More finding ways to earn from sharing

AUSSIES are a sharing and caring bunch — earning good money in the process — and are set to start sharing more experiences with strangers.

More than one in five Australians is earning some extra income from the sharing economy, research from comparison website Finder.com.au has found.

Whether driving with Uber, renting out rooms, or doing small jobs with Airtasker, 22 per cent of people were using online platforms to make money from their spare time or spare assets, Finder’s survey of more than 2000 people found.

They are earning an average of $7300 a year from these side jobs, with Uber drivers pocketing $10,490 in the past 12 months, property owners earning $8140, and people run- ning errands averaging $590.

Finder.com.au spokeswoman Bessie Hassan said 36 per cent of millennials were making money from these new technology platforms, and 11 per cent of Baby Boomers were also generating some income on the side.

“One in 10 Baby Boomers have rented out a property or a spare bedroom through the shared economy on platforms like Airbnb,” Ms Hassan said.

People most likely to earn extra income already had fulltime jobs, the research found.

She said some sharing economy platforms were a “side hustle for the haves and not the have nots” because you could not earn money from renting out a room if you did not own a house.

A recent report by Deloitte Access Economics — Economic effects of Airbnb in Aus- tralia: Tasmania — found that Airbnb guests who stayed in Tasmania supported almost 600 jobs and contributed $55 million to the state.

Airbnb’s head of public policy ANZ, Brent Thomas, said the next wave in the sharing economy would be people using online platforms to offer personal experiences.

These might include surfing lessons or coffee tours by insiders with local knowledge. Some travel sites are already promoting these experiences.

Research this year by Canstar found more than twothirds of Australians had used a sharing economy service in the previous six-month period.

A Productivity Commission research paper found the sharing economy was moving faster than legislation could be created.