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Spav(I'm new)I'm new
6 May 2026

In short, I'm currently a qualified teacher's aide and looking into helping out a couple of my friends who homeschool their kids. I want to be able to get the small group of them together, 7 kids, so I can help them with their class work from a home, when they have questions their parents are unable to. They would pay me $30/day per child. I'd only do up to 3 days. But if I did go ahead with this, I would stop my current job to help them, until they graduate, to which I would then go back to normal work. I've looked on myGov under the hobby or bussness section, but am still unsure. On one hand, I don't plan to advertise it, with no intention of growing it into a larger business or anything. I'm simply doing it to help my friends, but I still need to make some kind of income to get by, but they can't afford the crazy prices official business tutors offer, therefore it's not competitive either, as they simply won't get a tutor at all if I'm not able to help. Additionally, if I don't have to register it with an ABN, I don't plan to. I would only do so if I was told it had to be considered a business and was necessary. Under these concepts, I would assume it could come under 'hobby'. However, I'd likely be doing weekly on regular days, like a job. Probably $30/day/kid up to 3days/week, excluding school holidays. Additionally, because I would therefore be making a 'profit' from it in terms of it being my personal temporary income until they graduate, that could imply 'business'. However, it depends on the definition of 'profit' since you can sell artwork as a hobby, and still make a profit from it but not need to be considered a business? So, in most cases in leaving towards hobby, as I'm only doing to help out some friends without plan to turn it into on ongoing business. However, I don't want to unintentionally be committing tax fraud it it should be legally considered a business for whatever reason? And I need to know this before I start doing it, to make sure I do so legally. But I can't seem to find a straight answer anywhere and chat bots are no help and I'm not sure which line to call because it's for something that doesn't even exist yet? 😅

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Taxduck(Taxicorn)Taxicorn
6 May 2026

Business income. You don't need an ABN to earn business income.

"Generally, a business involves a set of continuous and repeated activities you do for the purpose of making a profit."

Are you in business? | Australian Taxation Office

It is definitely not a hobby.

"A hobby is a pastime or leisure activity conducted in your spare time for recreation or pleasure"

Difference between a business and a hobby | business.gov.au


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Is paid homeschool help a hobby or a business? | ATO Community