Have you seen the most asked member question lately?

Have you seen the most asked member question lately? Our monthly Member Benefits Bulletin has this covered! We encourage you to keep an eye out for it when it hits your email and in the meantime, head to this webpage for a breakdown of other questions commonly asked by members in months gone by. You never know what you will find!

Here is the most commonly asked member question in recent weeks. Don’t forget to check out our member-only web resource for more useful Q+As!

Question: If a patient purchases a consumable like gel toe sleeves/ID wedges or the like, at the time of their podiatry service do they have to pay GST on the items purchased?

Answer:

It depends. If the consumable was used as part of the podiatry service it is GST free. If the item is purchased over the counter as a take home product not opened, used or modified at the clinic for the purpose of the consult, GST applies. Please refer to the Australian Taxation office website relating to Goods supplied as part of a GST fee health service for more information here.

Below is an excerpt from the above link:

Goods supplied as part of a GST-free health service

A supply of goods is GST-free if it is both:

a necessary part of providing the GST-free health service

supplied at the same time and place as the service.

The goods must be either:

specific to treating the illness or disability of the particular patient

essential for treating that patient during that particular consultation.

However, there are different rules for:

optometrists and pharmacists

herbal medicine practitioners (including Chinese herbal medicine practitioners) and naturopaths.

Example: Supply of goods to a patient: Dr Jones treats a patient’s injury during a consultation by applying a bandage. If the consultation is GST-free, the bandage is also GST-free. However, extra bandages, dressings and antiseptics the patient takes home are not GST-free.

Have a burning question? Email us at info@podiatry.org.au

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