Tickets Onselling

December 24, 2010

On 30th November 2010, following nearly five months of consultations, the Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council (CCAAC) provided to the Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs the findings regarding an inquiry into ticket onselling in the Australian market. The findings have ruled that ticket scalping is a minor issue in Australia and that no regulatory action needs to be taken.

The inquiry found that the consumers\' dissatisfaction arises from specific concerns that are all within the control of the primary distributors of tickets, namely: the transferability of tickets, transparency in ticket allocation and fair access to tickets

The data provided by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and State and Territory consumer agencies, especially through the NSW Fair Trading online survey; indicate’s a low level of complaints regarding the onselling of tickets.

The CCAAC report stated that, “Ticket onselling can have positive impacts for both consumers and suppliers. For consumers, the benefits include providing an alternative avenue to access tickets, particularly for popular events, offering convenience and allowing tickets to be transferred. For suppliers, ticket onselling can assist increases in ticket sales, improve crowd attendance and promote publicity for events.”

The CCAAC report can be found at:

http://www.treasury.gov.au/contentitem.asp?Navld=002&ContentID=1914