Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

First, I have to correct the proposition that GST applies to those particular goods because they are considered luxury items. That is not right. GST applies to all goods and services unless they have been exempted through relevant means. That is the situation.

The government undertook to raise the issue of the application of GST to feminine hygiene products with the states and territories and to seek their views on the matter. At the Council on Federal Financial Relations tax reform workshop on 21 August 2015, the states and territories considered a proposal to remove the GST from feminine hygiene products. As there was no unanimous agreement at the time, no change to the existing GST arrangements for these products will be progressed. I hasten to add that the usual process of dealing with a proposal to exempt any health goods from GST is through a determination by the Minister for Health, not through an amendment to a bill like this.