NSW Fair Trading announced that as of June 1 it will be illegal for ticket resellers to sell tickets for more than their original cost.
This includes the transaction costs of the original purchase (i.e. booking fees), which will be capped at 10%. To provide a transparent ticket resale market, resellers will also have to list the original cost of the ticket in their advertisement, as well as any row, bay or seat number that applies to it.
Amendments made to the Fair Trading Act 1987 will see scalpers copping fines of up to $11,000 for individuals or $22,000 for businesses if they breach the new laws. Fair Trading officers will also be able to give people penalty infringement notices or hit them with a $550 fine, even for one-off offences.
The new laws apply to tickets for NSW events that have a resale restriction, meaning the ticket has terms or conditions set by the promoter which limits the way it can be redistributed. If ticket holders do find that the event prohibits the resale of their ticket, they’ll be able to contact the Department of Fair Trading who will assess the terms and conditions of the ticket and decide on appropriate action.
These are protective measures for customers who buy resale tickets in accordance with the new regulations, and will prevent event organisers from cancelling such tickets.
According to the NSW Fair Trading website, “one of the aims of the ticket scalping laws is to provide for a legitimate resale market. Consumers who purchase an event ticket and can no longer attend should be able to sell that ticket to someone else and recover their costs in the process.”
The laws will also prevent the resale of complimentary tickets, like those won in competitions, meaning that if you can’t go, you’ll have to give it away for free.
The new laws apply no matter how many times a ticket is resold, and only for events that are hosted in NSW.
