The Minister for Social Services registered a A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Tertiary Courses) Determination 2017 on Mon 11.12.2017 on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Section 38‑85 of the GST Act provides that the supply of an education course and administrative services directly related to the supply of such a course (if they are supplied by the supplier of the course) are GST-free.
The 2017 Determination continues the GST-free status of courses listed in the Student Assistance Determination which could still be tertiary courses for the purposes of the GST Act even though they are not offered on a full-time basis.
The Determination also preserves the GST-free status of certain courses that will cease to be “tertiary courses” once amendments to the Student Assistance (Education Institutions and Courses) Determination 2009 (No 2)commence on 1 January 2018.
[Federal Register of Legislation – GST tertiary courses determination, Explanatory Memorandum; LTN 238, 12/12/17; Tax Month Dec 2017]
Extract from the Explanatory Memorandum
Summary
The A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Tertiary Courses) Determination 2017 (the Determination) is a legislative instrument made under paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘tertiary course’ in section 195-1 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (the GST Act). That paragraph allows the Student Assistance Minister (being the Minister administering the Student Assistance Act 1973 (the Student Assistance Act)) to determine that a course of study or instruction is a tertiary course for the purposes of the GST Act.
Background
Section 38‑85 of the GST Act provides that the supply of an education course and administrative services directly related to the supply of such a course (if they are supplied by the supplier of the course) are GST-free. An ‘education course’ is defined in section 195-1 of the GST Act to include a ‘tertiary course’, which is defined in that section to mean:
(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.
Under section 195-1 of the GST Act, the ‘Student Assistance Minister’ is the Minister administering the Student Assistance Act. The Student Assistance Act is administered by the Minister for Social Services.
For the purposes of paragraph (a) of the definition of ‘tertiary course’ in section 195‑1 of the GST Act, the Student Assistance Minister has made a determination under subsection 5D(1) of the Student Assistance Act. This is the Student Assistance (Education Institutions and Courses) Determination 2009 (No. 2) (the Student Assistance Determination).
On 15 July 2014 the Minister for Social Services made a determination under paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘tertiary course’ in section 195‑1 of the GST Act to ensure that courses listed in the Student Assistance Determination could still be tertiary courses for the purposes of the GST Act even though they are not offered on a full-time basis (the 2014 Determination). This Determination continues the GST-free status of these courses.
This Determination also preserves the GST-free status of certain courses that will cease to be ‘tertiary courses’ once amendments to the Student Assistance Determination commence on 1 January 2018.
The Student Assistance Determination was amended by the Student Assistance (Education Institutions and Courses) Amendment Determination 2017 (No. 3) (the Student Assistance Amendment Determination) with the amendments due to commence on 1 January 2018.
The Student Assistance Amendment Determination will reduce the number of vocational education and training (VET) courses and higher education courses that can qualify as a ‘tertiary course’ under subsection 5D(1) of the Student Assistance Act.
The Student Assistance Amendment Determination provides that a VET course provided at the level of diploma, advanced diploma, graduate certificate or graduate diploma can only be a ‘tertiary course’ under subsection 5D(1) of the Student Assistance Act if it is an approved course within the meaning of the VET Student Loans Act 2016.
The Student Assistance Amendment Determination also provides that an undergraduate or postgraduate higher education course can only be a tertiary course under subsection 5D(1) of the Student Assistance Act if the course is provided by an approved higher education provider within the meaning of the Higher Education Support Act 2003.
This Determination will operate to ensure that a course that has ceased to be a ‘tertiary course’ under the Student Assistance Determination, as a result of the amendments made by the Student Assistance Amendment Determination, will not cease to be a tertiary course for the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘tertiary course’ in section 195-1 of the GST Act. This will ensure that the supply of these courses will continue to be GST-free.