This Ruling, released on Wed 11.7.2012, explains when care services and accommodation provided to residents in privately funded nursing homes, aged care hostels and serviced apartments in a retirement village are GST-free. In particular, it explains when supplies of care services and supplies of accommodation to care recipients are GST-free under ss 38-25(3), 38-25(4) and 38-25(4A) of the GST Act. For example, the Ruling provides that:
- a supply of services to a resident living in a “serviced apartment” in a retirement village, a privately funded nursing home, or hostel will be a GST-free supply of residential care under s 38-25(3) if: (i) the services are provided to one or more aged or disabled people in a residential setting; and (ii) the Aged Care Minister has determined in writing that the services are of a kind covered by Sch 1 to the Quality of Care Principles;
- under s 38-25(4), a supply of accommodation to a resident of a privately funded nursing home will be GST-free if it is made to a resident in the course of making a supply of services to that resident that are GST-free residential care services under s 38-25(3).
The Ruling was previously issued as Draft GSTR 2011/D5.
DATE OF EFFECT: The ruling applies both before and after its date of issue. Note that the Ruling says that for tax periods commencing prior to the date of its issue (11 July 2012), the Commissioner will not seek to disturb the GST treatment of care services and accommodation supplied to residents of retirement villages and privately funded nursing homes and hostels where they have followed and applied the views set out in item 10 of the Retirement Villages Industry Partnership – issues register or the GST and serviced apartments in retirement villages fact sheet, in good faith.
[LTN 132, 11/7]