GST-Free Supply (Care) Determination 2025

The Determination rests on several discrete legal and programme concepts set out inside the instrument. These concepts determine eligibility, scope and the ministerial function used to declare the supply kinds.

• Authority and statutory point of reference. The instrument is made under paragraph 177-10(1)(d) of the Act (s 3). Its effect is to identify supplies for the purposes of paragraph 38-30(4)(b) of the Act (see s 6 and s 7). The Determination therefore operates within the Act’s statutory architecture where the Act sets out how certain supplies can be GST-free if of a kind determined by the Minister under the relevant provision.

• “Care” and “care to enable living at home”. The instrument defines “care” as “services to enable a targeted person to continue to live at home” (s 5). The definition is functionally oriented: the core policy object that anchors GST-free treatment is enabling continued home living rather than, for example, institutional or hospital care.

• “Targeted person”. The instrument defines “targeted person” through a conjunctive three-part test (s 5). A person must: (a) be a frail, older person or a younger person with a moderate, severe or profound disability (including addiction to a drug); (b) live at home; and (c) be at risk, in the absence of services listed in Schedule 1, of premature or inappropriate need for long-term hospital or funded aged care services in an approved residential care home under the Aged Care Act 2024 (s 5, para (a)-(c), and (c)(i)-(ii)). The inclusion of addiction within the category of disability is explicit (s 5, para (a)).

• “Carer” and the substantial enabling test. “Carer” is defined simply as “a person who provides care to a targeted person” (s 5). A supply to a carer is captured only where it “substantially enables the carer to give care to a targeted person” (s 7). The instrument thus introduces a materiality or causation threshold for carer-targeted supplies.

• Respite care. Respite care is defined as “care provided as an alternative care arrangement with the primary purpose of giving a carer or targeted person a short-term break from the usual care arrangement” (s 5). Respite appears explicitly in both schedules (Schedule 1 item 7; Schedule 2 item 7).

• Lists of services. The Determination contains two enumerated lists. Schedule 1 lists 22 service kinds considered care provided to targeted persons (items include home help, personal care, community nursing, assessment of the person’s care needs, community advocacy for specific purposes under the Aged Care Act 2024, and others). Schedule 2 lists 17 items of care provided to carers, including many overlapping services (e.g. home help, personal care, training in provision of services mentioned in Schedule 1, carer support, assessment of the carer’s care needs). The overlap indicates that similar service categories may be GST-free when supplied to either a targeted person or a carer, but the capturing mechanism for carers requires the “substantially enables” test (s 6, s 7; Schedules 1 and 2).

• Interaction with the Aged Care Act 2024. The Determination cross-references the Aged Care Act 2024 (s 2 commencement link; s 5 reference to “approved residential care home within the meaning of the Aged Care Act 2024”; schedules referencing paragraphs 265(2)(b), (d) or (e) of that Act). The Determination therefore embeds eligibility and scope partly in the concepts and specific provisions of the Aged Care Act 2024.

• Repeal of prior instrument. Schedule 3 expressly repeals the GST-Free Supply (Care) Determination 2017 in whole, replacing the earlier instrument (Schedule 3). The repeal means the 2025 instrument is the operative ministerial determination as of its commencement.

These core concepts determine eligibility rules, the ministerial identification of supply kinds, and the conditional GST-free outcome under the GST Act. The instrument itself does not set taxpayer-facing administrative procedures, nor does it state audit processes or penalty regimes; it operates by aligning specified service kinds with the Act’s GST-free wording (s 6, s 7).

This Determination has a direct legal effect on three principal groups, and an indirect effect on others, via tax classification and eligibility criteria.

1. Suppliers and service providers

   • Any entity supplying services of the kinds enumerated in Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 will need to determine whether a particular supply to a recipient falls within the Determination. These categories include, but are not limited to: home care providers delivering home help and personal care; companies or community organisations providing home maintenance, home modifications, and linen services; meal providers delivering meals at home or to day care centres; transport providers servicing day care, shopping and health-related trips; community paramedical and nursing service providers; training providers for aids and appliances; and providers of equipment, personal alert systems and continence management (Schedules 1 and 2). The Determination is the instrument that identifies these kinds as those that the Minister has determined are of the relevant kind under paragraph 38-30(4)(b) of the Act (s 6, s 7).

2. Recipients: targeted persons and carers

   • Targeted persons are the primary beneficiaries of Schedule 1 items. The instrument defines a targeted person as a frail older person or a younger person with moderate, severe or profound disability (including drug addiction), who lives at home and who would, without the listed services, be at risk of premature or inappropriate need for long-term hospital care or funded aged care in an approved residential care home (s 5). Recipients therefore must meet the three-part test in s 5 to qualify as a “targeted person” for the Determination’s purposes.
   • Carers are persons who provide care to targeted persons (s 5). Carers may receive services listed in Schedule 2, but only where the supplied service “substantially enables” the carer to give care to the targeted person (s 7). Thus two separate eligibility/proof thresholds apply for recipients: the targeted person test (s 5) for Schedule 1 supplies, and the “substantially enables” functional test for Schedule 2 supplies (s 7).

3. Government and program administrators

   • The Aged Care Minister has the function of making the determination (s 6, s 7). The instrument’s timing is expressly aligned with the Aged Care Act 2024 commencement (s 2), and several Schedule items reference specific paragraphs of the Aged Care Act 2024 (Schedules 1 and 2, community advocacy items referring to paragraphs 265(2)(b), (d) or (e)). Therefore agencies responsible for aged care programme administration, funding and policy implementation will need to coordinate eligibility frameworks and guidance to providers and recipients.

4. Intermediaries and funders

   • Entities that fund or purchase services on behalf of targeted persons and carers , such as insurers, state health services, local government, or non-government funders , will be required to understand the GST-free status of eligible services to apply correct billing and financial accounting. The instrument does not itself set funding rules, but it establishes the classification for GST-free treatment where the Act’s other requirements are met (s 6, s 7).

5. Auditors and tax administrators

   • The Australian Taxation Office and authorised auditors will use this Determination, in conjunction with the Act’s substantive provisions, to determine whether supplies have been correctly treated as GST-free. The instrument itself does not set penalties, but it identifies the sorts of supplies that, if correctly matched to eligible recipients, fall within the Minister’s determination (s 3; notes to s 6 and s 7 referencing paragraph 38-30(4)(a) of the Act).

Practical points that affect these groups:

• Providers must be able to classify supplies against Schedule items and to identify whether recipients meet the “targeted person” definition or whether supplies to carers “substantially enable” care (s 5, s 7).
• Overlap in the Schedules is frequent (many identical or similar service kinds appear in both Schedule 1 and Schedule 2). Providers and funders will need to distinguish whether the supply is to a targeted person or to a carer and whether the functional test for carers is met (Schedules 1 and 2; s 7).
• Timing and transition: the Determination commences at the same time as the Aged Care Act 2024, 1 November 2025 (s 2), and it repeals the 2017 Determination (Schedule 3). Providers should update invoicing and compliance processes effective from commencement.

The instrument therefore affects commercial, community and government actors in the aged care and home support ecosystem by determining what kinds of services are to be treated as GST-free for eligible persons under the Act.

The Determination creates obligations and delineates certain rights by identifying specified service kinds as the kinds determined by the Aged Care Minister under the GST Act. The text itself imposes limited affirmative duties; most duties arise from the interaction with the Act.

Rights and statutory outcomes

• GST-free character, subject to the Act. The principal right created by the Determination is that supplies of the kinds listed in Schedule 1 to a targeted person and supplies of the kinds listed in Schedule 2 to a carer that substantially enable care are “of a kind determined by the Aged Care Minister” for the purposes of paragraph 38-30(4)(b) of the Act (s 6; s 7). The notes indicate that, subject to paragraph 38-30(4)(a) of the Act, such supplies are GST-free (notes to s 6 and s 7). The Determination thus identifies the supply kinds that, if the statutory conditions in the Act are satisfied, fall within the GST-free treatment.

Duties and operational obligations (as implied by the instrument’s structure)

• Ministerial duty: the Aged Care Minister has the power/role to make the determination (s 6, s 7). The instrument is itself an exercise of that role under the Act (s 3).

• Provider classification duty: suppliers providing services that fall within the categories listed in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 must determine whether the recipient is a “targeted person” or a “carer” within the instrument’s definitions and whether the carer-supplied service “substantially enables” the carer (s 5; s 7). That determination will be necessary to claim GST-free treatment under the Act, since the Determination’s GST-free effect is conditioned on the Act’s requirements (notes to s 6 and s 7).

• Eligibility facts: the targeted person definition sets three specific fact‑based requirements that must be satisfied to access Schedule 1 supplies as GST-free. Providers or claimants must be able to establish that the recipient is (a) a frail older person or a younger person with relevant disability levels (including addiction); (b) lives at home; and (c) would, in the absence of the services, be at risk of requiring long-term hospital care or funded aged care services at an approved residential care home under the Aged Care Act 2024 (s 5). The instrument places the terms of eligibility into the legal test; it does not prescribe documentary evidence or administrative processes, but the substance of the test must be satisfied.

• “Substantially enables” threshold for carers: supplies listed in Schedule 2 to a carer are captured only when they “substantially enable” the carer to provide care to a targeted person (s 7). This introduces a causation or materiality threshold which must be satisfied. The instrument does not define “substantially enable”, so the underlying fact assessment is required to be made by relevant parties under the Act and can be expected to be the basis for any administrative tests or future disputes.

• Interaction duty: the Determination expressly links to provisions of the Aged Care Act 2024 in its commencement and in Schedule items (s 2; s 5; Schedules 1 and 2 , community advocacy items). Providers and administrators have a duty to interpret the Determination together with the Aged Care Act 2024 to determine the precise scope of eligible advocacy purposes and the meaning of “approved residential care home” referenced in the targeted person definition (s 5; Schedules 1 and 2).

Limitations of duties in the instrument

• No procedural or evidentiary rules contained. The Determination does not itself create procedural duties such as registration requirements, prescribed forms of evidence, or timeframes for applications. It is a category-setting instrument; compliance mechanics will be implemented via the GST Act’s administrative procedures and any accompanying Aged Care Act or agency guidance.

• No penalty provisions inside the instrument. The Determination does not specify sanctions, penalties or enforcement steps; enforcement mechanisms and liabilities for incorrect GST treatment remain matters under the Act’s enforcement regime (s 3; notes to s 6 and s 7).

In practical terms, the immediate operational duties resulting from the Determination are for suppliers and administrators to classify supplies correctly against the Schedules and to establish factual eligibility for recipients under the definitions in s 5 and the “substantially enables” test in s 7. The Aged Care Minister’s right/power is to determine kinds; the instrument is that exercise of power.

The Determination itself contains no sanctions, penalty clauses, or enforcement procedures. It is a ministerial determination that categorises certain supplies for GST-free treatment under the Act; the instrument’s text neither creates nor modifies the enforcement or penalty framework. Relevant observations from the instrument:

• No internal penalty clauses. There are no provisions within the Determination that specify fines, civil penalties, administrative sanctions or criminal offences for non‑compliance with its terms. The instrument is a regulatory classificatory instrument (Schedules 1-3; s 6; s 7).

• Enforcement and penalty responsibility remains with the Act. Because the Determination is made under paragraph 177-10(1)(d) of the Act (s 3), the enforcement, audit and penalty mechanisms available to tax authorities under the Act apply to any incorrect application of GST treatment. The Determination’s notes explicitly refer to the requirements of paragraph 38-30(4)(a) of the Act as conditions for GST-free treatment (note to s 6; note to s 7). That cross-reference signals that compliance assessment and any consequences for incorrect claims will operate through the Act’s existing machinery.

• Administrative review and audit risk implied. Although the Determination does not create bespoke audit processes, the need to satisfy the targeted person test (s 5) and the “substantially enables” test (s 7) creates a factual foundation on which auditors and tax administrators can assess whether a claimed GST-free supply was properly treated. Incorrect classification, failure to meet the definitions or inability to substantiate the required facts are likely to be treated under the Act’s usual compliance framework, including the imposition of GST liabilities, penalties and interest under the Act where applicable. The Determination itself, however, is silent on the specific administrative steps.

• Repeal consequences. The instrument repeals the 2017 Determination (Schedule 3). The Determination does not state transitional enforcement arrangements; any transitional consequences for prior-period supplies are determined by the overlapping provisions of the Act and administrative practice rather than by the Determination’s text.

In effect, while the Determination creates legal rights to GST-free character for specified supplies when the Act’s conditions are met, the instrument leaves enforcement, audit, penalty assessment and dispute resolution to the existing GST Act regimes and to the administrative practices of the ATO and relevant aged care agencies. Practitioners therefore need to consult the Act and administrative guidance to assess enforcement risk and possible penalties for misclassification.

The Determination is explicitly a piece of secondary law made under the GST Act and is interlaced with the Aged Care Act 2024. The instrument thereby interacts with at least two statutory frameworks: the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 and the Aged Care Act 2024.

Principal interactions

• Connection to the GST Act. The Determination is made under paragraph 177-10(1)(d) of the Act and operates for the purposes of paragraph 38-30(4)(b) of the Act (s 3; s 6; s 7). Its legal role is to identify service kinds that the Minister has determined are of the kind referred to in the Act’s GST-free provision. The Determination therefore functions as a delegated instrument that fills out the Act’s category-based approach to GST-free supplies. The notes in s 6 and s 7 expressly refer to paragraph 38-30(4)(a) of the Act: subject to that paragraph’s requirements, supplies of the kinds listed are GST-free. The Determination therefore must be read in conjunction with the substantive and procedural provisions of the GST Act that set out what being GST-free entails, record-keeping obligations and the administrative rules for tax assessment and collection.

• Dependence on the Aged Care Act 2024. The Determination aligns its commencement with the Aged Care Act 2024 (s 2). The definition of “targeted person” in s 5 refers to “funded aged care services provided at an approved residential care home within the meaning of the Aged Care Act 2024” (s 5(c)(ii)). Several Schedule items on community advocacy reference specific paragraphs (265(2)(b), (d) or (e)) of the Aged Care Act 2024 (Schedules 1 and 2). Consequently, interpreting whether a person is a targeted person , and interpreting the scope of community advocacy services , depends upon the definitions and subclauses of the Aged Care Act 2024. The Determination does not restate or redefine those Aged Care Act concepts; it anchors its eligibility concepts in that Act.

• Repeal of prior Determination. The instrument repeals in full the GST-Free Supply (Care) Determination 2017 (Schedule 3). The 2017 instrument is no longer operative on commencement. Any transitional or savings arrangements would therefore be determined by the relevant Acts and administrative practice; they are not provided for within this Determination.

Practical cross‑statutory points

• Evidence and administrative interplay. Because the Determination’s eligibility rules incorporate elements of the Aged Care Act 2024, providers are likely to need to align their clinical and administrative assessments of need, care plans and eligibility determinations with the frameworks of the Aged Care Act 2024 to support GST-free treatment. The Determination itself does not set evidentiary standards, but the underlying Acts will govern record-keeping and audit.

• Overlapping regulatory regimes. Many items in the Schedules (for example community paramedical services, community nursing, provision of basic equipment) are services that may attract other regulatory obligations under health, disability or aged care statutory regimes (professional registration, quality and safety standards, and funding frameworks). The Determination does not alter those regulatory obligations; it interacts with them by setting GST tax classification for eligible supplies.

• Interaction with funding and procurement law. Entities that procure or fund services on behalf of targeted persons (including government-funded programs) will need to consider the Determination when structuring agreements, pricing and invoices. The Determination does not itself amend procurement law or funding agreements, but the GST-free character under the Act will affect invoicing and payment terms under existing contracts.

• Administrative coordination risk. Because the Determination requires concomitant interpretation of the GST Act and the Aged Care Act 2024, there is scope for administrative mismatch or inconsistency between tax-administrative and aged care eligibility determinations. That risk arises from the interdependence of definitions and the separate administrative regimes.

In sum, the Determination is an instrument that must be read and implemented in the statutory context of the GST Act and the Aged Care Act 2024. Practitioners must therefore consider both Acts, and the administrative guidance arising from them, when advising on GST treatment, eligibility and compliance.

This Determination is presented as made on 29 October 2025 (document header) and dated accordingly. The instrument records its commencement detail and the legislative changes it effects within its Schedules.

Recorded changes and immediate amendment actions in the instrument

• Name and replacement. The instrument is titled GST-free Supply (Care) Determination 2025 (s 1). It replaces and repeals the GST-Free Supply (Care) Determination 2017 in full (Schedule 3). Item 1 of Schedule 3 states “The whole of the instrument , Repeal the instrument.” This is a direct repeal rather than a partial amendment.

• Commencement data. Section 2 provides a commencement table stating that the whole of the instrument commences “At the same time as the Aged Care Act 2024 Commences. 1 November 2025” (s 2). The instrument therefore takes effect on that date and timing is linked to the Aged Care Act 2024 commencement.

• Authority and schedules. Section 3 records the statutory authority (paragraph 177-10(1)(d) of the Act), and s 4 states that each instrument specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in that Schedule and that “any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms” (s 4). Schedule 3 contains the single repeal of the 2017 Determination.

No other amendments recorded

• No subsequent amendment history is present in the instrument text. The commencement table contains a note that the table relates only to the provisions of the instrument as originally made and “will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument” (s 2(2)). There are no listed later amendments, variations or saving provisions in the text provided.

Practical consequences of the instrument’s amendment action

• Full repeal of 2017 Determination. The instrument’s sole amendment effect on another instrument is the full repeal of the 2017 Determination (Schedule 3). This means the legal taxonomy for GST-free care supplies under paragraph 38-30(4)(b) of the Act will be governed by the 2025 Determination from commencement, rather than the 2017 Determination.

• Transitional or retrospective treatment not addressed. The Determination does not state transitional rules or retrospective effect. The commencement provision fixes the operative date, but the text provides no express transitional arrangements for supplies made before or after commencement. Any transitional tax consequences for supplies straddling commencement would be determined under the Act and administrative guidance rather than the Determination itself.

No legislative history or prior versions within the instrument

• The instrument does not include a legislative history or explanatory memorandum inside its text. There is no account of prior amendments to this particular instrument apart from the repeal of the 2017 Determination.

In short, the only amendment-history content in the instrument is the repeal of the prior 2017 Determination and the dating/commencement detail establishing the 2025 Determination as the operative ministerial declaration from the stated commencement date.

The Determination’s text contains no references to case law, litigation, or judicial interpretation. It repeals the 2017 Determination (Schedule 3) but does not record any legal disputes arising from that instrument or from prior arrangements.

What the instrument records (and does not record)

• No cases named. There are no judicial decisions, appeal summaries, or litigation references contained in the instrument itself.
• No administrative appeals or tribunal matters referenced. The instrument does not describe any prior administrative reviews or rulings that informed the drafting or that might bear on interpretation.
• Repeal only. The only historical action recorded is the express repeal of the GST-Free Supply (Care) Determination 2017 (Schedule 3). The instrument does not report whether the repeal follows litigation, policy change, or administrative practice.

Implication for practitioners

• Absence of precedent within the instrument. Because there is no litigation history included, practitioners will not find interpretive guidance from this Determination’s text on contentious points like the meaning of “substantially enables”, the precise scope of “home modification” or “provision of basic equipment for social support”, or how the “risk of prematurely or inappropriately needing long-term care” is to be demonstrated. Any such interpretive issues will need to be resolved by reference to the GST Act, the Aged Care Act 2024 and administrative guidance, or ultimately by courts or tribunals if disputes arise.
• Expect future disputes on fact thresholds. The factual thresholds in s 5 (targeted person) and s 7 (substantially enables) are likely candidates for litigation or ATO rulings because they require case-by-case assessment. The Determination itself provides the statutory frame but not interpretive detail.

In short, this Determination does not provide any litigation history; practitioners must rely on the underlying Acts and any subsequent administrative determinations, rulings or case law to resolve interpretive disputes.

The instrument’s brevity and reliance on external Acts create several practical and interpretive pitfalls for practitioners, suppliers and administrators. The following are concrete risks and points requiring care, grounded in the Determination’s text.

1. Eligibility hinges on a three-part factual test for “targeted person” (s 5)

   • The definition requires a person to be (a) a frail older person or a younger person with a moderate, severe or profound disability (including addiction); (b) living at home; and (c) at risk, without the listed services, of prematurely or inappropriately needing long-term hospital care or funded aged care in an approved residential care home (s 5). All three conjuncts must be satisfied. Failure to appreciate the conjunctive nature may lead to incorrect GST treatment.

2. “Lives at home” is a simple phrase but decisive (s 5)

   • The requirement that the person “lives at home” is included in the targeted person test. Services provided in institutional settings or where the person’s primary residence is not the home may fall outside the Determination’s scope, even if clinically similar services are provided.

3. “Including addiction to a drug” is explicitly within the disability limb (s 5(a))

   • The instrument explicitly lists addiction to a drug in the disability limb. Practitioners need to note that the inclusion is specific; however, the Determination does not prescribe how addiction is to be evidenced or assessed in administrative practice.

4. “At risk of prematurely or inappropriately needing long term care” is a prospective and comparative test (s 5(c))

   • The phrase introduces a predictive element , whether, in the absence of the services listed in Schedule 1, the person would be at risk of needing long-term institutional care. This is a counterfactual assessment and likely requires contemporaneous clinical or case-management records to support a GST-free treatment claim.

5. “Substantially enables” test for carers lacks definition (s 7)

   • The Determination requires that a supply to a carer must “substantially enable the carer to give care to a targeted person” (s 7). The instrument does not define “substantially enable”, leaving scope for differing interpretations: quantity of enabling, causal contribution, temporal duration, or criticality of the supply may be disputed in audits or appeals.

6. Overlap between Schedules may complicate classification (Schedules 1 and 2)

   • Many service categories appear in both Schedules (for example home help, personal care, provision of food, provision and delivery of meals, respite care, transport, linen services, counselling, provision and monitoring of personal alert systems). Where the same service is provided, determining whether it is to be treated as a supply to a targeted person (Schedule 1) or as a supply to a carer (Schedule 2) will affect the legal basis for GST-free treatment (s 6; s 7). The carer pathway requires an additional functional test.

7. Community advocacy references to Aged Care Act paragraphs require cross-reading (Schedules 1 and 2)

   • Items providing “Community advocacy for a purpose mentioned in paragraphs 265(2)(b), (d) or (e) of the Aged Care Act 2024” appear in both Schedules. Determining whether advocacy qualifies for GST-free treatment requires examining those paragraphs in the Aged Care Act 2024. The Determination does not reproduce them, so practitioners must cross-reference the Aged Care Act to determine scope.

8. No procedural evidence rules in the Determination (s 6, s 7)

   • The instrument supplies no guidance about what records are sufficient to prove targeted person status or that a carer supply “substantially enables” care. Providers should expect the ATO and aged care administrators to require contemporaneous records (assessments, case notes, care plans), but that expectation is not stated in the Determination and must be grounded in the Acts or guidance.

9. Repeal of the 2017 Determination may create transition ambiguity (Schedule 3)

   • The complete repeal of the 2017 Determination means that any historical reliance on that instrument must be migrated to the 2025 instrument from the commencement date. The Determination provides no express transitional provisions, so providers need to verify the appropriate treatment for supplies straddling the repeal date according to the Act and administrative guidance.

10. “Care” narrowly defined as enabling home living (s 5)

    • The Determination defines care as “services to enable a targeted person to continue to live at home” (s 5). Services aimed primarily at other objectives (rehabilitation to return to work, institutional transition planning, or services whose primary purpose is clinical inpatient care) may fall outside the Determination’s scope, even if similar in kind to items listed in the Schedules.

11. No express treatment of mixed-purpose supplies

    • The Determination lists service kinds but does not address supplies that are mixed-purpose (partly social, partly commercial, or partly recreational). Where an item integrates both eligible care components and ineligible components, the Determination does not provide apportionment rules; such apportionments will be governed by the Act and applicable tax rules, not this Determination.

12. Potential administrative burden and audit exposure

    • Because several items are subjective and fact-intensive (risk of institutionalisation; “substantially enables”), providers that do not document eligibility and causal links may face audit challenges and potential reassessment under the Act. The Determination gives no safe-harbour documentation standard.

In sum, the “gotchas” are primarily factual-definition and evidentiary issues, overlapping items between schedules, reliance on cross-statute references, and the absence of procedural guidance in the Determination itself. Practitioners should approach classification conservatively and ensure contemporaneous documentation that can be related to the specific statutory tests in s 5 and s 7.

The Determination is a classificatory instrument; compliance requires aligning service delivery, billing and documentation to the definitions and tests set out in the Determination and to the underlying Act. The following are practical steps drawn from the instrument’s terms.

1. Map services to the Schedules

   • Create a service mapping that lists every service a provider supplies and identifies whether it matches an item in Schedule 1 (care to targeted persons) or Schedule 2 (care to carers). The Schedules are enumerated and specific; for example Schedule 1 includes items such as “Home help”, “Personal care”, “Community nursing”, “Assessment of the person’s care needs”, “Provision of basic equipment for social support” and “Community advocacy” for specific Aged Care Act purposes (Schedule 1 items 1-22). Schedule 2 lists carer-focused services including “Training in the provision of services mentioned in Schedule 1”, “Carer support”, and “Assessment of the carer’s care needs” (Schedule 2 items 1-17). Use the instrument’s exact language when mapping.

2. Establish recipient eligibility against s 5 (targeted person)

   • For supplies to be GST-free under Schedule 1, ascertain that the recipient satisfies the three conjunctive elements in the targeted person definition (s 5): (a) frailty or qualifying disability (including addiction); (b) lives at home; and (c) the at-risk-of-premature-or-inappropriate-institutionalisation test referencing either long-term hospital care or funded aged care in an approved residential care home under the Aged Care Act 2024 (s 5(c)(i)-(ii)). Maintain contemporaneous records demonstrating the factual basis for each conjunct , for example, care assessments, clinical notes, case management records, or care plans , because the Determination requires these facts to determine GST-free treatment.

3. For supplies to carers, document the “substantially enables” link (s 7)

   • When claiming GST-free treatment for a supply to a carer under Schedule 2, document how the supply “substantially enables the carer to give care to a targeted person” (s 7). The Determination does not define “substantially enables”, so practical evidence could include written care plans, notes linking the supplied service to the carer’s ability to deliver care, scheduling records that demonstrate the enabling effect (for example, respite that frees the carer to continue care), or training records showing acquired skills that materially increase the carer’s capacity. Ensure the documentation ties the supply to the targeted person’s needs identified under s 5.

4. Cross-reference the Aged Care Act 2024 where the Determination cites it

   • For items that refer to the Aged Care Act 2024 , for example community advocacy items referring to paragraphs 265(2)(b), (d) or (e) , read and apply those paragraphs to confirm eligibility. The Determination expressly links its commencement and certain definitions to the Aged Care Act 2024 (s 2; s 5; Schedules 1 and 2). Don’t assume the Determination’s plain-language description is exhaustive; the Aged Care Act paragraphs will set the legal scope.

5. Update invoicing and accounting systems

   • Implement codes and workflow in billing systems to flag supplies that are GST-free under the Determination and the Act. Because many services in the Schedules are similar but may be provided to different recipients (targeted person or carer), include recipient-type fields and evidence fields in invoicing records. Ensure that GST calculations and reporting reflect GST-free treatment only where the recipient and the service meet the Determination’s tests.

6. Train staff and contract managers

   • Train intake, assessment, care coordination and billing staff about the three-part targeted person test (s 5) and the “substantially enables” requirement for carers (s 7). Update purchase orders, supplier contracts and service agreements to reflect the GST-free classification where applicable, so third-party providers understand the need to document recipient eligibility.

7. Maintain contemporaneous assessments and case files

   • Given the prospective and factual nature of the targeted person test and the “substantially enables” test, maintain assessment records, care plans, referral notes, clinical support materials and case management documentation that could be relied upon in any tax administration review. The Determination does not prescribe which documents are required; sound practice is to keep records that clearly connect the supply to the eligibility criteria.

8. Review services that are mixed-purpose or partially ineligible

   • Where a supply contains both eligible and non-eligible components (for example, an equipment package that includes both basic social support equipment and commercially sold non-care items), determine apportionment consistent with the GST Act and document the basis for any GST-free portion. The Determination lists kinds of services, but apportionment and mixed-purpose rules are matters for the Act and tax practice.

9. Prepare for the repeal transition

   • Because the Determination repeals the 2017 instrument (Schedule 3), confirm that contracts and templates reference the 2025 Determination from its commencement date. Check whether any legacy documentation or prior invoicing practices need updating to reflect the current Determination.

10. Seek administrative guidance if uncertain

    • Where interpretation is uncertain , for example, whether a particular service description fits a Schedule item, whether a recipient meets the “at risk” counterfactual test or whether a given supply “substantially enables” a carer , seek guidance from the administering agencies (often aged care program administrators) and tax advisers. The Determination itself is sparse on evidentiary standards; administrative rulings or ATO advice should be sought where classification would materially affect tax treatment.

11. Plan for audit readiness

    • Given that the Determination creates fact-dependent eligibility, prepare audit packs that tie each GST-free claim to specific documents: client assessment showing the targeted person criteria, care plan showing the necessity of the supplied service, invoices and service records demonstrating delivery, and, for carers, documentation linking the supply to the carer’s ability to provide care.

By implementing these practical steps , mapping services, documenting eligibility and causation, updating billing systems and training staff , providers and funders can align commercial practice with the Determination’s legal tests. Because the Determination’s GST-free effect is conditional on the Act’s requirements (notes to s 6 and s 7), compliance must reflect both the Determination’s content and the GST Act’s administrative and evidentiary rules.