Ticket scalping:
Ticket onselling and consumers
Issues Paper
May 2010
Commonwealth of Australia 2010
ISBN 978-0-642-74613-9
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Attorney‑General’s Department
3‑5 National Circuit
BARTON ACT 2600
Or posted at:
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Foreword
The Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council (CCAAC), assisted by NSW Fair Trading, is conducting a review into ticket onselling and its impact on consumers. As part of the review, CCAAC will examine current practices related to ticket onselling and consider possible marketplace responses, including both regulatory and non‑regulatory options, and their cost and effectiveness.
Concerns about ticket onselling are raised by consumers from time to time, especially when they are unable to access tickets to their favourite sporting event or concert. Consumer dissatisfaction can be created when large numbers of tickets are obtained for onselling, either legitimately or through other means, resulting in consumers being unable to obtain tickets. Consumer detriment can arise when consumers buy on‑sold tickets which are counterfeit, or are worthless when organisers cancel tickets which have been sold in breach of their terms and conditions. These unauthorised onselling practices are often called ‘ticket scalping’.
When there is strong demand for tickets, the existence of ticket onselling can be seen as a sign of a well functioning market. It can provide benefits to consumers by allowing tickets to be available to those who were unable to acquire them from the original distributor, or to let consumers access tickets later than they might have otherwise been able to. Onselling can also provide a means to sell tickets for those who cannot receive a refund.
In Australia, generic consumer protection laws which include the Trade Practices Act 1974, together with State and Territory fair trading legislation, provide the overarching framework for protecting consumers when they purchase goods and services. Additionally, some States and Territories have activity‑specific laws to regulate ticket onselling in some circumstances. Further protection is afforded to consumers by industry‑led responses undertaken to address onselling issues, such as the modification of ticket distribution strategies.
The aim of this paper is to establish whether ticket onselling practices create significant problems for consumers, and if so, to identify the best ways to help address those problems. In exploring these issues, the paper seeks to gather views relating to ticket onselling from a range of stakeholders.
I offer my thanks to CCAAC for the preparation of this paper. I welcome the views of all those interested in, and concerned with, consumer policy in Australia.
SIGNED
Colin Neave
Chairman, Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council
The Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council (CCAAC) CCAAC terms of reference
CCAAC is an expert advisory panel, which provides advice to the Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs on consumer policy issues.
CCAAC’s terms of reference are to:
consider issues, reports and papers referred to it by the Minister and report to the Minister on their consumer policy implications, and in doing so take account of the need for well‑functioning markets with confident consumers;
identify emerging issues affecting Australian markets and consumers and draw these to the attention of the Minister; and
when considering consumer policy issues, take account of their competition and other relevant economic implications.
Membership
The membership of CCAAC consists of:
Mr Colin Neave (Chair);
Ms Carolyn Bond;
Professor Stephen Corones;
Ms Deborah Healey;
Mr Michael Malone;
Mr Gordon Renouf;
Mr Ray Steinwall; and
Mr Peter Kell (ex officio).
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Table of contents
Foreword 3
The Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council (CCAAC) 5
CCAAC terms of reference 5
Membership 5
Request for comments 9
Glossary 10
Chapter 1: Introduction 11
About the review 11
Context of the review 12
Consultation process 15
Chapter 2: Current market for ticket selling and onselling 17
Primary market 17
Distribution methods 17
What is a ‘ticket’? 18
Secondary market 18
Onsellers 18
Causes for the secondary market 19
Chapter 3: The impact of ticket onselling 23
Is there a market failure? 23
Impact on consumers 25
Consumer dissatisfaction and consumer detriment 25
Benefits for consumers 28
Impact on Suppliers 29
Supplier detriment 30
Gains for suppliers 30
Chapter 4: Controlling ticket onselling 33
Regulatory responses 33
Current Australian Law 33
Current international approaches 35
Non‑regulatory responses 39
Appendix A: State and Territory Legislation* 43
Request for comments
The Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council has developed this issues paper, Ticket scalping: Ticket onselling and consumers to:
raise issues about the practice of ticket onselling in Australia; and
seek public and stakeholder comments in relation to this practice.
Responses are requested by 5:00pm on Friday 23 July 2010 and can be submitted to:
CCAAC@treasury.gov.au
or
CCAAC Review of Ticket Onselling
Competition and Consumer Policy Division
Treasury
Langton Crescent
PARKES ACT 2600
Phone: 02 6263 2111
Fax: 02 6263 3964
Confidentiality
It will be assumed that submissions are not confidential and may be made publicly available on the Treasury website (http://www.treasury.gov.au). If you would like your submission, or any part of it, to be treated as ‘confidential’, please indicate this clearly. A request made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 for a submission marked confidential to be made available will be determined in accordance with that Act.
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Glossary
ACL
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Australian Consumer Law
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CCAAC
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Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council
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FTA
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Fair Trading Act of a State or Territory
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MCCA
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Ministerial Council of Consumer Affairs, made up of Ministers responsible for consumer affairs from the Australian, New Zealand and state and territory governments.
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TPA
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Trade Practices Act 1974
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