We’re sharing the wealth

Aussies making motza in spare time

AUSSIES are a sharing and caring bunch – and earning a good buck in the process.

More than one in five Australians are earning some extra income from the sharing economy, according to new research from comparison website Finder.com.au.

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’re earning an average $7300 a year from these side jobs, with Uber drivers pocket- ing $10,490 in the past 12 months, property owners earning $8140, and people running 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,” she said.

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

Ms Hassan 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 didn’t own a house.

Airbnb’s head of public policy, 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.

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

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