Prostitution laws in Australia
Australia has eight prostitution regimes. Four jurisdictions, have decriminalised sex work: New South Wales (1995), the Northern Territory (in force 12 June 2020), Victoria (in two stages, 2022 and 2023) and Queensland (in force 2 August 2024; no repeal found as of October 2026). The ACT requires commercial brothels and escort agencies to register and confines brothels to prescribed locations. Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania allow independent sex work but criminalise brothel-keeping or commercial operation, living on earnings and street soliciting. Advertising rules differ sharply: New South Wales still makes it an offence to advertise that a person is available for prostitution, while Queensland repealed all such controls in 2024. Commonwealth law adds trafficking offences and shields Australian hosts from state-law liability for unknown content.
Legal model
Decriminalisation. No prostitution-specific criminal law. Sex work is regulated like other work.
Prostitution law is made by the six states and two territories, so there is no single national model. The label describes the most common position: New South Wales, Victoria, the Northern Territory and Queensland have removed sex-work-specific criminal offences and regulate sex work businesses mainly through planning, workplace and anti-discrimination law. The ACT runs a registration regime; Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania keep selling legal but criminalise brothels and most third-party involvement. Each unit is listed separately.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Regional differences
- New South Wales Decriminalisation: Selling, buying and running a brothel are not criminal offences. A 1995 amendment to the Restricted Premises Act 1943 abolished the common-law offence of keeping a brothel, and brothels have since been regulated as a land use under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979; the Brothels Legislation Amendment Act 2007 (in force 1 October 2007) added council brothel closure orders and court-ordered utility cut-offs for unlawful brothels, which do not apply to lawful brothels or single sex workers. Part 3 of the Summary Offences Act 1988 keeps offences of causing prostitution by coercion or undue influence (s 15A), prostitution in premises held out as massage, sauna or photographic studios (ss 16-17), advertising that premises or a person are available for prostitution (s 18), advertising for sex workers (s 18A), street soliciting near dwellings, schools, churches and hospitals by sex workers (s 19) and clients (s 19A), and public acts of prostitution (s 20).[1][2]
- Victoria Decriminalisation: The Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022 (No. 7 of 2022) worked in two stages. Stage 1 (10 May 2022) repealed the street sex work offences, the mandatory STI testing and safer-sex offences, and added 'profession, trade or occupation' as a protected attribute in the Equal Opportunity Act 2010. Stage 2 (1 December 2023) repealed the Sex Work Act 1994 and with it the licensing system, moved coercion and child-related offences into the Crimes Act 1958 and left sex work businesses to general business, planning and workplace law. Local laws must not undermine decriminalisation (s 3). Soliciting or loitering for commercial sexual services in a public place near schools, childcare and children's services between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., or near places of worship, remains an offence (s 38B Summary Offences Act 1966); advertisements must comply with regulations made under s 39 (s 38F).[3][10]
- Queensland Decriminalisation: The Criminal Code (Decriminalising Sex Work) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (No. 23 of 2024), passed on 2 May 2024 and assented on 9 May 2024, commenced on 2 August 2024. It omitted Chapter 22A (Prostitution) of the Criminal Code, repealed the Prostitution Act 1999 (including its brothel licensing system, the Prostitution Licensing Authority and its advertising offences), barred local governments from making local laws that prohibit or regulate sex work or sex work businesses, and added 'sex work activity' as a protected attribute in the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991. New Criminal Code offences cover obtaining commercial sexual services from a child (s 217A), allowing a child to take part (s 217B), conduct relating to child sex work (s 217C) and procuring commercial sexual services by coercion (s 218). The current Criminal Code still shows Chapter 22A as repealed; no repeal or amendment by the government elected in October 2024 was found.[4][11][12][13][14]
- Northern Territory Decriminalisation: The Sex Industry Act 2019 (No. 40 of 2019) was assented on 13 December 2019 and commenced on 12 June 2020, repealing the Prostitution Regulation Act 1992. Its first object is to decriminalise sex work and legalise contracts for it (s 3). Remaining offences cover inducing a person to perform sex work or hand over earnings by intimidation, drugs, fraud or property damage (ss 10-11, up to 5 years), children (ss 12-14), placing sex work advertisements in newspapers, television or radio other than in accordance with the regulations and publishing advertisements likely to induce a person to seek employment as a sex worker (s 15), and misrepresenting medical examinations (s 16). Operators of a business that engages three or more sex workers must hold a suitability certificate; a breach attracts a civil penalty, not an offence (s 18).[5][15]
- Australian Capital Territory Regulation (legal & licensed): Under the Sex Work Act 1992 (originally the Prostitution Act 1992, renamed in 2018), sex work is lawful. Operators of commercial brothels and commercial escort agencies (anything other than a business solely owned and operated by one sex worker) must give the Commissioner for Fair Trading a registration notice and police reports at least 7 days before opening and annual notices thereafter (ss 12-14); people with disqualifying convictions may not be interested persons (s 15). Brothels may operate only in prescribed locations, except escort agencies and premises used by a single sex worker (s 18). Accosting, soliciting or loitering in a public place to offer or procure commercial sexual services is an offence for sellers and buyers alike (s 19, 20 penalty units).[6]
- Western Australia Legal, organisation banned: Selling and buying sex are not offences in themselves, but s 190 of the Criminal Code makes it a crime to keep or manage premises for the purposes of prostitution, to permit premises to be so used, to let premises knowing of such use, or to live wholly or partly on the earnings of prostitution (up to 3 years). The Prostitution Act 2000 penalises seeking a sex worker or a client in or within view or hearing of a public place (ss 5-6), inducing a person to act as a sex worker (s 7), sex without a prophylactic (s 8), publishing statements likely to induce a person to work as a sex worker or in a prostitution business (s 9, up to $50,000) and sponsorships that promote a sex worker or prostitution business (s 10). Under s 14, acting as a sex worker is itself an offence for a child, a person declared a drug trafficker or a person with certain convictions.[7][16]
- South Australia Legal, organisation banned: The Summary Offences Act 1953 does not penalise selling or buying sex as such, but makes it an offence to accost or solicit for prostitution in or within view or hearing of a public place, or to loiter in a public place for the purpose of prostitution (s 25, fine up to $750), to procure a person to become a sex worker or advertise to employ one (s 25A), to knowingly live on the earnings of another person's prostitution (s 26), to keep or manage a brothel or receive money paid in a brothel for prostitution (s 28), and to let or permit premises to be used as a brothel (s 29). A 'brothel' is any premises to which people resort, or which are used, for prostitution (s 27). Brothel prosecutions need the written consent of the Police Commissioner or a senior officer (s 30).[8]
- Tasmania Legal, organisation banned: Under the Sex Industry Offences Act 2005, a 'self-employed sex worker' may work alone or with no more than one other sex worker when neither employs or manages the other (s 3). Being a commercial operator of a sexual services business is an offence (s 4, up to 8 years), and so is knowingly receiving sexual services from such a commercial business (s 5, up to 1 year), which makes Tasmania the only Australian jurisdiction with a client offence tied to how the business is organised. Coercion of sex workers (s 7, up to 15 years), soliciting, accosting or loitering in a public place (s 8) and failing to use prophylactics (s 12) are also offences. The Act contains no advertising rules.[9]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Legal | Selling sex as an independent adult is lawful in every state and territory. What differs is how sex workers may work: alone or with others, from which premises, and whether they may solicit in public. In South Australia the broad statutory definition of a brothel may reach a worker's own premises. Western Australia makes acting as a sex worker an offence only for children, declared drug traffickers and people with specified convictions.[3][4][5][6][9][16] |
| Buying sexual services | Varies | Paying for sex is not an offence in most of Australia. Tasmania is the exception: knowingly receiving sexual services from a commercial sexual services business is an offence (up to 1 year), though buying from a self-employed sex worker is not. Clients can also commit street-soliciting offences in NSW, the ACT, WA and Tasmania, and Victoria's time-and-place soliciting offence covers anyone.[1][3][4][6][9][16] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Varies | Brothels are lawful businesses in NSW (subject to development consent), Victoria and Queensland (no licence since 2023 and 2024), the NT (operators of businesses with three or more workers need a suitability certificate) and the ACT (registration and prescribed locations). Keeping or managing a brothel is a criminal offence in Western Australia and South Australia, and operating a commercial sexual services business is one in Tasmania (up to 8 years).[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] |
| Sex workers sharing premises | Varies | In the four decriminalised jurisdictions sex workers may share premises; Queensland's 2024 reform specifically repealed the offences that stopped them working together. In the ACT two or more workers at one place make it a brothel that must be in a prescribed location and, if commercial, registered. Tasmania allows two self-employed sex workers to work together. In WA and SA shared premises can fall within the brothel offences.[6][7][8][9][17] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Varies | Coercing someone into sex work or into handing over earnings is an offence everywhere. Living on the earnings of another person's prostitution is still an offence in Western Australia and South Australia; elsewhere managers and employers are lawful if they do not coerce. Commonwealth trafficking, slavery, servitude and deceptive recruiting offences (Criminal Code Divisions 270-271) apply nationwide.[1][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][16][18] |
| Advertising sexual services | Varies | Rules range from none to a near-total ban. New South Wales makes it an offence to publish an advertisement indicating that a person is available for prostitution (s 18) or seeking sex workers (s 18A). Victoria requires advertisements to comply with regulations; the NT limits newspaper, TV and radio advertising to what regulations allow; WA, SA and the NT ban recruitment advertising. Queensland, the ACT and Tasmania have no sex-work-specific advertising offence in force.[1][3][4][5][6][8][9][13][16] |
| Online platforms and ad sites | Varies | No Australian law targets adult advertising websites as such. NSW's s 18 covers anyone who publishes or causes to be published an advertisement for prostitution, without excluding online publishers. Commonwealth law limits that exposure: s 235 Online Safety Act 2021 overrides state laws that would make an Australian hosting provider liable for content it was not aware of, or require it to monitor content. eSafety can issue notices for sexually explicit (class 2) material.[1][4][8][16][19] |
| Street-based sex work and soliciting | Varies | Street-based sex work is largely lawful in Queensland, Victoria, the NT and NSW, with place-based exceptions: in NSW near dwellings, schools, churches and hospitals; in Victoria near schools and children's services from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and near places of worship. Soliciting or loitering in a public place is an offence in the ACT, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.[1][3][5][6][8][9][14][16] |
| Registration, licensing and health checks | Varies | Individual sex workers do not register anywhere in Australia, and none of the statutes reviewed requires routine STI testing. Business-level controls remain in the ACT (registration of commercial brothels and escort agencies with the Commissioner for Fair Trading) and the NT (suitability certificates for operators of businesses with three or more sex workers). Victoria's and Queensland's licensing systems were abolished in 2023 and 2024.[2][3][4][5][6][9][14][16] |
| Tax and social security | Legal | There is no sex-work-specific tax regime. Income from sex work is taxed under general Commonwealth income tax and GST law like other business or employment income. The NT Sex Industry Act states as an object that the industry should operate under the laws that apply to businesses generally, including taxation.[5][14] |
| Migrant sex workers | Legal | No Commonwealth or state statute reviewed bars visa holders from sex work in the way New Zealand's s 19 does. Where sex work is lawful, a migrant's ability to do it depends on the general work conditions attached to their visa. The 2025 US Trafficking in Persons report says some police assumed women who migrated to work in commercial sex could not be trafficking victims.[6][9][18][20] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling sex as an independent adult is lawful in every state and territory. What differs is how sex workers may work: alone or with others, from which premises, and whether they may solicit in public. In South Australia the broad statutory definition of a brothel may reach a worker's own premises. Western Australia makes acting as a sex worker an offence only for children, declared drug traffickers and people with specified convictions.[3][4][5][6][9][16]
- Decriminalised (NSW, Victoria, Queensland, NT): no offence for selling; remaining offences concern coercion, children, public soliciting in specified places and, in NSW, advertising.
- ACT: lawful; commercial brothels and escort agencies must register, sole operators need not.
- WA, SA, Tasmania: selling is not an offence, but working with others is restricted through brothel, procuring and living-on-earnings offences. In Tasmania two self-employed sex workers may work together (s 3 Sex Industry Offences Act 2005).
- WA exception: s 14 Prostitution Act 2000 makes acting as a sex worker an offence for a child, a person declared a drug trafficker under s 32A Misuse of Drugs Act 1981 or a person found guilty of a Schedule 1 offence (up to 2 years).
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
Paying for sex is not an offence in most of Australia. Tasmania is the exception: knowingly receiving sexual services from a commercial sexual services business is an offence (up to 1 year), though buying from a self-employed sex worker is not. Clients can also commit street-soliciting offences in NSW, the ACT, WA and Tasmania, and Victoria's time-and-place soliciting offence covers anyone.[1][3][4][6][9][16]
- Tasmania: s 5 Sex Industry Offences Act 2005, fine up to 100 penalty units or up to 1 year. Proceedings may not be brought against a client who gives or agrees to give evidence for the prosecution (s 5(3)).
- NSW: s 19A Summary Offences Act 1988 (clients soliciting near dwellings, schools, churches and hospitals, or in a harassing manner).
- ACT: s 19 Sex Work Act 1992 applies to offering or procuring commercial sexual services.
- WA: s 5 Prostitution Act 2000 (seeking a person to act as a sex worker in or within view or hearing of a public place, up to 2 years).
- Victoria: s 38B Summary Offences Act 1966 (soliciting near schools, children's services and places of worship) is not limited to sellers.
- Buying sexual services from a child is an offence everywhere, e.g. s 217A Criminal Code (Qld, up to 10 years, 14 if the child is under 16).
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Brothels are lawful businesses in NSW (subject to development consent), Victoria and Queensland (no licence since 2023 and 2024), the NT (operators of businesses with three or more workers need a suitability certificate) and the ACT (registration and prescribed locations). Keeping or managing a brothel is a criminal offence in Western Australia and South Australia, and operating a commercial sexual services business is one in Tasmania (up to 8 years).[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
- NSW: brothel-keeping offence abolished in 1995; brothels are a land use under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, with council closure orders and utilities orders for unlawful premises (Brothels Legislation Amendment Act 2007). Brothels disguised as massage, sauna or photographic premises remain offences (ss 16-17 Summary Offences Act 1988).
- Victoria: licensing under the Sex Work Act 1994 ended with its repeal on 1 December 2023.
- Queensland: the Prostitution Act 1999 licensing regime and the Prostitution Licensing Authority were abolished on 2 August 2024; councils may not make local laws regulating sex work businesses (s 37A Local Government Act 2009, s 40A City of Brisbane Act 2010).
- NT: s 18 Sex Industry Act 2019 (suitability certificate; civil penalty).
- ACT: ss 12-18 Sex Work Act 1992.
- WA: s 190 Criminal Code (up to 3 years).
- SA: ss 27-29 Summary Offences Act 1953.
- Tasmania: s 4 Sex Industry Offences Act 2005; the Police Commissioner may order owners or occupiers to stop a commercial business operating on their premises (s 16).
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Coercing someone into sex work or into handing over earnings is an offence everywhere. Living on the earnings of another person's prostitution is still an offence in Western Australia and South Australia; elsewhere managers and employers are lawful if they do not coerce. Commonwealth trafficking, slavery, servitude and deceptive recruiting offences (Criminal Code Divisions 270-271) apply nationwide.[1][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][16][18]
- NSW: s 15A Summary Offences Act 1988 (coercive conduct or undue influence; 50 penalty units or 12 months).
- Victoria: coercion and child offences re-enacted in the Crimes Act 1958 (new Subdivision (8FAA), Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022 s 42).
- Queensland: s 218 Criminal Code (procuring commercial sexual services or payment by coercion, up to 14 years) and ss 217A-217C (children).
- NT: ss 10-11 Sex Industry Act 2019 (up to 5 years).
- ACT: s 17 Sex Work Act 1992 (duress, up to 6 years).
- WA: s 190(3) Criminal Code (living on earnings, up to 3 years, with a presumption against a person who lives with a sex worker and has no visible means of subsistence); s 191 (procuring); s 7 Prostitution Act 2000 (inducing, up to 10 years).
- SA: s 25A (procurement for prostitution) and s 26 (living on earnings) Summary Offences Act 1953.
- Tasmania: s 4 (commercial operation) and s 7 (offences against sex workers, up to 15 years) Sex Industry Offences Act 2005.
- Commonwealth: Criminal Code Divisions 270 (slavery, servitude, forced labour, deceptive recruiting, s 270.7) and 271 (trafficking).
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
Rules range from none to a near-total ban. New South Wales makes it an offence to publish an advertisement indicating that a person is available for prostitution (s 18) or seeking sex workers (s 18A). Victoria requires advertisements to comply with regulations; the NT limits newspaper, TV and radio advertising to what regulations allow; WA, SA and the NT ban recruitment advertising. Queensland, the ACT and Tasmania have no sex-work-specific advertising offence in force.[1][3][4][5][6][8][9][13][16]
- NSW: s 18 Summary Offences Act 1988: a person must not publish or cause to be published an advertisement, or erect a sign, 'indicating that any premises are used or are available for use, or that a person is available, for the purposes of prostitution' (6 penalty units or 3 months). s 18A: advertisements for employment as a sex worker (10 penalty units or 3 months).
- Victoria: s 38F Summary Offences Act 1966 (40 penalty units) for advertisements that contravene regulations made under s 39 on size, form, content and permitted publications.
- NT: s 15 Sex Industry Act 2019: advertisements for sex work in a newspaper or on television or radio only in accordance with the regulations; recruitment advertisements prohibited unless they make clear the work is not sex work (20 penalty units, strict liability). Online advertising is not mentioned.
- WA: s 9 Prostitution Act 2000 (statements likely to induce a person to work as a sex worker or in a prostitution business, up to $50,000) and s 10 (sponsorships).
- SA: s 25A(2)(b) Summary Offences Act 1953 (advertising willingness to employ or engage a sex worker).
- Queensland: the advertising offences in Part 6 Division 4 of the Prostitution Act 1999 were repealed with that Act on 2 August 2024.
- ACT: no advertising offence in the Sex Work Act 1992, although s 32 allows regulations on advertisements for brothels and escort agencies.
- Tasmania: the Sex Industry Offences Act 2005 contains no advertising provision.
Confidence: medium. How often the NSW s 18 offence is enforced against individual sex workers' online advertisements was not found in official data. The content of any Victorian advertising regulations made under s 39 and any ACT regulations under s 32 was not checked.
Checked 30 October 2026
Online platforms and ad sites
No Australian law targets adult advertising websites as such. NSW's s 18 covers anyone who publishes or causes to be published an advertisement for prostitution, without excluding online publishers. Commonwealth law limits that exposure: s 235 Online Safety Act 2021 overrides state laws that would make an Australian hosting provider liable for content it was not aware of, or require it to monitor content. eSafety can issue notices for sexually explicit (class 2) material.[1][4][8][16][19]
- Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth), s 235: a state or territory law, or a rule of common law or equity, has no effect to the extent it subjects an Australian hosting service provider to criminal or civil liability for hosting online content where it was not aware of its nature, or requires it to monitor, make inquiries about or keep records of hosted content. 'Australian hosting service provider' means a provider hosting material in Australia, so offshore sites are not covered.
- Online Content Scheme: class 2 material (s 107) is material classified, or likely to be classified, X 18+ or equivalent; eSafety can issue remedial notices to services and hosting providers (ss 119-120). Ordinary text advertisements are unlikely to be class 2; explicit images may be.
- State law: the NSW s 18 offence reaches anyone who 'causes to be published' an advertisement; the WA s 9 and SA s 25A recruitment offences could apply to a site publishing recruitment notices. No reported prosecution of a website operator under these provisions was found.
- Queensland: no sex-work-specific advertising law applies since 2 August 2024.
- The EU Digital Services Act does not apply.
Confidence: medium. How s 235 interacts with the NSW advertising offence has not been tested in a reported case found during this review. The industry codes registered under the Online Safety Act were not reviewed.
Checked 30 October 2026
Street-based sex work and soliciting
Street-based sex work is largely lawful in Queensland, Victoria, the NT and NSW, with place-based exceptions: in NSW near dwellings, schools, churches and hospitals; in Victoria near schools and children's services from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and near places of worship. Soliciting or loitering in a public place is an offence in the ACT, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.[1][3][5][6][8][9][14][16]
- NSW: ss 19-20 Summary Offences Act 1988; public acts of prostitution are also offences.
- Victoria: street sex work offences in ss 12-14 Sex Work Act 1994 were repealed on 10 May 2022; s 38B Summary Offences Act 1966 (infringement penalty 2 penalty units).
- Queensland: public soliciting is no longer a specific offence since 2 August 2024; Legal Aid Queensland notes general public nuisance laws still apply.
- NT: the Sex Industry Act 2019 creates no soliciting offence.
- ACT: s 19 Sex Work Act 1992 (20 penalty units; up to 3 years for accosting a child).
- WA: ss 5-6 Prostitution Act 2000, with move-on directions (s 24) and restraining orders (Part 5).
- SA: s 25 Summary Offences Act 1953 (fine up to $750).
- Tasmania: s 8 Sex Industry Offences Act 2005 (20 penalty units).
Checked 30 October 2026
Registration, licensing and health checks
Individual sex workers do not register anywhere in Australia, and none of the statutes reviewed requires routine STI testing. Business-level controls remain in the ACT (registration of commercial brothels and escort agencies with the Commissioner for Fair Trading) and the NT (suitability certificates for operators of businesses with three or more sex workers). Victoria's and Queensland's licensing systems were abolished in 2023 and 2024.[2][3][4][5][6][9][14][16]
- ACT: registration notice and police report 7 days before opening, annual notices before 1 October, public register (ss 11-14 Sex Work Act 1992). Misusing medical test results to imply a sex worker is free of infection is an offence (s 26); condom use is compulsory and operators must supply prophylactics and protective equipment free of charge (ss 26A-27).
- NT: suitability certificates (ss 18-21 Sex Industry Act 2019); records must be destroyed once a holder stops needing a certificate (s 22).
- Victoria: mandatory STI testing and the infected-worker offences were repealed in Stage 1 (10 May 2022); the Business Licensing Authority licensing system ended with the Sex Work Act 1994 on 1 December 2023.
- Queensland: licensing by the Prostitution Licensing Authority ended on 2 August 2024; the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 applies.
- NSW: brothels need development consent under planning law but there is no licensing scheme.
- WA, SA, Tasmania: no licensing; commercial operation is a criminal matter. WA (s 8 Prostitution Act 2000) and Tasmania (s 12) make prophylactic use compulsory.
Checked 30 October 2026
Tax and social security
There is no sex-work-specific tax regime. Income from sex work is taxed under general Commonwealth income tax and GST law like other business or employment income. The NT Sex Industry Act states as an object that the industry should operate under the laws that apply to businesses generally, including taxation.[5][14]
Section 3(e) of the Sex Industry Act 2019 (NT) lists among its objects enabling the sex industry to operate in accordance with Territory and Commonwealth laws 'as they apply to all individuals and businesses generally, including laws governing employment, occupational health and safety, workers compensation and rehabilitation, planning, taxation and discrimination'. Queensland's 2024 reform likewise brought sex work businesses under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
Confidence: medium. No Australian Taxation Office guidance specific to sex work was opened for this review; the statement that general tax law applies rests on the absence of any special regime in the statutes reviewed.
Checked 30 October 2026
Migrant sex workers
No Commonwealth or state statute reviewed bars visa holders from sex work in the way New Zealand's s 19 does. Where sex work is lawful, a migrant's ability to do it depends on the general work conditions attached to their visa. The 2025 US Trafficking in Persons report says some police assumed women who migrated to work in commercial sex could not be trafficking victims.[6][9][18][20]
The trafficking framework is federal: Criminal Code (Cth) Divisions 270 and 271. The ACT counts offences under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) ss 232A, 233(1) and 233A (bringing non-citizens into Australia unlawfully) as disqualifying offences for brothel and escort agency operators (s 6 Sex Work Act 1992). Tasmania makes threatening to have a person deported, in order to induce them to provide sexual services or hand over earnings, an offence (s 7(2)(f) Sex Industry Offences Act 2005).
The US State Department's 2025 report recommends screening people in commercial sex for trafficking indicators and reports observers' claims that some law enforcement officials treated migrant women who chose to work in commercial sex establishments as unable to be trafficked.
Confidence: low. The Migration Act 1958 and Migration Regulations 1994 were not reviewed, so the absence of a sex-work-specific visa rule is inferred from the statutes and reports reviewed, not confirmed against migration law.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Summary Offences Act 1988 No 25 (NSW), Part 3 Prostitution Summary Offences Act 1988 (NSW) s 15A · ss 16-17 · s 18 · s 18A · ss 19-20 · s 21 | Part 3 (Prostitution): coercion, brothels in massage or photographic premises, the advertising offences in ss 18 and 18A, street soliciting by sex workers and clients, and public acts of prostitution.[1] | 1988 |
| Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022 (Vic), No. 7 of 2022, as made Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022 (Vic) s 3 · s 4 · s 6 · s 28 · s 37 · s 49 | Decriminalised sex work in Victoria in two stages, repealing the street offences and testing rules (10 May 2022) and then the Sex Work Act 1994 and its licensing system (1 December 2023); inserted ss 38B and 38F into the Summary Offences Act 1966; requires a statutory review.[3] | 10 May 2022 |
| Criminal Code (Decriminalising Sex Work) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Qld), Act No. 23 of 2024, as passed Criminal Code (Decriminalising Sex Work) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Qld) s 4 · s 13 (ss 217A-217C Criminal Code) · s 14 (s 218 Criminal Code) · s 15 · s 28 · s 33 (s 275A Work Health and Safety Act 2011) · s 35 | Omitted Chapter 22A of the Criminal Code, repealed the Prostitution Act 1999, barred local laws regulating sex work, added 'sex work activity' to the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 and created child and coercion offences; requires an independent review 4-5 years after commencement.[4] | 2 August 2024 |
| Sex Industry Act 2019 (NT), as in force at 25 May 2024 (PDF) Sex Industry Act 2019 (NT) s 3 · ss 10-16 · ss 18-22 · s 26 · s 27 | Decriminalised sex work in the Northern Territory, legalised contracts, limited broadcast and print advertising, banned recruitment advertising and introduced suitability certificates for larger businesses; repealed the Prostitution Regulation Act 1992.[5] | 12 June 2020 |
| Sex Work Act 1992 (ACT), A1992-64, republication No 31 effective 5 January 2026 Sex Work Act 1992 (ACT) ss 11-16 · s 17 · s 18 · s 19 · ss 26-27 · s 32 | Registration of commercial brothels and escort agencies, brothel location rules, soliciting offence and health provisions in the ACT.[6] | 7 May 1993 |
| Prostitution Act 2000 (WA), Act No. 017 of 2000, consolidated version 02-d0-00 Prostitution Act 2000 (WA) ss 5-10 · s 14 · s 24 · Part 5 | Public soliciting offences for sellers and clients, recruitment-advertising and sponsorship bans, compulsory prophylactics and police powers in Western Australia.[16] | |
| Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913 (WA), consolidated version current from 1 May 2026 Criminal Code (WA), in the Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913 s 190 · s 191 | Criminalises keeping or managing premises for prostitution, landlord involvement and living on the earnings of prostitution (s 190), and procuring (s 191).[7] | |
| Summary Offences Act 1953 (SA), version of 1 July 2026 Summary Offences Act 1953 (SA) s 25 · s 25A · s 26 · ss 27-32 | Soliciting, procurement, living on earnings and brothel offences in South Australia.[8] | |
| Sex Industry Offences Act 2005 (Tas), No. 42 of 2005, current version Sex Industry Offences Act 2005 (Tas) s 3 · s 4 · s 5 · s 7 · s 8 · s 12 · s 16 | Permits self-employed sex workers (alone or in pairs) but criminalises commercial operators and their clients, soliciting and coercion in Tasmania.[9] | |
| Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth), Compilation No. 4 (12 September 2026) Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) s 107 · ss 119-120 · s 235 | Online Content Scheme for class 1 and class 2 material and the s 235 override protecting Australian hosts and internet service providers from state-law liability for content they are unaware of.[19] | |
| Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), latest compilation (30 June 2026), Volume 2 Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), Schedule (Criminal Code) Div 270 · s 270.7 · Div 271 | Federal slavery, servitude, forced labour, deceptive recruiting and trafficking offences that apply in every state and territory.[18] |
Pending and under review
Under review · updated 30 October 2026
Victoria: statutory review of the Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022
Section 4 requires the Minister to commission a review of the amendments, including the effect of repealing the Sex Work Act 1994, starting at least 3 and no more than 5 years after all provisions commenced, and to table the report in both Houses. No announcement of the reviewer or terms of reference was found.[3]
Next, 1 December 2026: Earliest date the review may start (3 years after full commencement on 1 December 2023); it must start by 1 December 2028.
Under review · updated 30 October 2026
Queensland: independent review of the 2024 decriminalisation
Section 275A of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, inserted by the 2024 Act, requires an independent and appropriately qualified entity to review the operation of the decriminalisation amendments 4 to 5 years after commencement, with the report tabled in Parliament. Searches found no move by the Crisafulli government, in office since October 2024, to repeal or amend the reform before then.[4][11][12]
Next, August 2028: Review window opens 4 years after commencement (2 August 2024) and closes after 5 years.
Under review · updated 30 October 2026
Northern Territory: five-year review of the Sex Industry Act 2019
Section 26(2) requires the statutory Review Committee to review the Act within 5 years of commencement (12 June 2020), including whether the suitability certificate system works and whether a system is needed to identify the location of sex services businesses. Whether that review was completed and published by June 2025 could not be confirmed.[5]
In numbers
Queensland Law Reform Commission, Report No 80 summary. The 10% share is the Commission's estimate; licensing ended on 2 August 2024.
As reported by the US State Department from Australian government data; counts follow US trafficking definitions and include extraterritorial child sexual exploitation cases. Not an Australian official statistic.
Timeline
- 1 December 1992ACT Prostitution Act 1992 notified; most provisions commenced on 7 May 1993. It was renamed the Sex Work Act 1992 in 2018.[6]
- 1995New South Wales amends the Restricted Premises Act 1943 to abolish the offence of keeping a brothel; brothels are thereafter regulated as a land use.[2]
- 22 June 2000Western Australia's Prostitution Act 2000 receives assent.[16]
- 24 November 2005Tasmania's Sex Industry Offences Act 2005 receives Royal Assent.[9]
- 1 October 2007NSW Brothels Legislation Amendment Act 2007 commences, adding brothel closure orders and utilities orders against unlawful brothels.[2]
- 13 December 2019Northern Territory Sex Industry Act 2019 receives assent; it commences on 12 June 2020 and repeals the Prostitution Regulation Act 1992.[5]
- 10 May 2022Victoria: Stage 1 of the Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022 in force, repealing street sex work offences and mandatory STI testing rules.[3][10]
- 31 March 2023Queensland Law Reform Commission delivers Report No 80, 'A decriminalised sex work industry for Queensland', to the Attorney-General.[21]
- 1 December 2023Victoria: Stage 2 in force; the Sex Work Act 1994 and its licensing system are repealed.[3][10]
- 2 May 2024Queensland Parliament passes the Criminal Code (Decriminalising Sex Work) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024; assent follows on 9 May 2024.[11][17]
- 2 August 2024Queensland's decriminalisation commences: Criminal Code Chapter 22A and the Prostitution Act 1999 are repealed and the Prostitution Licensing Authority is abolished.[11][12]
Sources
- Summary Offences Act 1988 No 25 (NSW), Part 3 Prostitution. NSW Legislation (Parliamentary Counsel's Office). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Planning Circular PS 07-017: Commencement of Brothels Act 2007. NSW Department of Planning, 3 October 2007. government · accessed 30 October 2026
- Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022 (Vic), No. 7 of 2022, as made. Victorian Legislation (Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel), 2022. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code (Decriminalising Sex Work) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Qld), Act No. 23 of 2024, as passed. Queensland Legislation (Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel), 9 May 2024. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Sex Industry Act 2019 (NT), as in force at 25 May 2024 (PDF). Northern Territory Legislation. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Sex Work Act 1992 (ACT), A1992-64, republication No 31 effective 5 January 2026. ACT Legislation Register (Parliamentary Counsel's Office). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913 (WA), consolidated version current from 1 May 2026. Western Australian Legislation (Parliamentary Counsel's Office). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Summary Offences Act 1953 (SA), version of 1 July 2026. South Australian Legislation (Attorney-General's Department). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Sex Industry Offences Act 2005 (Tas), No. 42 of 2005, current version. Tasmanian Legislation (Office of Parliamentary Counsel). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022 (Vic), in force, version history. Victorian Legislation (Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code (Decriminalising Sex Work) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Qld): legislative history. Queensland Legislation (Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld), Schedule 1 Criminal Code, current version. Queensland Legislation (Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Prostitution Act 1999 (Qld), repealed. Queensland Legislation (Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Sex work and the law. Legal Aid Queensland, 22 January 2025. government · accessed 30 October 2026
- Sex Industry Act 2019 (NT). Northern Territory Legislation. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Prostitution Act 2000 (WA), Act No. 017 of 2000, consolidated version 02-d0-00. Western Australian Legislation (Parliamentary Counsel's Office). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Reforms promise better protection for Queensland's sex workers. Queensland Government Ministerial Media Statements (Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath), 2 May 2024. government · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), latest compilation (30 June 2026), Volume 2. Federal Register of Legislation. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth), Compilation No. 4 (12 September 2026). Federal Register of Legislation. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report: Australia. United States Department of State, 2025. government · accessed 30 October 2026
- A decriminalised sex-work industry for Queensland, Report No 80: Report summary. Queensland Law Reform Commission, 2023. government · accessed 30 October 2026