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Student windfall evaporates as a result of new legislation
Published on 01 Sep 12 by "TAXATION IN AUSTRALIA" JOURNAL ARTICLE
In Australian taxation law, taxpayers are entitled to claim the costs of self-education as a deduction against their assessable income only if there is a direct nexus between their employment and the area of study. The ATO adopted the view that student taxpayers in receipt of government assistance payments such as Youth Allowance could not deduct the costs of their study against the government payments. This view was challenged in the High Court in the Anstis case, in which the court held that the taxpayer should be allowed to claim the deduction.
The government subsequently introduced legislation which disallows deductions from 1 July 2011 against any government assistance payments received by taxpayers. This article revisits the facts of the decision in the Anstis case. The article traces the history of self-education and government assistance payments before examining the new legislation and drawing some conclusions.
Author profiles
Annette Morgan CTA
Annette Morgan is an accomplished academic and professional tax practitioner with over 30 years of experience in taxation. She is the Discipline Lead of Taxation and the Director of the Industry and Community Engagement Hub at Curtin University, where she also founded the nationally recognised Curtin Tax Clinic. Annette is a member of the Australian Taxation Office Tax Practitioners Stewardship Group and serves on several committees within the Tax Institute, contributing to national discussions on tax policy, education, and professional standards. She is also a government appointed member of the WA Legal Cost Committee. Her work spans clinical education, financial literacy, and innovative teaching, and she has received multiple awards for her contributions to the profession and the community. - Current at 07 November 2025
Colleen Mortimer CTA
Colleen has been a lecturer at Curtin University since 1988. She currently teaches in a number of postgraduate tax units and has won many awards for her teaching. Prior to joining Curtin University she worked at the Australian Taxation Office and Arthur Andersen and operated her own business specialising in small businesses. Colleen is also a Senior Manager at BDO where she is responsible for the Learning and Development in both the Corporate and International tax area and the Business Services area. She also teaches for the Tax Institute in the CTA1 Foundations, CTA2A and CTA2B Advanced subjects, and CTA3 Advisory subjects. Colleen is also the CTA2B Advanced Subject Convenor - Current at 08 August 2018Prof Dale Pinto CTA-Life
Dale is currently Professor of Taxation Law in the Curtin Law School as well as being the Chair of the Academic Board at Curtin University. Dale is the author and co-author of numerous books, refereed articles and national and international conference papers and sits on the editorial board of a number of peer-reviewed journals as well as being the Editor-in-Chief of several refereed journals. He is a member of the Board of CPA Australia and is also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law as well as being a Chartered Accountant, Chartered Tax Adviser and Honorary Life Member of the Tax Institute. He is also a Life Member of the Australasian Tax Teachers Association and the Australasian Law Teachers Association. Dale has been a registered tax agent for more than 25 years and was appointed by the Assistant Treasurer as one of the inaugural members of the National Tax Practitioners Board. He is a current member of the Board of Taxation’s Special Advisory Panel and the ATO’s Tax Technical Panel as well as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Economic Development Forum in WA. Dale is a member of the Tertiary Education and Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA) Expert Panel in Accounting, Taxation and International Education.
- Current at
13 August 2019
Nicole WILSON-ROGERS
The Tax Institute is Australia's leading professional association and educator in tax providing the best resources, professional development and networks.