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Australia considers nationwide secondary ticketing ban
By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 2 February 2018
Australia’s federal government is considering a nationwide ban on the reselling of tickets. This follows the passing of tough anti-touting laws in the state of New South Wales last year.
According to Australia’s Daily Telegraph, the country’s government is considering five possible options with regards to the resale of tickets. One of those options is to completely outlaw the selling of tickets by anyone other than primary outlets.
The government’s Assistant Minister To The Treasurer, Michael Sukkar, told the newspaper that the aim of any proposed legislation would be to benefit consumers, saying: “I expect consumers should always get a fair deal when purchasing tickets for events and to access all available tickets on the market. While we are still working to properly address these problems, Australians can be assured that we will do all that is necessary to protect them from any unfair or unscrupulous practices”.
In October last year, the New South Wales government passed an amendment to its Fair Trading Act, banning the selling of tickets at anything more than 10% of their face value. Large fines were put in place for anyone breaking the rules. However, there were questions about how effective a localised ban could be, with secondary ticketing sites in general sitting outside the state’s jurisdiction.
Also last year, Australia’s Competition & Consumer Commission announced plans to take secondary ticketing site Viagogo to court over allegations that it had made false or misleading representations, and has engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct.
