Sharing the future: Getting policy right in the Age of the App

Transcription

1 : Getting policy right in the Age of the App Federal Opposition Discussion Paper Canberra 24 March 2015

2 2 The rise of the sharing economy is fundamentally reshaping how some Australians buy and sell services. New app-based companies now offer a way for the owners of private goods to sell access and provide services to other consumers, bypassing traditional providers in the process. Already, a variety of companies are using this peer-to-peer or collaborative consumption model in different ways. At present, the two largest companies in the Australian sharing economy are AirBNB and Uber, acting as conduits for accommodation and transport services respectively. Internationally, however, the sharing economy encompasses everything from labour hire (TaskRabbit; Handy) to pet care (DogVacay; PawShake), parking (ParkHound; MonkeyParking) and equipment rental (Spinlister; Snapgoods). Australian consumers are embracing these new sharing economy services. The rapid local growth of services like AirBNB and Uber offers some indication of the potential growth of this sector as a whole: According to AirBNB, as of late 2014 there were approximately 30,000 Australian hosts offering properties, a 96 per cent increase over the preceding 12 months. Internationally, the company claims that more than 25 million guests have already stayed in an AirBnB-listed property in one of 34,000 cities across 190 countries. Uber has been operating in Australia since 2012, and has now expanded to eight Australian cities. UberX launched in Sydney in April By the end of the year, one in ten Sydneysiders had used a ride sharing service. Labor believes there is strong potential in this peer-to-peer market. Australia has a housing affordability crisis, yet there are nine million spare bedrooms across the nation. Our major cities are in gridlock, yet the vast majority of cars carry only one person. Many people own a power drill, yet use it less than an hour a year. Sharing economy services can help Australians make more efficient use of our existing stock of bedrooms, cars, tools and more. However, while these services have proven popular with consumers, they currently exist in a regulatory grey area or in outright contravention of existing laws. Furthermore, they raise serious issues in relation to public safety, workers rights, tax and accessibility. These issues must be addressed to the community s satisfaction if these services are to find a permanent home in the Australian marketplace. Labor wants to see Australians share the benefits of the sharing economy. But we also want to make sure we have the right rules in place to protect workers, consumers and the public good as they do so. This is a tricky balance and in a fast-moving digital context it will be a challenge to get it right. That is why Labor is inviting public submissions on the important issues raised in this Discussion Paper. We want to involve Australians in an open conversation about the kind of rules we need to govern the sharing economy both today and into the future as these services evolve. This feedback, underpinned by Labor s own values of fairness,

3 3 egalitarianism and concern for workers rights, will guide our thinking as we build our policy response. The following pages flag some of the key regulatory challenges posed by the rise of the sharing economy. We invite detailed submissions responding to the full sweep of these issues. We also welcome focused responses addressing individual topics. Submissions will close on 1 June Please visit to lodge a response.

4 4 Current challenges Employment and workers rights The world of work is changing as new types of goods and services emerge and digital connectivity disrupts traditional company structures. The sharing economy demonstrates this shift as large numbers of individuals sell their labour or services directly to consumers through a central coordinating platform. While they may provide services under a company s brand, they are generally not employees in the traditional sense of having set hours, guaranteed wages, conditions and entitlements. Some workers may appreciate the flexibility offered by jobs in the sharing economy. But others will not welcome new competition from companies which may put downward pressure on wages and further advance the worrying casualisation of work. Australians value the rights and protections offered by our current industrial relations frameworks. Ensuring appropriate employment standards in the sharing economy will benefit its workers while protecting these standards across the wider workforce. How can we ensure the most vulnerable Australian workers are protected as the sharing economy grows? What key standards should be enforced to protect workers rights in the sharing economy? Workers in the sharing economy are generally classed as independent contractors to the companies they deliver services for is this an appropriate definition of the relationship? How can we ensure that workers and companies in the sharing economy share the costs and risks of delivering services in a fair way? Public safety and consumer protections When Australian consumers buy goods and services through traditional service providers, they are protected by a framework of rules which guarantee their safety and legal rights. This includes being covered by appropriate insurance in the event of injury or serious harm, and having recourse to legal avenues if services are not up to scratch. Consumers can also take comfort in knowing that goods, equipment and premises are generally subject to external oversight through government licensing and inspection schemes. At present, sharing economy services largely self-regulate through internal company rules and online public feedback systems. For example, some sharing economy services conduct private background checks on their providers, and others carry out

5 5 spot inspections of the services being delivered under their brand. Public ratings and feedback systems also allow consumers to make informed choices about which providers to transact with. However, it is not clear that these internal processes and feedback mechanisms are sufficient to guarantee public safety or consumer rights. The lack of transparency about how these schemes operate, coupled with a lack of legal enforcement mechanisms, raises questions about whether Australian consumes are appropriately protected when using sharing economy services. What are the basic public safety standards that sharing economy providers should be required to meet? What role should government licensing and inspection schemes play in guaranteeing standards amongst sharing economy providers? What kinds of insurance should sharing economy providers be required to hold? How effective are public ratings systems as a mechanism for regulating service quality in the sharing economy? Accessibility Australian law mandates accessibility standards which ensure that people with disability are able to participate fully in our community. These include disability access requirements for public buildings and accommodation, minimum service standards for taxis and enhanced user functions for online services. While some sharing economy providers may well be taking steps to make their services available to people with disability, it is clear that many do not currently meet the accessibility standards Australians expect and deserve. Australians with disability have a fundamental right to live active, engaged lives. This includes having access to a full range of goods and services. Governments have a key role to play in ensuring accessibility is promoted and maintained as new services emerge. What is the most effective way to ensure sharing economy services are accessible for people with disability? What role should governments play in monitoring and enforcing access standards for sharing economy services?

6 6 Equity Australia is a proudly egalitarian country. Our community is not defined by divisions of class, wealth or heritage as those in many other countries are. Yet inequality has been rising in Australia in recent decades, creating an increasing gap between high-paid and low-paid workers, and a growing gap in the spending power of those at the top and bottom. Sharing economy services offer the potential for low-income Australians to access services that might otherwise be out of their reach. But at the same time, they may place downward pressure on wages in some industries. What safeguards should be put in place to ensure the rise of the sharing economy helps to foster a more egalitarian Australia? Taxation Sharing economy services may represent a new type of economic activity, but this does not mean that activity falls outside of Australia s current tax structures. Sharing economy services make use of many public assets which are funded through the tax system, including roads and telecommunications infrastructure. It is fair, therefore, that all sharing economy companies generating profit in Australia should pay Australian company tax. Furthermore, all Australians earning income in Australia through sharing economy services should pay tax on those earnings. Governments will need to work in partnership with sharing economy companies to ensure that paying tax is easy and efficient for these new services. What is the most efficient way to ensure sharing economy providers can easily declare and pay tax on their income? How can we ensure that global sharing economy services pay an appropriate amount of company tax in Australia? Competition Sharing economy services have emerged as serious competitors to traditional service providers within a short period of time. However, when traditional providers are bound by rules and regulations which sharing economy services do not observe, this becomes a source of unfair competition. Companies operating in Australia should be subject to a fair set of rules, regardless of whether they deliver services through a traditional company model or within the sharing economy. Fair competition benefits consumers by encouraging companies to innovate and offer a better deal. Governments should not pick winners by protecting some industries through regulation, or letting others gain an advantage from the lack of it. The task of

7 7 policymakers is to set up a system which supports fair competition and allows consumers to decide what best meets their needs. What steps need to be taken to create a level playing field between sharing economy companies and traditional service providers? How can markets which have formerly faced limited competition be made more open in ways which recognise the existing value that traditional service providers have invested in their businesses? What aspects of existing regulation for traditional service providers should be reconsidered or revised as part of efforts to regulate the sharing economy? Federal/state coordination Responsibility for regulating many of the sectors which have seen the largest growth in sharing economy services currently falls with Australia s state and territory governments. To date, these governments have shown varying levels of tolerance for these new services. Some states have attempted outright bans, while others are currently considering options for bringing individual services inside the regulatory envelope. What role should the federal government play in setting standards and regulatory frameworks for the sharing economy? Should federal and state governments cooperate to ensure a consistent national approach to the sharing economy? Would model legislation, adopted in one jurisdiction and copied by other states and territories, provide an effective mechanism for the seamless national regulation of the sharing economy? Would competition payments be a useful mechanism for encouraging state governments to pursue regulatory reforms which will facilitate the sharing economy? Further regulatory issues The issues canvassed in this paper represent the key concerns which have emerged through Labor s consultations with business, peak bodies and the community. We welcome input on additional regulatory issues which have not been addressed here. Are there additional regulatory issues which governments should give consideration to in relation to the sharing economy?