What are self-education expenses?

Self-education expenses are expenses that you incur when you undertake a course directly related
to your work.You cannot claim self-education expense if it leads to get you a new employment or open a new
income earning activity.AAT concludes that in health care sector out of three levels being “personal care and nursing
assistants”, “enrolled nurse” and “registered nurse” a personal care assistant is not a nurse.However, after completion of the Bachelor of Nursing, the taxpayer’s employer would promote them to a nursing position within the organisation.

There are some skills learned in the Bachelor of Nursing that would help a personal care worker perform their duties at a higher level. However, the overall skills and knowledge learned goes beyond what is required in the current role and leads towards getting new employment. Hence, the Commissioner of Taxation determined that the self-education course expenses in this instance will not be deductible.

Source: CCH