Ticket resale laws in Australia and NZ, state by state

Short answer: in most of Australia you can resell a concert ticket, but not for more than 10% above what you paid, and the ad has to show the original price and the seat. The catch is that each state does it differently. NSW and WA apply the cap broadly, Victoria only applies it to events the Minister has declared, and Queensland ties it to a list of major venues. New Zealand is the odd one out: there's no general cap at all, and the only law that limits resale has never been applied to a concert.

On top of the law, ticket sellers set their own rules, and those can get a resold ticket cancelled even where the resale itself was legal.

This guide was checked against government pages, the legislation itself and recent reporting on 3 October 2026. Laws change, and a few states blocked us from reading their pages, so where we couldn't confirm something we say so. Check with the regulator in your state before you buy or sell.

Quick comparison

The national rules every Australian resale site follows

There's no federal law against scalping itself. CHOICE pointed this out in 2021, and it's why each state has gone its own way. What does apply everywhere is a set of national rules for resale websites.

According to the ACCC, a resale site has to clearly say "This is a ticket resale service. You are not buying from a primary ticket provider", and it has to show the price you'd pay the authorised seller next to the resale price, so you can see the mark-up. WA Consumer Protection describes the rule as covering websites whose "only purpose is to resell tickets to events in Australia".

The ACCC also warns that people who buy from unauthorised resellers risk "being turned away at the venue", "not getting the seats they ordered" and "not being made aware of certain conditions". Refunds are harder to chase, too. Where an organiser cancels or makes a major change to an event, the ACCC says consumers are entitled to a refund, though that may not apply when the cancellation comes from outside factors such as government restrictions.

New South Wales

NSW has the broadest cap in the country. The laws started on 1 June 2018, and the NSW Government page sets the limit as "the original retail price, plus transaction costs, for example, booking fees, ticket delivery fees and credit card surcharges, up to a maximum 10% of the original ticket price". In plain terms, you can recover your booking and delivery fees, but the total can't go past 110% of what the ticket originally cost.

The rules cover:

• Where you sell. Resale sites (the page names Viagogo, Ticketmaster Resale, StubHub and Twickets), general marketplaces such as eBay, and social media all count. Sites must look into listings that break the rules when they're reported.
• What the ad shows. The original ticket price, an asking price no more than 10% above it, and "the location of the bay, row or seat number attached to the ticket". If there's no allocated seat, the ad needs to say "general admission" or similar.
• Cancellation. Organisers can't cancel a ticket just because it was resold, as long as it was resold within the law.
• Refunds. If the event is cancelled, the refund goes to the original buyer, not to whoever bought it on resale.

That last point matters. If you buy a resale ticket in NSW and the show's called off, the money goes back to the person who sold it to you, and you'll be sorting it out with them.

Breaches carry fines, and each separate breach can attract its own penalty. The NSW Government page doesn't mention ticket-buying bots, so we couldn't confirm whether NSW bans them.

Victoria

Victoria's cap is narrower than most people think. It sits in Part 9A of the Major Events Act 2009, and it only applies to an event the Minister has made a "major event ticketing declaration" for. The declaration is published in the Government Gazette. When deciding, the Minister has to consider whether the event is major, having regard to how many people are likely to attend.

So most gigs aren't covered. CHOICE has given the example of a Cat Empire concert that fell outside the law because it wasn't declared. Big tours can be: CHOICE reported that Taylor Swift's 2024 Melbourne shows were declared on 27 June 2023.

For a declared event, the Act says:

• the organiser has to print the face value on the ticket
• unless the organiser authorises it, it's an offence to sell, advertise or offer a ticket for more than 10% above face value. This covers small sales (five tickets or fewer) and bulk sales (six or more), with higher penalties for bulk sellers and for companies
• every resale ad or offer has to list the asking price, the face value and the seat for each ticket, and giving wrong or incomplete face value or seat details is an offence
• police or authorised ticketing officers can seize tickets from a suspected scalper, and authorised officers can ask for a name and address.

Victoria's legislation site listed version 025 of the Act (7 September 2022) as current when we checked. We couldn't see the current list of declared events, so if you're buying resale for a big Melbourne show, check whether that event has been declared.

Queensland

Queensland's cap is tied to venues, not events. The Queensland Government says that at major venues "it's illegal to resell or buy a ticket at a price greater than 10% above the original ticket price". Note "or buy": the buyer can be in breach too.

The law behind it is the Major Sports Facilities Act 2001. The Stadiums Queensland policy page lists these venues:

• Suncorp Stadium
• The Gabba
• Brisbane Entertainment Centre
• Queensland Country Bank Stadium
• Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre
• Sleeman Sports Complex
• Cbus Super Stadium
• Queensland Tennis Centre
• People First Stadium

Non-profit organisations can resell above the 10% margin for genuine charity fundraising. Penalties are set in penalty units, with higher maximums for corporations than for individuals. Stadiums Queensland says to report scalping at these venues to the Queensland Police Service, at your local police station.

Businesses running resale services in Queensland have to make it clear they're secondary sellers and show the mark-up. The Queensland page says those disclosure rules don't apply to private individuals selling through online marketplaces. We couldn't confirm a Queensland bot ban, or any cap for gigs at venues not on that list.

Western Australia

WA's Ticket Scalping Act 2021 is the most complete set of rules we could confirm. According to WA Consumer Protection:

• Resellers must "not ask for more than 10% above the original ticket price". This applies to tickets for events held in WA that have resale restrictions, typically major events and concerts. Fundraisers and charity events generally don't have these restrictions.
• Using "bot" software to buy tickets is banned, and you can be fined for it.
• Resale ads must "display the original ticket price", "specify all location details" and give the seat information, including any restricted view notice.
• Consumer Protection can issue an infringement notice for each breach, and courts can impose higher penalties, higher again for companies.

WA does enforce this. Its news archive includes items on its first on-the-spot fines for scalpers and an investigation of Viagogo under the WA laws. Consumer Protection lists the risks for buyers as fake tickets, being refused entry and missing out on a refund if the event is cancelled.

South Australia, the ACT, Tasmania and the NT

This is where we have to be upfront. These regulators' websites blocked our checks, so we can't tell you the current rules with confidence.

• South Australia. Wikipedia's summary lists SA among the states with a 10% cap and a ban on ticket bots, but we couldn't confirm the detail from Consumer and Business Services. CBS has a page titled "Ticket scalping laws are changing". Check it before you buy or sell for an SA show.
• Tasmania and the NT. As of CHOICE's October 2021 update, these were the only two places in Australia without ticket scalping laws. We couldn't confirm whether that has changed since.
• The ACT. The ACT's main consumer law Act (republication 43, in effect from 16 May 2026) has no ticket resale provisions. We couldn't confirm whether the ACT has a separate scalping law.

In all four, check with Consumer and Business Services, Access Canberra, CBOS or NT Consumer Affairs for any event-specific rules. The national resale-site rules and the Australian Consumer Law apply either way.

New Zealand: no general cap

The Commerce Commission is clear: there's no general law in New Zealand stopping people reselling tickets for more than they paid. In September 2026, Consumer NZ's Jessica Walker told RNZ: "There's no law that prevents people from purchasing tickets and reselling them at a higher price."

The Major Events Management Act

The one exception is the Major Events Management Act 2007. It covers events declared major events by the Governor-General after ministerial consultation. Past examples include Rugby World Cup 2011 and the 2017 Lions Tour. The Commerce Commission says: "To date, no concerts have been declared major events under the Act."

For a declared event, the rule is stricter than anything in Australia. Section 25 says nobody may, without the organiser's authorisation, "sell or trade a ticket to a major event activity for a value greater than the original sale price of that ticket". The original sale price includes charges such as booking fees and postage or courier. So there's no 10% margin: you can get back what you paid, fees included, and nothing more. Knowingly breaking the rule is an offence that can bring a fine. We checked the version as at 8 July 2026.

The Fair Trading Act

Outside declared events, protection comes through the Fair Trading Act's rules on misleading conduct. According to the Commerce Commission, traders mustn't mislead you about whether a site is the primary seller or a resale platform, must show fees upfront, and mustn't misrepresent who's selling the ticket. The Act itself (version as at 1 July 2026) has no specific ticket resale rules.

The 2019 plan that didn't happen

On 4 March 2019, the then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi announced plans to ban ticket-buying bots and cap resale prices, through changes to the Fair Trading Act. Consultation ran until 18 April 2019. Going by what Consumer NZ told RNZ in September 2026, none of it became law.

Viagogo

The High Court found in 2024 that Viagogo misled consumers. The complaints included late disclosure of fees and buyers not realising it was a resale platform. Viagogo appealed, and the Court of Appeal heard the case in October 2025, according to RNZ. We don't know the outcome. The Commerce Commission still tells consumers to "seriously consider whether buying tickets from ticket reselling website Viagogo is worth the risk", pointing to counterfeit tickets, tickets that never arrive, and misrepresented features.

Can a resold ticket be cancelled?

Yes, in some cases, even where reselling it wasn't illegal. Organisers set terms for their tickets, and resale can break them.

New Zealand shows how this plays out. For a September 2026 Warriors NRL playoff at Eden Park, Ticketmaster told RNZ that "Tickets identified as sold or transferred in breach of those terms may be cancelled." Trade Me told RNZ that for most events people may resell legitimate tickets they actually hold, but listings would come down if they "fall under the Major Events Management Act".

NSW is different. Its law stops organisers cancelling a ticket just because it was resold, as long as the resale was within the rules.

Ticketmaster's resale caps aren't the law

Ticketmaster runs its own resale platforms with their own limits, and they differ between countries:

• Australia: Ticketmaster's resale policy says you must not list a resale ticket, including the seller fee, above 110% of the face value you paid. It also says resale "may not be available on particular events or ticket types from time to time", resale tickets can't be resold again, and sellers are responsible for following the resale laws where they are and where the event is.
• New Zealand: RNZ reported in September 2026 that Ticketmaster's NZ resale platform caps tickets at "120 per cent of their original value". That cap only applies on Ticketmaster's own platform, not on other marketplaces such as Trade Me.

So a listing that's fine under Ticketmaster's NZ rules isn't covered by any law, and one that's within Ticketmaster's Australian cap still has to meet your state's ad rules.

Before you buy or sell a resale ticket

• Buy from the authorised seller first if you can. Queensland's advice is simply "Only purchase from the authorised ticket seller".
• On a resale site, look for the resale notice and the authorised seller's price next to the asking price.
• Check the listing shows the original price and the seat (or "general admission"). In NSW, Victoria for declared events, and WA, it has to.
• Work out the cap: original price plus 10% in NSW, WA, Queensland's listed venues and Victoria's declared events.
• Pay by credit card, not bank transfer. The ACCC says a card gives you chargeback options.
• Read the seller's ticket terms. Resale against them can get a ticket cancelled.
• Know that a resale buyer may not be the one who gets refunded if the show is cancelled. In NSW the refund goes to the original buyer.
• In NZ, remember there's no cap for concerts. The Fair Trading Act only helps if a seller misleads you.
• Report a dodgy resale site to the ACCC or the Commerce Commission. In Queensland, report scalping at the listed venues to police.