The Uber files: firm knew it launched illegally in Australia, then leaned on governments to change the law
Uber understood it was operating illegally when it launched in Australia and fiercely lobbied governments to legalise its lucrative Australian operations, documents leaked to the Guardian reveal.
Taxis and hire cars are required by Australian state laws to obtain a licence prior to operating, but Uber set up shop in Australia in 2012 without the required permits.
It is a tactic the company has used repeatedly in markets around the world: launch first, establish a loyal customer base, and then lobby aggressively for laws to be changed.
Remarkable details of Uber’s Australian operations are detailed in the Uber files, an unprecedented leak of company data to the Guardian.
By January 2015, business in Australia was booming: Sydney had become its seventh and Melbourne its eighth biggest “unprotected” market – one where the company’s operations were not yet lawful and revenue was at risk – according to a presentation given to executives.
In April 2015, the company’s head of public policy, Corey Owens, urged his team to ramp up their lobbying efforts. “Ops has poured gasoline on the fire, so now it’s up to us to protect what they’ve built,” he said in an email to his team.
In September 2015, in a presentation to managers in Las Vegas, another Uber executive acknowledged that the company was “still not regulated in any Australian state”.
“Regulator very grumpy, yet modest levels of enforcement,” notes from the presentation read.
The ACT made Uber legal in October 2015, but most of the states did not begin to legitimise the service until the following year.
Uber’s ultimate success in Australia had a devastating effect on holders of taxi licences, and “presents a serious case study of regulatory failure”, according to Michael Donnelly, a
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