Prostitution in Australia is governed by state and territory laws, which vary considerably, although none ban the selling of sex itself.
Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia operate under an abolitionism framework, where the selling of sex itself is not illegal, but activities such as keeping brothels and pimping are illegal. The Australian Capital Territory operates under a legalisation framework, where sex work is legal, but brothels must be licensed and can face criminal penalties for operating without a license. Private sex work is legal if the sex worker is working alone. The Northern Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria operate under a decriminalisation framework, where most criminal penalties associated with sex work have been removed and brothels or prostitutes are not required to be licensed, however some jurisdictions have retained regulations relating to location of brothels, soliciting, or other activities such as advertising.
There is no evidence of pre-colonial prostitution amongst Indigenous Australians. However, sexual practices more consistent with the modern understanding of polygamy were common, such as the exchange of women to demonstrate friendship. Colonial-era prostitution was controlled via legislation such as the colonial versions of the Contagious Diseases Acts, passed in Victoria and Queensland. Although colonies such as South Australia chose not to pass any CD Act, seeing it as "infringement on the rights of women and official condoning of immorality". After Federation, criminal law was left in the hands of the states, which by and large did not make selling of sex itself illegal, although many acts associated with it such as solicitation, brothel keeping, and leasing accommodations were made illegal.
From the 1970s onwards, prostitution restrictions have generally eased. A 1990 Australian Institute of Criminology report recommended decriminalization of prostitution. New South Wales decriminalized street-based sex work in 1979, using a model subsequently adopted by jurisdictions such as New Zealand, and made brothels legal in 1995.
The United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), which issues regular statistics on sex work, estimated there were around 20,500 sex workers in Australia in 2016. Scarlet Alliance, a national peer sex worker NGO, provides advocacy for sex workers in Australia.
The Northern Territory decriminalised sex work in 2019. Victoria decriminalised sex work in 2023. Queensland since 2 August 2024 is the most recent state to decriminalise sex work, removing most criminal penalties associated with sex work and abolishing the brothel licensing systems.
History
Sex work in Australia has operated differently depending on the period of time evaluated. For this reason discussion is divided into three distinct periods: convict, late colonial, and post-federation. Pre-colonial "prostitution" among Aboriginal peoples is not considered here, since it bore little resemblance to contemporary understanding of the term. The arrival of the Europeans changed this "wife exchange" system, once they started exchanging their European goods for sexual services from Aboriginal women. During the convict period, English common law applied, and dealt with brothel keeping, disorderly houses, and public nuisance. The late colonial period viewed prostitution as a public health issue, through the Contagious Diseases Acts, versions of which passed in Victoria and Queensland, with compulsory examination of prostitutes and detention in "lock hospitals" if found to be carrying a "venereal disease". South Australia chose not to pass any CD Act, seeing it as "infringement on the rights of women and official condoning of immorality". Since Federation in 1901, the emphasis has been on criminalising activities associated with prostitution. Although not explicitly prohibiting paid sex, the criminal law effectively produced a de facto prohibition.
Convict period 1788–1840
Prostitution probably first appeared in Australia at the time of the First Fleet in 1788. Some of the women transported to Australia had previously worked in prostitution, while others chose the profession due to economic circumstances, and a severe imbalance of the sexes. While the 1822 Bigge Inquiry refers to brothels, these were mainly women working from their own homes.
Colonial period 1840–1901
In the colonial period, prior to federation, Australia adopted the Contagious Diseases Acts of the United Kingdom between 1868 and 1879 in an attempt to control venereal disease in the military, requiring compulsory inspection of women suspected of prostitution, and could include incarceration in a lock hospital.
Japan exported prostitutes called Karayuki-san during the Meiji and Taisho periods to China, Canada, the United States, Australia, French Indochina, British Malaya, British Borneo, British India and British East Africa where they served western soldiers and Chinese coolies.
Federal period 1901–1970s After federation, criminal law was left in the hands of the states. But criminal law relating to prostitution only dates from around 1910. These laws did not make the act of prostitution illegal but did criminalise many activities related to prostitution. These laws were based on English laws passed between 1860 and 1885, and related to soliciting, age restrictions, brothel keeping, and leasing accommodation.
Post 1970s
Since the 1970s there has been a change toward liberalisation of prostitution laws, but although attitudes to prostitution are largely homogenous, the actual approaches have varied. A May 1990 Australian Institute of Criminology report recommended that prostitution not be a criminal offence, since the laws were ineffective and endangered sex workers. In 1995 NSW became to first jurisdiction in the world to decriminalise sex work, in response to the Wood Royal Commission's findings of widespread police corruption in the sex industry.
Following South Korea passing its Anti-prostitution Law and subsequent crackdowns on brothels and prostitution, many Korean sex workers moved abroad, including to Australia. In 2011 Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimated there to be 1,000 Korean sex workers in Australia. A 2022 investigation by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and other agencies alleged that 14 Australian-based overseas student education providers worked with crime syndicates to obtain student visa for Korean sex workers.
The United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS UNAIDS has estimated the number of sex workers in Australia in 2012–2014 as between 20,000 and 25,000. Scarlet Alliance, a national peer sex worker NGO, provides advocacy for sex workers in Australia.
Health Despite discriminatory STI, BBV and HIV laws targeted at sex workers, peer education has been effective at keeping STIs in the sex worker population at a low level, similar to the general population, and comparable among the states. Although there had been claims that sex workers were responsible for STI levels in mining communities, subsequent research has shown this not to be true.
Human trafficking in Australia
The number of people trafficked into or within Australia is unknown. Estimates given to a 2004 parliamentary inquiry into sexual servitude in Australia ranged from 300 to 1,000 trafficked women annually.
In 2006, 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 category.
Australia did not become a party to the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others when it was implemented in 1949. It was 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 recognised by a country's law. In all Australian jurisdictions, the minimum age at which a person can engage in prostitution is 18 years, although it is argued against the age of consent, and it is always illegal to engage another in prostitution.
A 2020 research on migration, sex work and trafficking shows a decrease in sexual exploitation cases in 2014-2017 from 31% to 11% of all cases filed, and in 2019 Estimating the dark figure of human trafficking and slavery victimisation in Australia. Furthermore, in 2019 the MDPI study quotes the Support for Trafficked People Program Data Snapshot: 2009 to 2019, that sexual exploitation dropped from 100% of cases to only 30% of cases. Though MDPI's article does acknowledge tracking was difficult, and other forms of human trafficking have increased substantially. It makes recommendations to continue current policy and research interventions into other forms of trafficking.
Australian Capital Territory Sex work in the Australian Capital Territory is governed by the Sex Work Act 1992, following partial decriminalisation in 1992; that Act was originally known as the Prostitution Act 1992, being changed to its current name by the Prostitution Act (Amendment) Act 2018. Brothels are legal, but sex workers were required to register with the Office of Regulatory Services (ORS), subsequently Access Canberra. The ORS also registered and regulated brothels and escort agencies. Sex workers may work privately but must work alone. Soliciting remains illegal (Section 19).
Subsequent amending acts include the Prostitution Amendment Act 2002 and the Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Act 2011.(Part 1.7), a minor administrative amendment.
History Prior to passage of the Prostitution Act 1992, prostitution policy in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) consisted of "containment and control" under the Police Offences Act 1930. This prohibited keeping a brothel, persistently soliciting in a public place, or living on the earnings of prostitution. This law was not enforced. In 1991 a report entitled Prostitution in the ACT: Interim Report (Australian Capital Territory) was produced by the Select Committee on HIV, Illegal Drugs and Prostitution describing the then state of the industry, the shortcomings of the law, and the possible reforms available. Having considered the example of other Australian States that had adopted various other models, the committee recommended decriminalisation, which occurred in the 1992 Prostitution Act. Sex workers and brothel owners were required to register with the Office of Regulatory Services (ORS), subsequently Access Canberra, as were escort agencies, including sole operators.
Legislative review 2011
The legal situation was reviewed again with a Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety's inquiry into the ACT Prostitution Act 1992, following the death of a 16-year-old girl, Janine Cameron, from a heroin overdose in a brothel in 2008.
The inquiry was established on 28 October 2010. The committee, chaired by ACT Liberal MLA Vicki Dunne, devised terms of reference that were as follows:
the form and operation of the Act identifying regulatory options, including the desirability of requiring commercially operated brothels to maintain records of workers and relevant proof of age, to ensure that all sex workers are over the age of 18 years the adequacy of, and compliance with, occupational health and safety requirements for sex workers any links with criminal activity the extent to which unlicensed operators exist within the ACT other relevant matter