The Coalition government did introduce legislation creating a Sharing Economy Reporting Regime (SERR) following a 2017 recommendation from Treasury's Black Economy Taskforce [1].
The Bill was introduced to Parliament at the end of September 2021 and was being reviewed by the Economics Legislation Committee when industry raised concerns [1].
Tech Council of Australia (TCA) CEO Ashley Moreland testified before the Economics Legislation Committee on October 6, 2021, stating: "To illustrate the breadth of this definition, it includes appointment booking engines for medical practices -- so I have a member health engine, which is a service that allows a patient to find a suitable medical practitioner in the area and book and prepay for that appointment...
" " [ [ 1 1 ] ]
Now under the proposed legislation, this platform would be caught and that means any GPS or medical service providers offering services via this platform would then become liable by the platform operator to report very detailed and sensitive information, [a patient's] full name, their birthday, their bank account details, their email address, net and gross income." [1]
The Bill as initially drafted applied to "electronic platforms" where services are offered and a buyer accepts and makes a payment for that service - a definition the TCA argued was too broad [1].
The Legislation Was Subsequently Refined**
The initial broad definition raised during the October 2021 hearings did NOT remain in the final legislation.
Notably, the ATO's guidance on "transactions exempt from reporting under the SERR" includes examples of "mere bookings" - specifically citing taxi booking platforms that only facilitate bookings without payment handling as exempt from reporting [3].
**2.
Medical Platforms Were Not Ultimately Caught**
The final legislation distinguishes between platforms that merely facilitate bookings and platforms where actual services/payments are processed.
While the claim implies medical appointment booking platforms would be "required to ingest" patient financial details and report them, the final SERR framework exempts mere booking functions from reporting obligations.
The SERR Only Applies to Specific Sharing Economy Activities**
The final regime is limited to recognized sharing economy activities (rideshare, short-term accommodation, asset hire, food delivery, etc.), not all "electronic platforms" [2].
The ZDNet article is by Campbell Kwan, a tech contributor, and reports on parliamentary committee hearings from the Tech Council of Australia and Deliveroo representatives.
However, the article reports on the **proposed** bill as it was being considered in October 2021, not the final legislation that was subsequently enacted.
**Did Labor support or oppose this regime?**
While Labor's explicit position during the Coalition's consideration of SERR is not clearly documented in available sources, the fact that the final SERR was implemented and continues to operate under the subsequent Labor government (elected May 2022) indicates Labor accepted the framework [2].
* * * *
No significant Labor opposition to SERR post-implementation is evident in available records.
The Black Economy Taskforce report that recommended SERR was released in 2017 during the Turnbull Coalition government, but addressing the black economy and improving tax compliance has been a bipartisan concern across multiple governments.
**The Valid Concern:**
The original claim touches on a real issue that industry raised during parliamentary consultation - the initial bill's definition of "electronic platforms" was indeed very broad and threatened to capture platforms not intended by policymakers [1].
原始 yuán shǐ 说法 shuō fǎ 触及 chù jí 了 le 业界 yè jiè 在 zài 议会 yì huì 咨询 zī xún 期间 qī jiān 提出 tí chū 的 de 一个 yí gè 真正 zhēn zhèng 问题 wèn tí — — — — 最初 zuì chū 法案 fǎ àn 对 duì " " 电子 diàn zi 平台 píng tái " " 的 de 定义 dìng yì 确实 què shí 非常 fēi cháng 宽泛 kuān fàn , , 有 yǒu 可能 kě néng 涵盖 hán gài 政策 zhèng cè 制定者 zhì dìng zhě 无意 wú yì 涉及 shè jí 的 de 平台 píng tái [ [ 1 1 ] ] 。 。
The TCA and Deliveroo's concerns about over-collection of sensitive personal data and compliance costs were legitimate policy feedback [1].
**The Resolution:**
However, the government took this feedback seriously.
The final SERR that was enacted (which became law under the Coalition and remains under Labor) is substantially more targeted than the initially proposed version.
* * * * 解决方案 jiě jué fāng àn : : * * * *
The regime now specifically identifies which activities trigger reporting obligations and provides exemptions for "mere bookings" - meaning medical appointment booking platforms that don't process payments would not be caught [3].
**Why the Broader Language Was Initially Used:**
Policy drafting often uses broad language in exposure drafts to ensure all stakeholders understand the full scope being considered.
The SERR went through this normal process [1], [2].
**Key Context:**
The government implemented a regime specifically targeted at the sharing economy (rideshare, short-term accommodation, etc.) where participants often operate in a gray area regarding tax obligations [2].
The claim accurately describes the concern raised about the **proposed** bill in October 2021 - medical appointment booking platforms would have been caught by the initial broad definition [1].
In reality, the final SERR that was enacted is substantially narrower, specifically exempts "mere bookings," and medical platforms are not caught by the regime [2], [3].
该 gāi 说法 shuō fǎ 在 zài 拟议 nǐ yì 法案 fǎ àn 的 de 技术 jì shù 层面 céng miàn 属实 shǔ shí , , 但 dàn 在 zài 实际 shí jì 实施 shí shī 的 de 立法 lì fǎ 层面 céng miàn 不 bù 属实 shǔ shí 。 。
The claim is technically true about the proposed bill but false about the legislation as actually implemented.
By presenting this as what the government "introduced" without clarifying that the legislation was substantially revised before enactment, the claim creates a misleading impression of careless drafting that was corrected through the normal legislative process.
The claim accurately describes the concern raised about the **proposed** bill in October 2021 - medical appointment booking platforms would have been caught by the initial broad definition [1].
In reality, the final SERR that was enacted is substantially narrower, specifically exempts "mere bookings," and medical platforms are not caught by the regime [2], [3].
该 gāi 说法 shuō fǎ 在 zài 拟议 nǐ yì 法案 fǎ àn 的 de 技术 jì shù 层面 céng miàn 属实 shǔ shí , , 但 dàn 在 zài 实际 shí jì 实施 shí shī 的 de 立法 lì fǎ 层面 céng miàn 不 bù 属实 shǔ shí 。 。
The claim is technically true about the proposed bill but false about the legislation as actually implemented.
By presenting this as what the government "introduced" without clarifying that the legislation was substantially revised before enactment, the claim creates a misleading impression of careless drafting that was corrected through the normal legislative process.