Submission to the Queensland Law Reform Commission on a Framework for a Decriminalised Sex Industry

There is longstanding evidence that decriminalisation is the best model to protect the rights, health and safety of sex workers. Decriminalisation involves broad and wide-ranging legal reform. It requires the repeal of the extensive web of criminal offences around sex work, the repeal of licensing regulations that single out sex work, and the removal of police as regulators of the industry. Decriminalisation does not mean the absence of regulation, but rather would mean that sex work is ultimately regulated via zoning, planning, and workplace regulations, appropriate and tailored to meet the work, health and safety needs of sex workers. This includes facilitating independent sex workers being able to work together in cooperatives and hire drivers and security. It also means catering for those sex workers who are often left off law reform agendas, such as street-based sex workers, migrant sex workers and sex workers living with HIV. It requires the decriminalisation not only of sex workers but also of clients, workplaces, third parties and associates. The presence of operator certificates, mandatory medical testing, registration, discriminatory advertising regulations, limits on the number of people who can work together and prohibitions on sex work for temporary visa holders are all contrary to decriminalisation