GST and supply of a manual and a video for people with an illness or disability

Is the entity, a provider of health services, making a GST-free supply under Subdivision 38-B of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act), when it supplies a manual and a video that both provide information and demonstrate exercises for people with an illness or disability?

No, the entity is not making a GST-free supply under subdivision 38-B of the GST Act when it supplies a manual and a video that both provide information and demonstrate exercises for people with an illness or disability. The entity is making a taxable supply under section 9-5 of the GST Act.

The entity is a provider of health services. The entity is supplying a health service that is not GST-free under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act.

The manual and video are supplied at the time of the health service. The goods are to be taken away and used at home over a period of time without the supervision of the entity. The manual and video provide information and guidance and demonstrate exercises that assist with the management of an illness or disability.

The manual and video are not a GST-free supply of course materials under section 38-95 of the GST Act.

The entity is registered for goods and services tax (GST). The supply satisfies the other positive limbs of section 9-5 of the GST Act.

Subdivision 38-B of the GST Act provides that supplies of certain health related goods and services are GST-free.

According to subsection 38-10(3) of the GST Act, a supply of goods is GST-free if: • it is made to a person in the course of supplying to the person a service the supply of which is GST-free under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act; and • it is made at the premises at which the service is supplied.

The supply of the health service is not GST-free and as such the supply of the manual and video does not meet the first limb of subsection 38-10(3) of the GST Act. Therefore, the supply of the goods is not GST-free under subsection 38-10(3) of the GST Act.

Subsection 38-45(1) of the GST Act provides that a supply of a medical aid or appliance is GST-free where the medical aid or appliance: • is covered by Schedule 3 to the GST Act (Schedule 3), or specified in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Regulations 1999 (GST Regulations); • is specifically designed for people with an illness or disability; and • is not widely used by people without an illness or disability.

A manual and video that provide information and guidance and demonstrate exercises that assist in the management of an illness or disability are not covered by Schedule 3 of the GST Act or the GST Regulations. Therefore, the supply of the manual and video is not GST-free under subsection 38-45(1) of the GST Act.

Under section 38-47 of the GST Act, the Health Minister may, by determination in writing, declare the supply of certain health goods to be GST-free. To date, the Health Minister has not made a determination in relation to a manual and a video that provide information and guidance and demonstrate exercises that assist with an illness or disability.

The entity is registered for GST and the supply satisfies the other positive limbs of section 9-5 of the GST Act. Furthermore, the supply is neither GST-free under any of the other provisions of Division 38 of the GST Act nor input taxed under Division 40 of the GST Act. Therefore, the entity is making a taxable supply under section 9-5 of the GST Act when it sells a manual and a video that provide information and demonstrate exercises for people with an illness or disability.