{"id":"F2017L01606","name":"A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Tertiary Courses) Determination 2017","slug":"a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-tertiary-courses-determination-2017","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":439418,"registerId":"F2017L01606-fast-fetch-1775955452955","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Tertiary Courses) Determination 2017","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nA New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Tertiary Courses) Determination 2017\n\nI, Christian Porter, Minister for Social Services, make the following determination.\n\nDated 6 December 2017\n\nChristian Porter\n\nMinister for Social Services\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Schedules\n\n5 Definitions\n\n6 Courses that do not meet Student Assistance Determination requirements\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nA New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Tertiary Courses) Determination 2014\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Tertiary Courses) Determination 2017.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument 1 January 2018. 1 January 2018\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is 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.\n\n4  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\n5  Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\naccredited higher education course has the same meaning as in the Student Assistance Determination.\n\nAct means the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999.\n\napproved course has the same meaning as in the VET Student Loans Act 2016.\n\ncombined course means a course consisting of concurrent study, at 2 different institutions, in an accredited higher education course and a VET course.\n\nhigher education provider has the same meaning as in the Higher Education Support Act 2003.\n\nOpen Learning has the same meaning as in the Student Assistance Determination.\n\nStudent Assistance Determination means the Student Assistance (Education Institutions and Courses) Determination 2009 (No. 2).\n\nStudent Assistance Determination requirements means the requirements for a tertiary course under subsection 5D(1) of the Student Assistance Act 1973, as those requirements are specified in the Student Assistance Determination.\n\nVET course has the same meaning as in the Student Assistance Determination.\n\n6  Courses that do not meet Student Assistance Determination requirements\n\n  A course of study or instruction mentioned in an item of the following table is a tertiary course for the purposes of the Act.\n\n \n\n- Courses of study or instruction\n- Item Column 1A course of study or instruction that is: Column 2and does not meet the Student Assistance Determination requirements only for one or more of the following reasons:\n- 1 a VET course (a) the course is not an approved course;(b) the course is not full‑time\n- 2 Open Learning at the level of a VET course (a) the course is not an approved course;(b) the course is not full‑time\n- 3 a combined course (a) to the extent that the course consists of study in a VET course—the VET course is not an approved course;(b) to the extent that the course consists of an accredited higher education course—the accredited higher education course is not provided by a higher education provider;(c) the course is not full‑time\n- 4 an undergraduate or postgraduate accredited higher education course (a) the course is not provided by a higher education provider;(b) the course is not full‑time\n- 5 Open Learning other than at the level of a VET course (a) the course is not provided by a higher education provider;(b) the course is not full‑time\n- 6 a course of study or instruction not covered by another item of this table the course is not full‑time\n\n\n \n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\n \n\nA New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Tertiary Courses) Determination 2014\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument expressly repeals the 2014 Determination (Schedule 1) and restates which courses are to be treated as \"tertiary courses\" for the GST Act when those courses do not meet the Student Assistance Determination requirements for specified reasons. See the replacement list of course categories and failure reasons in section 6 and the repeal in Schedule 1."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to multiple other instruments and Acts requiring lookups: the GST Act (authority for making the determination) (s 3), the Student Assistance (Education Institutions and Courses) Determination 2009 (No. 2) (definitions and criteria) (s 5), the VET Student Loans Act 2016 (approved course definition) (s 5), and the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (higher education provider definition) (s 5).","Relies on defined terms whose meanings are taken from external instruments (eg. \"accredited higher education course\", \"VET course\", \"Open Learning\") rather than stated in full, increasing interpretive work (s 5).","Conditional table structure that treats different course types and specific failure reasons separately (not approved, not provided by a higher education provider, not full‑time), so classification requires a multi‑factor assessment for each course (s 6 table).","Partial application to combined courses (treatment differs for the VET and higher education elements), creating apportionment/extent questions for mixed‑mode study (s 6, item 3).","Imposes practical compliance tasks on providers and purchasers to determine approval status and full‑time status for GST purposes (s 6; definitions in s 5).","Repeals an earlier instrument and replaces its operative content, requiring comparison against the previous text where transitional/consistency issues matter (Schedule 1).","Clear commencement date fixed (1 January 2018) but requires attention to timing for supplies straddling the start date (s 2)."],"plain_english_summary":"Designates certain post‑secondary courses as \"tertiary courses\" for GST law when they fail student‑assistance criteria. It lists course types (VET, Open Learning, combined, accredited higher‑education and other courses) and the narrow reasons (not approved, not provided by a higher‑ed provider, or not full‑time) that still make them tertiary for GST. This affects education providers and purchasers because it determines GST treatment of course supplies."},"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":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow purpose: specifying which tertiary courses qualify for GST-free status despite not meeting Student Assistance Determination requirements. The 2017 version appears to be a straightforward reissue/repeal-and-replace of the 2014 Determination, with no expansion beyond the original scope of defining GST treatment for non-conforming educational courses."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 defined terms in section 5, all referencing external legislation rather than creating new definitions","Single operative provision (section 6) with a straightforward table structure","Heavy reliance on external definitions from 4 other Acts/Determinations (Student Assistance Act 1973, VET Student Loans Act 2016, Higher Education Support Act 2003, and the Student Assistance Determination 2009)","Simple conditional logic: 'does not meet requirements only for one or more of the following reasons'","No nested exceptions or complex cross-referencing within the instrument itself","Short length (approximately 2 pages of substantive content)","Primarily a repeal-and-replace instrument updating the 2014 version with minimal substantive change"],"plain_english_summary":"This Determination lists exceptions allowing certain tertiary and vocational courses to be GST-free even if they don't meet the Student Assistance Act’s usual requirements. It ensures part‑time, open‑learning, combined-provider and other non‑traditional courses can still be exempt.\n\nIt affects students (lower cost) and education providers (universities, TAFEs, private RTOs) by preserving GST-free treatment for flexible, non‑full‑time, or non‑standard offerings that would otherwise attract GST."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-tertiary-courses-determination-2017","history":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-tertiary-courses-determination-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-tertiary-courses-determination-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-tertiary-courses-determination-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-tertiary-courses-determination-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/a-new-tax-system-goods-and-services-tax-tertiary-courses-determination-2017/documents"}}