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Prostitution in Australia is governed by state and territory laws, which vary considerably; and Federal legislation also has an impact on some aspects of prostitution throughout Australia, and of Australian citizens and residents outside of the country.

The act of prostitution (exchanging sex for money) has a complex legal status in all jurisdictions around Australia. Brothels are legal in Queenslandmarker, New South Walesmarker, Victoriamarker and the Australian Capital Territorymarker, but not in South Australiamarker, the Northern Territorymarker, Tasmaniamarker and Western Australiamarker. Brothels are often regulated by local council planning laws. Street prostitution is illegal in all states of Australia except New South Walesmarker, where it is prohibited near churches, schools, hospitals and similar venues. Related activities, such as offering premises for the purposes of use as a brothel are often illegal.

Most Australian states have liberalized their laws in the late twentieth century. However, this process has been restricted by upper houses of Parliament of several States, with legislation either being defeated or extensively amended. Nearly all states and territories have attempted some form of liberalisation.

A survey conducted in the early 2000s showed that 15.6% of Australian men aged 16–59 have paid for sex at least once in their life and 1.9% had done so in the past year. Men who had paid for sex were more likely than other men to smoke, to drink more alcohol, to have had a sexually transmitted infection or been tested for HIV, to have more sexual partners, to have first had vaginal intercourse before 16, and to have had heterosexual anal intercourse.

Australia is not a party to the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others of 1949. It has implemented in 1999 the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, to which it is a party. Australia has also ratified on 8 January, 2007 the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, which requires it to prohibit, besides other things, child prostitution. For the purpose of the Protocol, a child is any human being under the age of 18, unless an earlier age of majority is recognized by a country's law. In all Australian jurisdictions, the minimum age at which a person can engage in prostitution is 18 years.

It an offence for an Australian citizen or an Australian resident in a foreign country to engage in sexual intercourse or commit or submit to an act of indecency with a person under the age of 16, irrespective of whether the conduct would also be a criminal offence under the law of the foreign country (a situation which can arise where the local age of consent is lower than 16).

Australian Capital Territory

Brothels are legal in the Australian Capital Territorymarker (ACT). The Prostitution Act 1992 
reformed the territory's prostitution laws. The most recent legislation is the  Prostitution Amendment Act 2002.


Further reading



New South Wales

Brothels are legal in New South Walesmarker, under the Summary Offences Act 1988. The only activities that are illegal are:
  • living on the earnings of a prostitute, although persons who own or manage a brothel are exempt
  • causing or inducing prostitution
  • using premises, or allowing premises to be used, for prostitution that are held out as being available for massage, sauna baths, steam baths, facilities for exercise or photographic studios
  • advertising that a premises is used for prostitution, or advertising for prostitutes
  • soliciting for prostitution near or within view of a dwelling, school, church or hospital
  • advertising that anal penetration will take place


History

New South Walesmarker inherited much of the problems of port cities, penal colonies and the gender imbalance of colonial life. The 1859 Select Committee into the Condition of the Working Classes of the Metropolis described widespread prostitution. Nineteenth century legislation included the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1883 and Police Offences Act 1901. Attempts to pass contagious diseases legislation were resisted, and unlike other States, legislative control was minimal till the general attack on 'vice' of the first decade of the twentieth century which resulted in the Police Offences Amendment Act 1908, and the Prisoners Detention Act.

Eventually New South Wales became a model for debates on liberalising prostitution laws starting with the Prostitution Act 1979, although community pressure led to some subsequent recriminalisation of street work with the Prostitution (Amendment) Act 1983. s8A stipulates that;

(1) A person in a public street shall not, near a dwelling, school, church or hospital, solicit another person for the purpose of prostitution …

(2) A person shall not, in a school, church or hospital, solicit another person for the purpose of prostitution.

Further decriminalisation of premises followed with the

putting into place of recommendations from the Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly Upon Prostitution (1983-6). The current regulatory framework is based on the Crimes Act 1900, Disorderly Houses Act 1943 (renamed Restricted Premises Act in 2002), Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, and Summary Offences Act 1988. Traditionally prostitution in Sydneymarker was centred around King's Crossmarker. New South Wales is the only Australian state that legalizes street prostitution.

Further reading

  • Golder H., Allen J., "Prostitution in New South Wales, 1870-1930: Restructuring an Industry", in Refractory Girl, Volumes 18/19, December/January 1979-80, pp. 17-25
  • Allen, J., "The making of a prostitute proletariat in early twentieth-century New South Wales", in Daniels, K., (ed.) So Much Hard Work: Women and prostitution in Australian history, Fontana Collins, Sydney 1984, pp. 192-232


Northern Territory

Brothels are illegal. In the Northern Territorymarker, under the Prostitution Regulation Act 2004, the Northern Territory Licensing Commission can license Northern Territory residents for a licence to operate an escort agency business. Street work is illegal, while sole operators are legal and un-regulated.

History

Unlike other parts of Australia, the Northern Territorymarker remained largely Aboriginal for much longer, and Europeans were predominantly male. Inevitably this brought European males into close proximity with Aboriginal women. There has been much debate as to whether the hiring of Aboriginal women (Black Velvet) as domestic labour but also as sexual partners constituted prostitution or not. Certainly these inter-racial liaisons attracted much criticism. Once the Commonwealth took over the territory from South Australia in 1911, it saw its role as protecting the indigenous population, and there was considerable debate about employment standards and the practice of 'consorting'. In 2004 The Suppression of Brothels Act 1907 (SA) in its application to the Territory was repealed by the Prostitution Regulation Act.

Further reading

  • McGrath A. 'Black Velvet': Aboriginal women and their relations with white men in the Northern territory, 1910-40, in Daniels K (ed.) So Much Hard Work: Women and prostitution in Australian history. Fontana Collins, Sydney 1984, pp. 15-86


Queensland

Brothels are legal. They are licensed by the Prostitution Licensing Authority (PLA)].

There are two types of sex work that are legal in Queensland:
  • Private sex work: A single sex worker working alone. It is an offence for such a worker to solicit publicly. Advertising is permitted with restrictions on the wording.
  • Sex work in a licensed brothel.


All other forms of sex work remain illegal, including more than one worker sharing a premise, street prostitution, unlicensed brothels or massage parlours used for sex work, and outcalls from licensed brothels.

History

Much emphasis was placed in colonial Queenslandmarker on the role of immigration and the indigenous population in introducing and sustaining prostitution, while organisations such as the Social Purity Society described what they interpreted as widespread female depravity. concerns led to the Act for the Suppression of Contagious Diseases 1868 and brothels were defined in section 231 of the Queensland Criminal Code in 1897. A further act relating to venereal disease control was the Health Act Amendment Act 1911.

The Fitzgerald Report (Commission of Inquiry into “Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct") of 1989 led to widespread concern regarding the operation of the laws, and consequently a more specific inquiry (Criminal Justice Commission. Regulating morality? An inquiry into prostitution in Queensland) in 1991. This in turn resulted in two pieces of legislation, the Prostitution Laws Amendment Act 1992 and the Prostitution Act 1999 .

References



South Australia

Brothels are illegal in South Australiamarker, under the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 and the Summary Offences Act 1953. An inquiry into prostitution was held in 1996

and the Police minister introduced a number of Bills in 1999 to revise the laws and decriminalise prostitution. The bills were passed by the House of Assembly as the Prostitution (Regulation) Bill 2000, but were defeated by the Legislative Council the following year. The current government is not expect to reintroduce the bills.

History

Despite the intentions of the founders, prostitution became identified early in the history of the colony, and various government reports during the nineteenth century refer to estimates of the number of people working in prostitution. Following the scandal described by WT Stead in the UK, there was much discussion of the white slave trade in Adelaide, and similar legislation to the UK Criminal Law Amendment Act, the Criminal Law Consolidation Amendment Act 1885 was enacted, making it an offence to procure the defilement of a female by fraud or threat. Opinions were divided as to whether to address the issue of prostitution by social reform and 'prevention', or by legislation, and many debates were held concerning the need for licensing and regulation.

References

  • Horan S. 'More sinned against than sinning'?: Prostitution in South Australia, 1836-1914, in Daniels K (ed.) So Much Hard Work: Women and prostitution in Australian history. Fontana Collins, Sydney 1984, pp. 87-126


Tasmania

Brothels are illegal. The Sex Industry Offences Act 2005 states that a person must not be a commercial operator of a sexual services business - that is, "someone who is not a self-employed sex worker and who, whether alone or with another person, operates, owns, manages or is in day-to-day control of a sexual services business". This law explicitly outlines that it is illegal to assault a sex worker, to receive commercial sexual services, or provide or receive sexual services unless a prophylactic is used. In 2008, the Justice Department conducted a review of the 2005 Act and received a number of submissions, in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

History

Prostitution has existed in Tasmaniamarker since its early days as a penal colony, when large numbers of convict women started arriving in the 1820s. Some of the women who were transported there already had criminal records related to prostitution. Prostitution was not so much a profession as a way of life for some women to make ends meet, particularly in a society in which there was a marked imbalance of gender, and convict women had no other means of income. Certainly brothels were established by the end of the 1820s, and records show girls as young as 12 were involved. Nevertheless, the concept of 'fallen women' and division of women into 'good' and 'bad' was well established. The Van Diemen's Land Asylum for the Protection of Destitute and Unfortunate Females (1848) was the first establishment for women so designated. Other attempts were the Penitent's Homes and Magdalen Asylums as rescue missions. In 1879 like other British colonies, Tasmania passed a Contagious Diseases Act (based on similar UK legislation of the 1860s), and established Lock Hospitals in an attempt to prevent venereal diseases amongst the armed forces, at the instigation of the Royal Navy. The Act ceased to operate in 1903 in the face of repeal movements. However there was little attempt to suppress prostitution itself. What action there was against prostitution was mainly to keep it out of the public eye, using vagrancy laws. Otherwise the police ignored or colluded with prostitution.

More specific legislation dates from the early twentieth century, such as the Criminal Code Act 1924 (Crimes against Morality), and the Police Offences Act 1935. Efforts to reform legislation that was clearly ineffective began in the 1990s. Prior to the 2005 Act, soliciting by a prostitute, living on the earnings of a prostitute, keeping a disorderly house and letting a house to a tenant to use as a disorderly house were criminal offences. Sole workers were not illegal in Tasmania, nor was escort work which was the main form of prostitution in the State. Many workers were seasonal.

Reform was suggested by a government committee in 1999

and legislation was introduced in 2004 with the Sex Industry Regulation Bill,

that was supported by sex workers,

subsequently lost in the upper house, and replaced by the Sex Industry Offences Act 2005. Essentially, under protests, the Government moved from a position of liberalising to one of further criminalising.

References



Victoria

The Prostitution Control Act 1994 legalises and regulates the operations of brothels and escort agencies in Victoriamarker. The difference between the two is that in the case of a brothel clients come to the place of business, which is subject to local council planning controls. In the case of an escort agency, clients phone the agency and arrange for a sex worker to come to their homes or motels. A brothel must obtain a permit from the local council ( s21A). A brothel or escort agency must not advertise its services ( s17, 18). Also, a brothel operator must not allow alcohol to be consumed at the brothel ( s21), nor apply for a liquor licence for the premises; nor may they allow a person under the age of 18 years to enter a brothel nor employ as a prostitute a person under 18 years of age, though the age of consent in Victoria is 16 years.

Owner-operated brothels and private escort workers are not required to obtain a license, but must be registered, and escorts from brothels are permitted. If only one or two prostitutes (also called sex workers) run a brothel or escort agency, which does not employ other prostitutes, they also do not need a licence, but are required to be registered. However, in all other cases, the operator of a brothel or escort agency must be licensed. The licensing process enables the licensing authority to check on any criminal history of an applicant. All new brothels are limited to having no more than six rooms. However, larger brothels which existed before the Act was passed were automatically given licences and continue to operate, though cannot increase the number of rooms. Sex workers employed by licensed brothels are not required to be licensed or registered. A person under 18 years is not permitted to be a prostitute (s5-7), and sex work must not be forced ( s8).

As at November 2005, there were 95 licensed brothels in Victoria and 2007 registered small owner-operators; and of these, 2003 were escort agents, two brothels, and two combined brothels and escort agents. In the 95 licensed brothels, there were 505 rooms; and four rooms in small exempt brothels. There were 157 licensed prostitution service providers (ie. operators) - 47 for brothels, 23 for escort agencies and 87 of combined brothel-escort agencies.

Street prostitution continues to be illegal.

One of the objectives of the Act was to eliminate the criminal connection to the operations of brothels. However, the success of this objective has been questioned, with unlicensed, illegal and abusive operations still being in existence.

History

Victoria has a long history of debating prostitution, and was the first State to advocate regulation rather than suppression of prostitution. Brothels evaded the prohibition to brothels in the 1970s by operating as 'massage parlours', leading to pressure to regulate them. Initial attempts involved planning laws. Community concerns were loudest in the traditional Melbournemarker stroll area of St. Kildamarker. A Working Party was assembled in 1984 and led to the Planning (Brothel) Act 1984, as a new approach. Part of the political bargaining involved in passing the act was the promise to set up a wider inquiry. The inquiry was chaired by Marcia Neave, and reported in 1985. The recommendations tried to avoid some of the issues that arose in New South Wales in 1979, and the Government attempted to implement them in the Prostitution Regulation Act 1986. However as in other States, the bill ran into considerable opposition in the upper house, was extensively amended, and consequently many parts were not proclaimed. This created an incoherent patchwork approach. Further legislation appeared, and another report in 2002.

Further reading



Western Australia

Brothels are illegal.

History

Prostitution in Western Australiamarker has been intimately tied to the history of gold mining. In these areas a quasi-official arrangement existed between premise owners and the authorities. This was frequently justified as a harm reduction measure. Like other Australian colonies, legislation tended to be influence by developments in Britain. The Police Act 1892 was no different, establishing penalties for soliciting or vagrancy, while the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1892 dealt with procurement. Brothel keepers were prosecuted under the Municipal Institutions Act 1895, by which all municipalities had passed brothel suppression by-laws in 1905. Laws were further strengthened by Police Act Amendment Act 1902, and Criminal Code 1902. despite this the brothels of Kalgoorliemarker were legendary. Prostitution was much debated in the media and parliament, but despite much lobbying, venereal diseases were not included in the Health Act 1911. The war years and the large number of military personnel in Perthmarker and Fremantlemarker concentrated attention on the issue, however during much of Western Australian history, control of prostitution was largely a police affair rather than a parliamentary one, as a process of 'containment'.

In addition to the above the following laws dealt with prostitution: Criminal Code (1913), Criminal Law Amendment Act 1988 Pt. 2, Law Reform (Decriminalization Of Sodomy) Act 1989, Acts Amendment (Evidence) Act 1991, Criminal Law Amendment Act (No 2) 1992, and the Prostitution Control Act 2000. Prostitution Bills were also introduced in 2002 and 2003. The latter was a bill to regulate brothels and prostitution but was defeated in the upper house. This was followed by the Criminal Law Amendment (Simple Offences) Act 2004. Approaches reflected the ideology of the particular ruling party, as an attempt was made to end police 'containment' and make control a specific parliamentary responsibility.

Much of the debate in the last two years centred on the Prostitution Amendment Act 2008,

introduced in 2007 by the Australian Labor Party. Although it passed the upper house narrowly and received Royal Assent on April 14 2008, it was not proclaimed before the state election, in which the ALP lost power, and therefore remains inactive. The Act was based partly on the approach taken in 2003 in New Zealand (and which in turn was based on the approach in NSW). It would have decriminalised brothels and would have required certification (certification would not have applied to independent operators).

Therefore the 2000 Act is currently operative. Brothels may be said to exist in a legal grey area, although 'containment' has officially been disbanded, in Perth in 1958 and more recently in Kalgoorlie.

Further reading

  • Davidson R. Dealing with the 'Social Evil': Prostitution and the police in Perth and on the Eastern goldfields, 1895-1924, in Daniels K (ed.) So Much Hard Work: Women and prostitution in Australian history. Fontana Collins, Sydney 1984, pp. 162-191


Human trafficking in Australia

The number of people trafficked into Australia is unknown. Estimates given to a 2004 parliamentary inquiry into sexual servitude in Australia ranged from 300 to 1000 trafficked women annually.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Trafficking in persons: global patterns lists Australia as one of 21 trafficking destination countries in the high destination category.

See also



References

  1. Summary Offences Act 1998 (NSW) ss 19 and 20.
  2. Criminal Code Amendment (Slavery and Sexual Servitude) Act 1999 (Cth)
  3. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime
  4. Part III A of the Commonwealth Crimes Act
  5. Prostitution Act 1992 (ACT)
  6. Prostitution Amendment Act 2002 (ACT)
  7. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/soa1988189/
  8. Disorderly Houses (Amendment) Act 1995 (NSW)
  9. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nt/consol_act/pra317/
  10. http://www.nt.gov.au/justice/commission//
  11. http://www.pla.qld.gov.au/
  12. Guidelines about the Approved Form for Advertisements for Prostitution 2008
  13. Prostitution and the Law in Queensland. Prostitution Licensing Authority 2006
  14. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/pa1999205/
  15. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/consol_act/clca1935262/s5.html
  16. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/consol_act/soa1953189/
  17. Report of the Inquiry into Prostitution (SA)
  18. Submission to Sex Industry Act Review 2008 (Tas), Scarlet Alliance November 2008
  19. Committee report on the need for legislative regulation and reform of the sex industry 1999 (Tas)
  20. Sex Industry Regulation Bill (Tas)
  21. Scarlet Alliance Submission on Sex Industry Regulation Bill (Tas)
  22. Prostitution Control Act 1994 - s11A
  23. Crimes Act 1958, s45(1)
  24. Consumer Affairs Victoria - Proposed Prostitution Control Regulations 2006, p8.
  25. More than one licensee may operate a single brothel (eg in partnership); some licensees are currently not trading; and small exempt owner-operators may operate some brothels.
  26. http://www.studyon.com.au/vic/legal3-4/print/hot-topics/008-prostitution/index.html a big issue
  27. http://home.vicnet.net.au/~beware/facts.htm
  28. Attorney-General's Street Prostitution Advisory Group 2002 (Vic)
  29. Prostitution Amendment Act 2008 (WA)


Further reading



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