The Australian government has announced plans to “stop businesses ripping off Australians by banning unfair trading practices”. The proposed new laws are set to impact on the ticketing business in the country, with the dynamic pricing of tickets one of the things in the government’s crosshairs.
“From concert tickets to hotel rooms and gym memberships, Australians are fed up with businesses using tricky tactics that make it difficult to end subscriptions or add hidden fees to purchases”, a statement from the government says. “These practices can distort purchasing decisions, or result in additional costs, putting more pressure on the cost of living”.
Dynamic pricing is one of six practices highlighted by the Australian government which it pledges to regulate through new laws. The use of dynamic pricing in ticketing - where ticket prices increase depending on demand - has proven controversial in recent years, and especially recent months, with the use of dynamic pricing by Oasis in the UK and Green Day in Australia prompting a backlash.
These new plans from the Australian government come as practices employed by ticketing companies - including both primary ticket agents and ticket resale platforms - are being increasingly scrutinised in multiple countries.
The live sector more generally has been in the spotlight in Australia, with an inquiry in the country’s Parliament and this week’s TV exposé on the operations of Live Nation. Politicians in the UK Parliament, meanwhile, are also ramping up their scrutiny of ticketing as the government prepares to undertake a consultation on the sector.
Another practice being targeted in Australia is drip pricing, where compulsory fees are added to a purchase once a transaction is underway, which is another thing ticketing companies have been criticised for in some countries over the years.
Also on the Aussie government's target list is subscription traps, where it’s arduous and confusing to cancel a subscription; deceptive communications that confuse consumers or create a false sense of urgency; unnecessarily requiring customers to set up an account when making an online purchase; and making it difficult for customers to get support when they have a problem with a product or service.
It’s implied these practices, including dynamic pricing, could be banned outright within Australia, although the government says it will “consult on the design before the government legislates a general prohibition on unfair trading practices”.
Commenting on the plans, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says, “We're taking strong action to stop businesses from engaging in dodgy practices that rip consumers off. Today’s announcement puts businesses engaging in unfair trading practices on notice. Hidden fees and traps are putting even more pressure on the cost of living and it needs to stop”.
Back in the UK, the new Labour government recently announced a consultation on ticketing. That was originally expected to focus on secondary ticketing, given the Labour Party’s previous pledge to introduce a price cap on ticket resale. However, following all the outrage over ticketing for the Oasis shows, dynamic pricing is also on the agenda.
In Parliament, Emma Foody MP will lead a Westminster Hall debate next week on secondary ticketing. She is specifically a Labour And Co-operative Party, and the Co-operative Party recently published an article on ticket touting in which it stated, “Following the government’s consultation on this issue, we want to see a proper licensing system set up empowered to issue sanctions including tough fines to websites that host ticket touting”.
Meanwhile, the backbench MPs allocated time to introduce private member bills into Parliament in this parliamentary session have revealed what issues they will deal with. One of them, Dr Rupa Huq MP, says he will propose a bill to “make provision about transparency of ticket prices for sporting and cultural events, and for connected purposes”. No more information is currently available, though that sounds like it could include some regulation of dynamic pricing.