns with the NDIA's early-childhood framework (family-centred, strengths-based, delivered by allied-health professionals). On that basis, for participants that fall within the NDIS ECA (NDIS participants younger than 6 with development delays and younger than 9 with a disability), the supply of XX services is a supply of a kind covered by Item 8 in Table 1 of the NDIS Determination. | Detailed Reasoning - Conclusion: For NDIS participants younger than 9 years who fall within the NDIS ECA, the supply of XX services provided by you is of a kind of supply covered by Item 8 of Table 1 of the NDIS Determination. As all other requirements of section 38-38 of the GST Act are satisfied, the supply of XX to those NDIS participants (children under 6 with developmental delay or under 9 with disability) is GST-free. However, if the NDIS participant is over the age of 9 and does not fall within the NDIS ECA, your supply of music services to these NDIS participant will not be a supply of a kind covered by Item 8 or any other item of Table 1 of the NDIS Determination. | Detailed Reasoning - (b) NDIS Participants over the age of 9 who are a resident of a RCF: Where your supply of XX is not of a kind covered by Table 1 of the NDIS Determination, paragraph 38-38(d) of the GST Act may only be satisfied if: • it is of a kind listed in Table 2 of the NDIS Determination; and • it is also of a kind covered by one of the following determinations listed in paragraph 6(2)(b) of the NDIS Determination (as in force from time to time) made for the purposes of sections 38-15, 38-25 or 38-30 of the GST Act: - Schedule 1 to the GST - free Supply (Care) Determination 2017 ( Care Determination 2017 ) and its replacement, the GST - free Supply (Care) Determination 2025 ( Care Determination 2025 ) (together, the Care Determinations ); - 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 2015 ) and its replacement, the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (GST - free Supply - Residential Care - Government Funded Supplier) Determination 2025 ( Residential Care Determination 2025 ) (together, the Residential Care Determinations ); - sections 6 or 7 of the GST - free Supply (Health Services) Determination 2017 ( Health Services Determination ). A Table 2 item potentially relevant to XX is item 4 'behavioural support and therapeutic supports' ( Item 4 ). The XX you provide through registered music therapists or assistants under their directions involves the structured use of music-based strategies such as interactive music-making, movement, listening, rhythm work and sensory-motor activities to achieve individual therapeutic goals identified for the participant and as such XX is aptly characterised as a therapeutic support. On that basis, XX services are of a kind specified in Table 2 of the NDIS Determination under Item 4. However, subsection 6(2)(b) of the NDIS Determination requires that supplies covered by Table 2 are GST-free only if also of a kind covered by one of the cross-referenced determinations: • schedule 1 of the Care Determination; or • section 6 of the Residential Care Determination; or • sections 6 or 7 of the Health Services Determination. Below we have considered whether your supply of XX services to a resident of a RCF is covered by the Residential Care Determination 2025. | Detailed Reasoning - Residential Care Determination: Subsection 6(1) of that Residential Care Determination 2025 provides that a service specified in Division 8 of the aged care service list that is supplied to a resident in a residential facility is a supply of a kind covered. The aged care service list is contained in the Aged Care Rules 2025 ( Aged Care Rules ). Section 8-155 of the Aged Care Rules provides the following in relation to 'residential clinical care': The supply of XX would be covered by item 2 in the table under section 8-155 of the Aged Care Rules. | Detailed Reasoning - Conclusion: For NDIS participants who are 9 years and over who are resident of a RCF, the supply of XX services provided by you is a kind of supply covered by Item 4 of Table 2 of the NDIS Determination and the Residential Care Determination 2025. For completeness, the supply of your XX services to NDIS participants who are 9 years and over who are resident of a RCF, is a kind of supply covered by Item 4 of Table 2 of the NDIS Determination and the Residential Care Determination 2015. Accordingly, paragraph 38-38(d) of the GST Act is satisfied. As all other requirements of section 38-38 of the GST Act are satisfied, your supply of XX to those NDIS participants 9 years and over that are also residents of a RCF is GST-free. (c) NDIS participants over the age of 9 who are not a resident of a RCF, a resident of a psychiatric hostel or a participant in a full-time residential substance abuse program As discussed above, if you supply services to NDIS participants who are over the age of 9 and do not fall within the NDIS ECA, your supply of XX is covered by Item 4 in Table 2 of the NDIS Determination. Where your supply is not covered by Table 1 of the NDIS Determination and is covered by Table 2 of the NDIS Determination but not by the Residential Care Determination, we need to consider if your supply is covered by either the: • schedule 1 of the Care Determination; or • sections 6 or 7 of the Health Services Determination. The Care Determinations Items 1 through 21 in Schedule 1 in both Care Determination 2017 and Care Determination 2025 are identical. Care Determination 2025 removes Item 22 from the 2017 Care Determination and retains the continence management (renumbered as Item 22). The Care Determination 2025 covers specific care services but does not include allied-health or therapy support services, except in narrowly defined contexts. For example, 'counselling' is recognised in the Care Determination 2025 at Item 18, but this does not encompass XX. 'Assessment of the person's care needs' is listed at Item 11 but refers to care-needs assessment and not therapy assessments. Accordingly, your supply of XX to NDIS participants of all ages including 9 years and over who do not fall within the NDIS ECA are not covered by the Care Determination 2025 (or the Care Determination 2017). | Detailed Reasoning - Health Service Determination: The Health Service Determination 2017 covers specific supplies to made to residents of certain residential psychiatric hostel, and residential substance abuse programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. As your supply of XX services are not made to NDIS participants that are residents of a psychiatric hostel or participating in a full-time residential substance-abuse program, your supply is not covered by the Health Services Determination 2017. Accordingly, your supply of XX to NDIS participants of all ages including 9 years and over who do not fall within the NDIS ECA are not covered by the Health Services Determination 2017. | Detailed Reasoning - Conclusion: The supply of XX services to NDIS participants 9 years and older who are not a resident of a RCF, a resident of a psychiatric hostel or a participant in a full-time residential substance abuse program is not of a kind covered by one of the listed determinations under paragraph 6(2)(b) of the NDIS Determination. Although your supply of XX may be covered by Table 2 of the NDIS Determination, it must also be covered by one of these listed determinations in order to satisfy paragraph 38-38(d) of the GST Act. Accordingly, paragraph 38-38(d) of the GST Act is not satisfied. Your supplies of XX to NDIS participants 9 years and over who are not residents of a RCF, or a resident of a psychiatric hostel or a participant in a full-time residential substance abuse program are not GST-free.