End of financial year is the perfect time to review your business expenses and ensure you're claiming every deduction available to you. Act now to make the most of available government incentives — and ensure you've made any business purchases you've been considering before 30 June.
1. COVID-Related Tax Deductions
Most of us have experienced changes to our work environment due to COVID-19. This means the deductions you can claim may have changed as well.
You may be able to claim a deduction for the cost of buying a face mask to wear at work if:
- Your employment duties require you and other employees to be at your place of work
- A face mask is not provided to you by your employer
- You need to wear a mask due to your duties bringing you into close contact with clients, customers, or colleagues
To claim personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, sanitiser, or anti-bacterial spray, your work duties must either:
- Bring you into close contact with clients or customers, or
- Involve you cleaning a premises
2. First Aid Kits
First aid kits are generally tax deductible for businesses. The key test is whether the expense is directly related to your employment — specifically, costs you incur as part of doing your job that your employer expects you to cover.
For businesses, maintaining a compliant first aid kit is not only a legal workplace health and safety requirement in most Australian states — it's also a legitimate and claimable business expense.
Browse our range of first aid kits and supplies at Onset Health.
3. First Aid Training
First aid training can be claimed as a tax deduction in a number of situations:
- Condition of employment: If first aid certification is required for your role but not provided by your employer, it's almost certainly tax-deductible. This applies to both medical roles (such as nursing) and non-medical roles that require certification.
- Childcare and education workers: Roles such as family daycare workers require certification in first aid, anaphylaxis, and asthma management. Completing a course such as HLTAID012 Provide First Aid in an Education and Care Setting is a clear tax-deductible expense.
If you're unsure whether your training qualifies, consult your accountant or visit the ATO website.
4. Instant Asset Write-Off: Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)
As an employer, you have a legal obligation to provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risks to health — including providing adequate facilities for employee welfare.
WorkSafe urges employers to consider installing a life-saving defibrillator at their workplace. With people spending approximately one-third of their lifetime at work, the risk of a cardiac arrest occurring in the workplace is real and significant.
Key guidance for AED installation:
- Consider an AED in addition to existing first aid procedures, trained first aiders, and first aid kits
- Install AEDs in well-known, visible, and accessible locations
- AEDs should never be locked away
Eligible businesses can claim an immediate deduction for the business portion of the cost of an asset — including an AED — in the year it is first used or installed ready for use under the Instant Asset Write-Off scheme.
For more information, speak to your accountant or visit the ATO: Instant Asset Write-Off – ATO.
Browse our range of AEDs and defibrillators at Onset Health — and make your purchase count before EOFY.