ATO Interpretative Decision
ATO ID 2004/306 (Withdrawn)
Goods and Services Tax
GST and colonic irrigation procedure supplied by a registered nurse
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This ATO ID is withdrawn as it is a straight application of the law and does not contain an interpretative decision.
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This document has changed over time. View its history. |
FOI status: may be released
Status of this decision: Decision Withdrawn 22 June 2007
 CAUTION: This is an edited and summarised record of a Tax Office decision. This record is not published as a form of advice. It is being made available for your inspection to meet FOI requirements, because it may be used by an officer in making another decision.
This ATOID provides you with the following level of protection:
If you reasonably apply this decision in good faith to your own circumstances (which are not materially different from those described in the decision), and the decision is later found to be incorrect you will not be liable to pay any penalty or interest. However, you will be required to pay any underpaid tax (or repay any over-claimed credit, grant or benefit), provided the time limits under the law allow it. If you do intend to apply this decision to your own circumstances, you will need to ensure that the relevant provisions referred to in the decision have not been amended or repealed. You may wish to obtain further advice from the Tax Office or from a professional adviser. |
Issue
Is the entity, a registered nurse, making a supply of nursing services under subsection 38-10(1) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act), when they supply a colonic irrigation procedure to a patient?
Decision
Yes, the entity is making a GST-free supply of nursing under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act when they supply a colonic irrigation procedure to a patient.
Facts
The entity is a registered nurse and is licensed under the relevant State or Territory Act. The entity supplies a colonic irrigation procedure in their capacity as a registered nurse.
A colonic irrigation procedure requires the entity to wash out a patient's colon using filtered warm water for approximately 40 minutes.
A colonic irrigation procedure can be performed by a registered nurse without a written referral or any authorisation from a medical practitioner. A registered nurse can perform this procedure without breaching the legislative requirements, or the profession's standards including the code of professional conduct applicable to the relevant State or Territory nursing profession.
Before a procedure, the entity obtains a patient's full medical history to ensure that the procedure is necessary for the appropriate treatment of the patient.
The entity is registered for goods and services tax (GST).
Reasons for Decision
Under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act, an entity makes a GST-free supply of other health services if:
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- it provides a service of a kind specified in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act, or of a kind specified in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Regulations 1999 (GST Regulations) (paragraph 38-10(1)(a) of the GST Act)
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- the entity is a recognised professional in relation to the supply of services of that kind (paragraph 38-10(1)(b) of the GST Act), and
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- the supply would generally be accepted, in the profession associated with supplying services of that kind, as being necessary for the appropriate treatment of the recipient of the supply (paragraph 38-10(1)(c) of the GST Act).
A colonic irrigation procedure is not specified in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act or the GST Regulations. Therefore, the colonic irrigation procedure 'in itself' does not satisfy the requirement in paragraph 38-10(1)(a) of the GST Act.
However, the requirement in paragraph 38-10(1)(a) of the GST Act can still be satisfied where the supplier is supplying one of the services listed in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act and the colonic irrigation procedure is a standard technique or a component of the supply of that listed service.
Nursing is a service listed in the table in subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act. Supplies that a registered nurse can make are constrained by the legal and professional standards applicable to the nursing profession. Therefore, services that fall within these standards would be nursing services for the purpose of subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act.
A colonic irrigation procedure is accepted as being a technique or component of a nursing service. A colonic irrigation procedure can be performed by a registered nurse without a written referral or any authorisation from a medical practitioner. A registered nurse can perform this procedure without breaching the legislative requirements, or the profession's standards including the code of professional conduct applicable to the relevant State or Territory nursing profession.
As the entity is supplying the colonic irrigation procedure in their capacity as a registered nurse licensed under the relevant State or Territory Act, the requirement under paragraph 38-10(1)(a) of the GST Act is satisfied.
The entity, a registered nurse, is a recognised professional registered under the relevant state or territory law permitting the supply of nursing. Accordingly, the requirement under paragraph 38-10(1)(b) of the GST Act is satisfied.
Before the entity performs the colonial irrigation procedure, the entity obtains the full medical history of the patient to ensure that the procedure is necessary for the appropriate treatment of the patient. Therefore, the entity's supply of the colonic irrigation procedure is generally accepted in the nursing profession as being necessary for the appropriate treatment of the patient and the requirement under paragraph 38-10(1)(c) of the GST Act is satisfied.
The entity is making a GST-free supply of nursing services under subsection 38-10(1) of the GST Act, when it supplies a colonic irrigation procedure to a patient.
Date of decision: 17 July 2003
Legislative References:
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999
subsection 38-10(1)
paragraph 38-10(1)(a)
paragraph 38-10(1)(b)
paragraph 38-10(1)(c) A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Regulations 1999
Table of Content
Other References
Health Industry Partnership Issues Register Issue 2 Other Health Services
Keywords
Goods and services tax
GST free
GST health
Section 38-10 - other health services
Date of publication: 2 April 2004
ISSN: 1445-2782
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