“That ICPA (Aust) lobbies the Minister for Education and other relevant stakeholders to implement an exemption for schools/boarding facilities providing on site living facilities for essential supervisory staff from Fringe Benefits Tax on that accommodation.”
It is critical that the Federal Government change the policy on Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) as it currently applies to essential boarding school staff required to “live in” to perform their duty of care of residential students in metropolitan boarding institutions. This tax negatively impacts on the cost of an equitable education for isolated students.
It is obvious that boarding schools must charge fees that cover costs incurred to them. Staff wages are a clear example of expenses that must be factored into boarding school fees. However, if some of the taxes that are currently applied to boarding schools were removed, the fees charged to families could also be lessened. The removal of the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) on residential accommodation for essential supervisory staff could significantly reduce the costs incurred by some boarding schools. The Australian Boarding Schools’ Association (ABSA) estimates that the FBT on the residential accommodation for the boarding schools in large cities adds an average of approximately $2000 per child. Staff accommodation is a fundamental necessity of a boarding school. Boarding school staff must live on site to supervise the boarders in their care.
Educational expenses are considerably high for families who must send their children to boarding school due to geographical location. Unfair taxes are adding to the high costs of educating students from rural and remote areas. The Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) that is applied to essential boarding staff in large cities is one example of the taxes that are impacting affordability and accessibility to an equitable education.
In addition, the taxes appear to be levied across sectors in a most inequitable and inconsistent manner. For example, FBT is applied to boarding supervisors’ accommodation, yet it is not levied on aged care facilities or military establishments. As another example, GST is levied on boarding school food, yet not on the food provided in aged care facilities.
Boarding associations and boarding schools have been lobbying for the Fringe Benefits Tax on essential boarding school staff to be removed. ICPA (Aust) supporting this advocacy and assisting in raising awareness of this concern where possible would lend a greater voice to this issue on behalf of rural and remote students.
