The Government of Western Australia is intending to introduce a new anti-ticket scalping bill, with those found guilty attracting a penalty of up to AUS$20,000 (£10,739/€12,526/US$14,856) for individuals or AUS$100,000 for companies.
The Ticket Scalping Bill 2021 will be adopted to stop the reselling of tickets for more than 10% of the original asking price. Advertising the resold tickets must also include the original price, seat and row number for the event.
The proposed bill reads: “A ticket resale advertisement must specify the original ticket price and details of the location from which the ticket holder is authorised to view the event (including, for example, any bay number, row number of seat number for the ticket).”
The bill went through its third reading in the legislative council last week and is expected to do so again this week. It is hoped that the bill can pass before the Australian Football League final in Perth on 25 September.
The event had been due to take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground but was moved to Perth’s Optus Stadium (pictured) due to ongoing Covid-19restrictions in Victoria.
A spokesperson for Commerce Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said: “The state government is making every effort to pass the ticket scalping legislation in parliament so it is in place when general admission tickets for the 2021 AFL grand final go on sale.
“This is being done to protect consumers from unscrupulous practices that inflate prices and make events unaffordable or render tickets invalid.
“The McGowan government wants as many West Australians as possible to have the opportunity to attend the 2021 AFL grand final.”
Image: Nathan Hurst on Unsplash
Share this