Deregulation of Queensland sex work industry would ‘open doors’ to bikies

Reforms to decriminalise sex work would axe the authority that ­regulates Queensland’s 20 ­licensed brothels and treat sex work like ‘any other business’ and ‘open the doors’ to outlaw motorcycle gangs.

Major reforms to decriminalise sex work are expected to pass the Queensland parliament by mid-year.

The head of Queensland’s soon-to-be abolished Prostitution Licencing Authority has warned the dramatic deregulation of the state’s sex work industry could “open the doors” to outlaw motorcycle gangs and increase risks of money laundering, coercion and people trafficking.

Major reforms to decriminalise sex work, expected to pass state parliament by mid-year, would ban councils from making any local laws to manage the industry, axe the authority that ­regulates the state’s 20 ­licensed brothels and treat sex work like “any other business”.

Giving evidence to a parliamentary inquiry probing the reforms, former Family Court judge and PLA chair Colin Forrest SC warned safeguards that prevent the influence of organised crime in the industry would be scrapped.

“My major concern is that this legislation will open the doors wide open and say ‘open for business’ for outlaw motorcycle gangs, particularly to legally get back involved in the sex industry,” he said.

Colin Forrest SC.

“That will lead to employee exploitation … coercion, drug trafficking in the sex work industry and the like.”

Mr Forrest said he supported the decriminalisation of sex work but was troubled by the extent of the deregulation.

“What the legislation proposes is the abolition of specific industry targeted regulation and replacing it with, as I’ve described it, laws of general application ­design,” he said.

“The same sort of regulation that would apply to a business person deciding that they want to set up a hairdressing salon on the main street will apply to business person wanting to establish a brothel.”

Under proposed reforms, councils would be prohibited from making local laws to regulate sex work, including where businesses can operate and the size of advertising signage that can be used.

The state Labor government, which has been under pressure from the union movement to pass laws before the October state election, has flagged a new planning framework would be developed to give councils direction, but it is yet to be publicly released.

Local Government Association of Queensland chief Alison Smith told the inquiry the state’s 77 councils feared they would have no say over the location and size of brothels or be able to manage carparking, traffic, noise and hours of operation.

In a joint submission, Respect Inc Queensland co-ordinator Lulu Holiday and Decrim Qld campaign lead Janelle Fawkes backed restrictions on councils from making local laws that regulate the sex industry businesses, which is similar to the model used in Victoria.

“Decades of research and evidence shows that almost all NSW councils have taken advantage of discretionary powers and (development) processes to behave in an unreasonably hostile way towards brothels, massage parlours and sex workers,” they said.