A Tasmanian rideshare driver held at knifepoint by a passenger last month says he no longer feels safe working in the sector.

Mo* said in mid-July he picked up two passengers in Mayfield, a suburb of Launceston, when, only a few hundred metres into the drive, they asked him to pull over so they could get something out of the boot.

When Mo went to help them open it, he said he had a knife pressed against him.

"He started threatening me, and by the time it was happening, the person who was sitting in the front passenger seat [had] stolen [my] phone," he said.

"I was literally begging. I was saying that I'm having financial commitments and lots of other issues and that's why I'm doing this late [work] and I haven't slept overnight and please don't do this to me."

Eventually, Mo was able to fight back, but the two men fled with his phone, for which he was still paying a monthly repayment fee.

Tasmania Police said it was investigating an alleged armed robbery after two offenders reportedly "threatened a rideshare driver and stole his phone while in the possession of a knife".

It said officers were "following a specific line of inquiry" over the incident.

Rideshare drivers face attacks 'all the time'

Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine said unfortunately, incidents like Mo's were not uncommon — and highlighted the vulnerability of rideshare workers.

"We've got rideshare drivers facing attacks and abuse all the time, carjacking, damage to vehicles, harassment, violence," Mr Kaine said.

In August, a 32-year-old Tasmanian man from Orford was charged over a separate incident involving a rideshare driver.

Police said the man was a passenger in a rideshare vehicle when he "allegedly assaulted the driver and attempted to take [their] vehicle".

Driver can't recover cost of stolen phone

Mo said, in his case, Uber offered him free over-the-phone counselling when he reported the incident to the company.

He was also told to make an insurance claim — but as he was not physically injured, he did not proceed.

But, when he asked about getting the cost of replacing his stolen phone covered and his income loss from not driving, he was told he was not eligible.

That was because he was classified as an independent contractor, rather than an employee.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Uber said it "strongly condemned any criminal or violent activity against any driver partners".

"We have been in touch with the driver-partner to offer our support."

The spokesperson said drivers on the Uber platform were covered by a "support package", which includes insurance should an accident or injury occur while driving.

'Law has not kept pace' with gig economy, union says

Workers' compensation lawyer Mylinda Purtell said gig economy workers typically fell outside of the coverage of compensation schemes.

Those schemes are designed for workers in formal employment relationships, as opposed to independent contractors, she said.

"So in Tasmania, unfortunately, delivery drivers, rideshare gig workers, are not covered under the traditional workers' compensation scheme that we have," Ms Purtell said.

She said it left workers vulnerable and often apprehensive about coming forward when an incident happened.

Madeleine Ogilvie, who was Tasmania's Minister for Small Business and Consumer Affairs until a cabinet reshuffle this week, said the government was working at "a national level with key stakeholders and other jurisdictions" to understand how worker protections could be strengthened "regardless of employment type".

"A key focus of this work is, and will continue to be, maximising the safety of workers in the gig economy."

She said contractors were also able to take out their own workers' compensation insurance.

"The Tasmanian government is working with all Australian jurisdictions to develop a national policy approach to workers' compensation and the gig economy."

Federal law changes come into force

Federal law changes that came into effect on Monday, as part of the second tranche of the federal government's Closing Loopholes legislation, have helped strengthen some aspects of gig economy work.

The industrial relations reforms are set to help the Fair Work Commission set minimum standards for gig economy workers, who will be considered "employee-like" if they meet certain criteria.

But Mr Kaine said these improvements would not address all the challenges — including workers' compensation, which is a state issue.

The New South Wales government has said it is also looking at state reforms, as is the Queensland government.

Last month, the NSW government announced it would legislate "long-overdue protections for gig workers in food delivery and ride share sectors, delivery drivers and truck drivers".

It said this would include empowering the state's Industrial Relations Commission to set minimum pay and conditions for gig workers in the transport sector and prevent companies from trying to redefine gig workers to "get around these reforms".

A spokesperson for Uber said the organisation was "deeply committed to the safety of everyone who earns on the Uber platform and [had] a number of guidelines and features in place with the goal of keeping them safe."

*Name has been changed for privacy