Private ruling: NDIS third-party supplies
Date of advice: 9 April 2026
Published: 29 June 2026
Ruling period: 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2030

Ruling: Q1: Are the supplies you make under your respective contracts with X and Y GST-free pursuant to section 38-38 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (the GST Act)? | A1: No.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are registered for GST, effective from Z, as a sole trader. You have a contract with X and a contract with Y. You perform your services to the benefit of the clients of X and Y as they respectively request. Each week you invoice each of X and Y for the services you performed that week. You do not enter into written service agreements with any of the NDIS participant clients of X or Y.

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

Reasons for decision: Summary: Section 38-38 of the GST Act provides that a supply will be 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. To satisfy the requirement under paragraph 38-38(a) of the GST Act, your supply must, among other things, be made to the NDIS participant. Based on the information provide, you are not making a supply to the NDIS participant. Instead, you are making supplies to, respectively, X and Y, the consideration for which are the fees you charge to each. X and Y are the recipients of your supplies. Whilst the clients of X and Y benefit from your services, they are not recipients of your supplies. Instead, the NDIS participants are the recipients of the supplies made to them by, respectively, X and Y. As you have not satisfied paragraph 38-38(a) of the GST Act, section 38-38 is not satisfied and thus your supplies are not GST-free. Although you have not satisfied the requirement under paragraph 38-38(a) of the GST Act to make the supply to the NDIS participant, we also note that you make your supplies in the absence of any written agreements with the NDIS participant clients of X and Y. Your agreement is not made between you and in the NDIS participant (or another person nominated by the participant). Rather, your agreement is between you and X and Y, respectively. Accordingly, paragraph 38-38(c) of the GST Act is also not satisfied. As you have not satisfied paragraphs 38-38(a) or (c) of the GST Act, we have not considered whether your supplies would otherwise satisfy paragraphs 38-38(b) or (d) of the GST Act.