Prostitution in Australia

Sex work in Australia is governed by state and territory laws, which vary considerably. Federal legislation also affects some aspects of sex work throughout Australia and of Australian citizens outside of the country.

Though Australia is largely homogenous in its attitude to sex work, the legal responses to the issues involved of the various jurisdictions have differed. Some of the differences have been due to political factors. Eastern Australian states and territories liberalised their laws in the late-20th century; however, liberalisation has been restricted by upper houses of Parliament of several States, with legislation either being defeated or extensively amended. New South Wales was the first State to adopt a different model, decriminalising prostitution in 1979. This in turn became a model for New Zealand and a failed attempt in Western Australia in 2008. Victoria and Queensland adopted different models, based on legalisation: Victoria in 1986 and Queensland in 1992. In the remaining states of Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia, despite intense debate and many proposed legislative reforms there has been no change in the laws. In the territories the Australian Capital Territory adopted partial decriminalisation in 1992, and the Northern Territory also allowed a partial decriminalisation in 1992. In all jurisdictions the issue remains deeply divisive, and in the three eastern states with regulated sex work, there has been a process of continual review.

Sex work in Australia has operated differently depending on the period of time evaluated. For this reason discussion is divided into three distinct periods of time, convict, late colonial and Federal. 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. Since Federation in 1901 the emphasis has been on criminalising activities associated with prostitution. Although not explicitly prohibiting the act of sexual exchange, the criminal law effectively produced a de facto prohibition.

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