Queensland Law Reform Commission looking for feedback on sex work law changes
Queenslanders are being asked for their feedback on decriminalising the sex industry, including whether public solicitation should be allowed, whether criminals should be able to engage in sex work and whether councils should be able to ban it.
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THE public has been asked for their feedback on decriminalising the sex work industry, including the size of brothels, whether public solicitation should be allowed, and whether councils would be able to totally ban sex work in their local areas.
The Queensland Law Reform Commission has posed 55 questions it’s considering in drafting reforms following the Palaszczuk Government’s vow to decriminalise the industry.
They include whether prostitution offences should be rewritten in the criminal code, whether those with a serious criminal past be banned from holding a license, and how a person working without a license should be dealt with.
It asks how health and safety standards should be met to prevent sexually transmitted infections, and how exploitation should be guarded against, including whether the Child Employment Act be amended to prohibit a person from requiring or allowing a child to work at a sex work business.
But it also raises complex questions of consent the QLRC earlier grappled with in its review of the state’s consent laws when dealing with rape.
The QLRC will consider whether a new law should be passed stating that a person may, at any time, refuse to perform or continue to perform sex work and whether current criminal laws are adequate when a person promises to pay money for a sex act and then reneges.
Citizens are also asked whether local governments should be able to prohibit sex work in their local areas, particularly if in small communities, or in specific areas depending on their zoning.
“Should there be size limits on commercial sex work businesses, such as gross floor area, number of rooms or number of sex workers?” it reads.
It also asks if “separation distances” apply between commercial sex work businesses and schools, child care centres or places of worship and whether there should be any additional requirements placed on operating from home different to what any other home-based businesses has to comply with.
It also wants feedback on how workers advertise their services and whether public solicitation be allowed in any forms.
There are currently just two forms of legalised sex work in Queensland – services provided at a licensed brothel, and when a person is working alone from a premises, providing in-house calls, outcall services, or both.
All other forms are illegal – including escort agencies, unlicensed brothels, massage parlours, street workers who publicly solicit and those who work in small groups – although they by far make up the majority of services being offered now.
Advocates say current regulation actually makes their jobs less safe, prohibiting women operating in pairs or employing someone to screen and book clients and provide security on jobs.
Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman flagged the government’s intention last year to follow jurisdictions like NSW and New Zealand in decriminalising sex work, citing the desire to make the industry safer.
The QLRC’s report is due back to Ms Fentiman by November.
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