Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he will come down hard on “dodgy” pricing tactics used by ticket sellers, hotels, and gyms after customers expressed outrage about the rising hidden costs of concert fees.

Green Day fans were furious last month after prices surged above the prices initially advertised once they were in the queue.

Dynamic pricing is the practice of lifting the price or adding extra fees due to increased demand. The technique is also used for some popular sporting events, for example, the Australian Grand Prix and the Australian Open.

The practice has caused outrage globally in the past year with UK fans complaining after Oasis tickets jumped significantly whilst they were queueing to buy them.

“We’re taking strong action to stop businesses from engaging in dodgy practices that rip consumers off,”  Albanese said on Tuesday.

As well as dynamic pricing, he said the federal government is also planning to come down hard on other “unfair” business practices such as subscriptions you can’t opt out of and marketing tools that employ fear and fake urgency.

“Businesses engaging in unfair trading practices (are) on notice,” Albanese said. “Hidden fees and traps are putting even more pressure on the cost of living and it needs to stop.”

The government has not said when it will adjust the consumer laws, however, for the travel industry the main question is whether this will impact airlines and other transport providers.

In the airline industry, it is common to see prices surge ahead of big sporting events and public holidays. Uber also regularly ups the cost of rides when there is high customer demand.

The jury is still out, however, according to the Financial Times, airlines and rideshares are unlikely to be impacted because they advertise higher prices upfront.

Ben Griffiths, a cultural sociologist with Griffith University, said dynamic pricing in the hotel and airline industry has not caused the same outrage as concert tickets.

“This seems to be one of those issues where there’s a passionate reaction from the public that something is beyond the pale.”

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