GST on Medical Wigs & Hairpieces is not fair - Let's change the law together!
Did you know that GST is payable on Medical Wigs and Hairpieces (Cranial Prosthetics) but not other prosthetics?
There are many medical reasons as to why wigs and hairpieces are worn.
Think cancer, alopecia, brain surgery scarring, skin cancer surgical removal, lupus, telogen effluvium, lichen planopillaris, brain cancer, trichotillomania and the list of medical related hair loss goes on.
Under current Commonwealth law, orthotics and limb prosthetics are GST‑free, recognising their essential role in restoring function, enabling participation in work, and supporting dignity and independence.
By contrast, cranial prostheses (wigs)—even when medically required due to chemotherapy or autoimmune disease—remain fully taxable.
This distinction creates a policy inconsistency that does not reflect lived experience or contemporary medical understanding.
While hair loss is often categorised administratively as a cosmetic issue, this classification ignores the real and measurable functional consequences experienced by patients undergoing chemotherapy:
- Many patients are unable to return to work without hair due to stigma, distress, or client‑facing requirements.
- Others withdraw from social interaction, community life, or even medical appointments due to loss of identity and confidence.
- Psychological distress associated with visible hair loss is widely recognised in oncology literature as materially affecting recovery, mental health, and quality of life.
In this context, a medically prescribed wig functions not as a fashion item, but as a prosthetic support—restoring a patient’s ability to participate in society, just as an orthotic restores physical mobility.
A person who loses a limb to cancer receives GST‑free prosthetic support.
A person who loses their hair to cancer does not.
Yet both losses are the result of medical treatment.
Both impair day‑to‑day functioning.
Both affect employability, social inclusion, mental health, and dignity.
The current tax treatment implicitly values one form of disability support while dismissing another, despite comparable consequences.
I recognise that concerns may exist regarding potential misuse of a GST‑free category for wigs if broadly applied.
Accordingly, I have proposed to the Treasurer and Health Minister a narrow, controlled reform, limited strictly to medically authorised cranial prostheses, with the following safeguards:
1. GST‑free status applies only where:
- A treating medical practitioner (e.g. oncologist or GP) certifies that hair loss is the result of medical treatment or illness; and
- The wig is supplied as a medical cranial prosthesis, not as a fashion or cosmetic item.
2. Supply restrictions:
- GST‑free wigs may only be purchased through registered specialist wig or prosthetic salons, not online marketplaces.
- Online or general retail wig purchases would remain taxable, preserving revenue integrity.
3. Parity with existing medical aid rules:
This model mirrors the way orthotics and other medical aids are regulated—GST relief applies through clinical oversight and controlled supply channels, not unrestricted consumer purchase.
With these policies, then
- Amend Schedule 3 of the GST Act to include medically authorised cranial prostheses under defined conditions; or
- Introducing a specific regulation under section 38‑45 to allow GST‑free treatment where doctor certification and controlled supply criteria are met.