RAT race: The extreme sport of finding rapid antigen tests in Australia

People desperate for rapid antigen tests are offering as much as $100 to buy them online and relying on friends overseas for supply as Australia’s consumer watchdog probes more than 1000 reports of price gouging.

People are spending up to $80 for a single rapid test via the Airtasker app, which has become a hotbed for RAT trade after eBay, Facebook and Gumtree banned the sale of the tests, even though the federal government last week announced anti-price gouging measures, including fines of up to $66,600 and prison time.

Gig-economy app AirTasker has hundreds of listings across the country from people desperate to buy rapid antigen tests.Credit: Airtasker

Airtasker hosts hundreds of posts from people across the country looking for rapid tests, in some cases offering more than $100 for a single test.

Bayswater woman Jo Rooney posted a request for some to deliver her a rapid test for $60, as she had no other way to find out if she was positive with COVID-19 while waiting six days for a PCR result last week. When the first offer came in from a man nearby who wanted $80 she took it.

“[It] seems a ridiculous amount of money but at that stage, I just didn’t know how long [the wait would be for her PCR result] and I’d read reports of people waiting over a week and then receiving a message saying their sample was no longer usable and they need to be retested,” Ms Rooney said.

“I have the resources to be able to pay a ridiculous amount of money for a RAT for my own peace of mind but not everyone does, or has access to that. Some people are stuck at home by themselves and just can’t get hold of one.”

Rod Harris, 68, is undergoing chemotherapy and has been unable to secure any rapid tests since December. He is awaiting the arrival of test kits posted by a friend from Thailand.Credit: Jason South

Others such as 68-year-old Melbourne chemotherapy patient Rod Harris are relying on friends overseas to mail rapid tests to them.

Mr Harris hasn’t been able to source a rapid antigen test locally since December, and there is no government prioritisation of rapid tests for cancer patients.

“It’s all about people who are necessary for the economy, or getting back to school and of course the health sector,” he said.

The Kew man, diagnosed with lymphoma, has been living in a self-imposed lockdown since he began treatment in November.

Mr Harris and his wife will go to the shops for essentials, but that’s it. With his immune system “wiped out” from monthly chemotherapy sessions, they are too frightened to go on social outings or have friends and family into their home without the security of rapid tests.

Even his mandatory PCR tests which are required before he goes into hospital for monthly chemotherapy are not being returned in time before his sessions.

These rapid tests are on their way to Melbourne man Rod Harris, currently undergoing chemo, from a friend in Thailand.Credit: Dustin Harris (Supplied)

Mr Harris’ friend Dustin Barter, a former Melburnian living in Thailand as an aid worker, is sending parcels of rapid tests to friends and family in Melbourne who can’t get their hands on them locally.

In Chiang Mai in northern Thailand where he lives, government-regulated rapid tests cost between $2 and $4 each and can be easily ordered online and delivered, or bought from pharmacies and convenience stores.

“You can order packs online and get them delivered within two to three days. A pack of 20 is about $40,” Mr Barter said.

He said he was astounded at the RAT shortages in Australia. “It’s not like the rapid tests are a new technology or anything. They’ve been using them for a long time in the UK, and they are highly effective. It’s baffling.”

In Australia, many have found crowdsourced website findarat.com.au, developed by 24-year-old Melbourne software engineer Matthew Hayward, a double-edged sword as crowds flock to retailers as soon as they are listed on the website as having stock.

Some have found more luck in numerous localised Facebook groups, such as Rapid Antigen Tests (Covid-19) Brisbane, started by Brisbane kindergarten teacher Angela Owens.

Ms Owens started the group for locals two weeks ago, furious with price gouging she saw happening around the city. Her group now has over 10,000 members who post dozens of real-time tips on shops in Brisbane with stock.

“People are posting [in the group] as they are lining up in the shop, so it’s in real time – not later logging data later on that night when they get home,” she said.

“[Locals] can then say ‘Oh great, I can duck down and be there in half an hour’,” she said.

Illustration: Matt GoldingCredit: .

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last week launched inquiries into more than 1000 reports of price gouging from the public, and a spokesman confirmed this week that apps like Airtasker were part of their purview.

“The ACCC is also looking at reports regarding the pricing of rapid tests on online marketplaces, and most have policies in place to prevent the sale of such items,” a spokesman said.

A spokeswoman for Airtasker said the platform had no concerns about the trade on the platform.

“Airtasker’s priority is to create a community that follows regulation, while connecting people that need things done, with those who have the skill or ability to do the task,” she said.

“In this instance, it’s providing RAT tests, which is helping Australians do the right thing and stay in isolation.”

The federal government’s anti-price gouging measures, which will be in place until February 17, prohibit people who bought test kits from a retailer on-selling them for more than 120 per cent of what they paid, exporting them without a valid exemption.

The federal government said on Friday there were 200 million test kits on the way to Australia when state and federal orders were combined, although this includes shipments over several months.

The government has said it expects to distribute 10 million RATs to states and territories this week and next, while it had another 80 million units on order.

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