Ticketek’s terms and conditions say it acts as an agent that sells tickets, but event organisers or venues decide how much they will cost.

Australian players celebrate taking a wicket against England in their Women’s Ashes match at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval on Friday. Source: AAP / Linda Higginson

A Ticketek spokesperson said its service fees are “clearly outlined” throughout the transaction process.

It comes amid growing frustration at ticketing platforms over what have been labelled hidden fees, an issue the federal government says it wants to tackle.

‘Wasn’t obvious’

“It was a bit strange having to pay a service fee for an online service versus an actual human.”

Promotional material from the time says tickets for those under 18 years old were free, though SBS News was not able to confirm the service fee charged at that time. Tickets for older attendees were $10.

What’s in a service fee — and are they fair?

But it’s a “little more grey” if the fee is applied per transaction, rather than per ticket.

He said sometimes these fees can be “excessive and pretty unreasonable”.

Federal government action

“Hidden fees and traps are putting even more pressure on the cost of living and it needs to stop.”