New standard aims stop ticket buyers being misled by online resellers

A newly released Australian event ticketing standard is aiming to help ticket buyers make informed decisions when purchasing tickets from online resellers.

Under Australian Consumer Law (ACL), online ticket resellers will have to clearly disclose that they are a reseller and not a primary ticket provider, as well as the original price of tickets - with the reseller also required to clearly display this information prominently on their website.

The reseller is also required to identify the location of the seat or viewing spot for each ticket.

These new changes will complement the WA Ticket Scalping Act which came into effect on 10th September 2021, making it illegal for online resellers to sell most tickets to Western Australian events for more than 10% over the original price.

Consumer Protection’s role over the last year since the new Western Australian laws took effect has been enforcing the new measures by issuing notices to online resellers and investigating complaints received from consumers. Fines range from $20,000 for individuals and $100,000 for companies, with even higher penalties applying to those using ‘bots’ to purchase bulk tickets which is also illegal in Western Australian.

Commenting on the new standard, Western Australian Consumer Protection Commissioner, Gary Newcombe advised “earlier this year, online ticket reseller Viagogo was named as being under investigation for possible breaches of the WA Ticket Scalping Act due to tickets on their website being sold illegally for more than 110% of the original price.

“While this investigation into Viagogo is ongoing, the introduction of the new Australian standard means WA ticket buyers can have more confidence that they are purchasing tickets for events across the country from online resellers at a fair price, and their usual consumer rights under the ACL will apply.”

Newcombe added that customers should do their research before purchasing tickets from online resellers, and that buying tickets from overseas resellers could be risky, also advising consumers to buy through an authorised Australian website using a credit card for extra protection.