{"id":"F2016L01564","name":"A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Adult and Community Education Courses) Determination 2016","slug":"a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-adult-and-community-education-courses-determination-2016","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":95224,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2016L01564-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Adult and Community Education Courses) Determination 2016","content":"![](image.001.png)\n\nA New Tax System (Goods and Services  \nTax) (Adult and Community Education  \nCourses) Determination 2016\n\nI, CHRISTIAN PORTER, Minister for Social Services, make this Determination under paragraph 177-10 (3) (a) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999.\n\nDated 29 September 2016\n\nChristian Porter\n\nMinister for Social Services\n\n  \n\n1 Name of Determination\n\nThis Determination is the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Adult and Community Education Courses) Determination 2016.\n\n2 Commencement\n\nThis Determination commences on 1 October 2016.\n\n3 Definition\n\nIn this Determination, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\nAct means the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999.\n\n4 Purpose of Determination\n\nThe purpose of this Determination is to determine the kinds of courses, and the courses, that are adult and community education courses for the definition of adult and community education course in section 195-1 of the Act.\n\nNote Under section 38-85 of the Act, the supply of an adult and community education course is GST-free. See subsection 9-30(1) and Division 38 of the Act for the definition of GST-free.\n\n5 Kind of courses determined to be adult and community education courses\n\n(1) For paragraph (a) of the definition of adult and community education course in section 195-1 of the Act, a course of study or instruction of the kind mentioned in subsection 5(2) of this determination is determined to be an adult and community education course.\n\n(2) For subsection 5(1) of this determination, the course of study or instruction must:\n\n(a) not be a course mentioned, in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (f), (h), (i), (j) or (k) of the definition of education course in section 195-1 of the Act; and\n\n(b) be a course that is available to adults in the general community; and\n\n(c) not be a course that is provided by, or at the request of an employer to the employees of that employer; and\n\n(d) not be a course that is provided by, or at the request of an organisation to the members of that organisation, except an organisation for which membership is open to adults in the general community; and\n\n(e) not be a course that is provided by way of private tuition to an individual.\n\nNote In addition to being of the kind described in subsection 5(2 of this determination), the course of study or instruction must be a course of study or instruction that is likely to add to the employment related skills of people undertaking the course and provided by, or on behalf of, a body that:\n\n(a) is a higher education institution; or\n\n(b) is recognised, by a State or Territory authority, as a provider of courses of the kind described in subsection 5(2) of this determination ; or\n\n(c) is funded by a State or Territory on the basis that it is a provider of courses of the kind described in subsection 5(2) of this determination .\n\nSee paragraph (a) of the definition of adult and community education course in section 195-1 of the Act.\n\n6 Courses determined to be adult and community education courses\n\n(1) For paragraph (b) of the definition of adult and community education  \ncourse in section 195-1 of the Act, a course of study or instruction mentioned in subsection 6(2) of this determination is determined to be an adult and community education course.\n\n(2) For subsection 6(1) of this determination, the course of study or instruction must:\n\n(a) be a course of the kind described in subsection 5(2) of this determination ; and\n\n(b) be provided by, or on behalf, of a body that:\n\n(i) is a body corporate that operates on a not-for-profit basis; and\n\n(ii) has not been refused recognition, or disqualified, by a State or Territory authority as a provider of courses of the kind described in subsection 5(2) of this determination on the basis of failing to meet or maintain the standards required by that authority.\n\nNote In addition to being of the kind described in subsection 6(2) of this determination, the course must also be a course of study or instruction that is likely to add to the employment related skills of people undertaking the course: see the definition of adult and community education course in section 195-1 of the Act.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Determination appears to serve its original narrow purpose: specifying which adult and community education courses qualify for GST-free status under the existing framework of the GST Act. It does not expand beyond the tax classification of education courses."},"complexity_factors":["Heavy cross-referencing to the parent GST Act (A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999), particularly section 195-1 and section 38-85","Nested negative conditions in section 5(2) — four separate exclusion criteria (not employer-provided, not member-exclusive, not private tuition, not other education types)","Dual pathway structure: section 5 covers 'kinds of courses' while section 6 covers specific courses with additional not-for-profit requirements","External dependencies on state/territory recognition and funding status, creating variable compliance requirements across jurisdictions","Incorporation of employment-related skills test from the parent Act, which is not defined within this instrument"],"plain_english_summary":"This law decides which adult education courses don't have to charge GST (Goods and Services Tax).\n\n**What it does:**\nNormally, most goods and services in Australia include a 10% GST. But some education courses are \"GST-free\" — meaning no tax is charged. This Determination spells out exactly which adult and community education courses qualify for this tax break.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Adult learners** taking community education courses (like vocational training, hobby courses, or skills development)\n- **Education providers** — specifically not-for-profit organisations that run these courses\n- **Employers and member organisations** — courses they provide specifically for their own staff or members generally DON'T qualify\n\n**The rules:**\nTo be GST-free, a course must:\n- Be open to adults in the general community (not just one company's employees or a closed membership group)\n- **Not** be private one-on-one tuition\n- **Not** be a university degree, school course, or other types of education already defined separately in the GST law\n- Be likely to improve people's job skills\n- Be run by a recognised provider — either a university, a provider approved by state/territory authorities, or a state-funded organisation\n\n**Special extra rule for specific courses:**\nIf a course is run by a not-for-profit body corporate, that body must also not have been banned or disqualified by state authorities for failing to meet standards.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis keeps adult education affordable by removing the 10% tax burden, but only for genuine community courses — not corporate training or exclusive member benefits."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-adult-and-community-education-courses-determination-2016","history":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-adult-and-community-education-courses-determination-2016/history","analysis":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-adult-and-community-education-courses-determination-2016/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-adult-and-community-education-courses-determination-2016/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-adult-and-community-education-courses-determination-2016/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-adult-and-community-education-courses-determination-2016/documents"}}