The draft determinations refine GST rules, introducing specific attribution rules for copyright transactions via collecting societies and updating intermediary arrangements for multimedia products, replacing the expiring 2015 version.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has introduced two draft legislative instruments addressing the GST treatment for copyright owners and the multimedia industry.
The first, A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Attribution Rules – Supplies and Acquisitions Relating to Collecting Societies) Determination 2025, (Dated 29 August 2025) establishes specific GST attribution rules for transactions involving copyright owners and collecting societies, as defined under the Copyright Act 1968.
The GST payable by a copyright owner on a taxable supply they make, and in respect of which a remuneration notice is given to a collecting society, is attributable as follows:
- If the owner accounts on a non-cash basis, the GST is attributable to the earlier of:
- the tax period in which the owner becomes aware that any consideration has been received for the supply; and
- the tax period in which the owner becomes aware that an invoice relating to the supply has been issued;
- If the owner accounts on a cash basis, the GST is attributable to the tax period in which the owner becomes aware that any consideration has been received for the taxable supply, but it is only attributable to the extent of the amount of consideration received.
The second, A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) (Application of Intermediary Arrangements to the Multi-Media Industry) Determination 2025, (Dated 25 August 2025) clarifies that transactions involving multimedia products fall under the intermediary arrangements outlined in section 153-50 of the GST Act. This new determination will replace the 2015 version, which is set to expire on 1 October 2025.
