Australia did not accede to the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others when it entered into force in 1949. In 1999,[12] it implemented the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.[13] On 8 January 2007, Australia also ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, which requires, inter alia, the prohibition of child prostitution. For the purposes of the Protocol, a child is defined as any person under 18 years of age, unless an earlier age of majority is recognized by the legislation of a country. In all Australian jurisdictions, the minimum age at which a person can engage in prostitution is 18, although the age of consent is disputed, and it is still illegal to employ another person in prostitution. Brothels are illegal in South Australia, as is advertising in public places, receiving money from another person`s prostitution and having power of attorney. There have been several recent attempts to decriminalise prostitution, most recently in July 2015 when the amendment (decriminalisation of sex work) was introduced in the House of Lords in 2015. There are two speeches, one from the member who is presenting the bill and one from a member opposing it, are here. A useful summary of the various legislative attempts at decriminalization over the years can be found in the first speech. These laws were strengthened by the Police (Amendment) Act 1902 and the Penal Code 1902. [1] Nevertheless, the brothels of Kalgoorlie were legendary. [186] [187] Prostitution has been the subject of much discussion in the media and in Parliament, but despite much lobbying, STDs were not included in the 1911 Health Act. Prostitution is also dealt with in the 1913 Penal Code. The war years and the large number of military personnel in Perth and Fremantle drew attention to the issue, but for much of Western Australia`s history, control of prostitution was largely a police rather than a parliamentary matter, as a process of “lockdown” in which brothels were tolerated in exchange for some degree of cooperation.
[188] [184] As a result, the names and addresses of prostitutes remain on official records. [189] This policy originated in Kalgoorlie and later appeared in Perth. The informal containment policy of 1900[182] was replaced by a more formal policy in 1975. The lockdown was ended by police in 2000, leaving brothels largely unregulated. These approaches reflected the ideology of the ruling party, while attempts were made to replace “containment” and make oversight a specific parliamentary responsibility. [185] [190] The legal situation was re-examined when a Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety investigated the Australian Capital Territory Prostitution Act 1992 after a 16-year-old woman, Janine Cameron, died of a heroin overdose in a brothel in 2008. [20] The Crimes Act of 1891 contained specific prohibitions under PART II. – Suppression of prostitution[148] Recruitment (art.
14-17) or imprisonment (art. 18-21) of women to work as prostitutes, whether through incitement or violence, was prohibited, particularly with regard to underage girls. The Police Offences Act 1891[149] separated seditious and indecent behaviour from prostitution and made it a specific offence for a prostitute to “push” a person in public (section 7(2)). [150] During the 2017 election campaign, among other things, reform of the prostitution law was discussed, and the Barnett government was defeated with a return of the ALP to power. Public debate on reform has continued since, with pressure from both sides of the issue,[238] while a new industry review following the 2010 report (LASH)[182] has continued to recommend decriminalization (The Law and Sex worker Health, LASH reports). [239] [240] [241] The Northern Territory government had consistently rejected requests for the legalization of brothels,[62] and as elsewhere in Australia, any liberalization by religious groups was vigorously opposed. [63] The 1989 Fitzgerald Report (Commission of Inquiry into “Possible Unlawful Activities and Associated Police Misconduct”) raised many law enforcement concerns and, therefore, a more specific investigation (Criminal Justice Commission. Regulate morality? A Queensland Prostitution Survey) in 1991. This led to two laws, the Prostitution Laws (Amendment) Act 1992 and the Prostitution Act 1999. [77] Where is prostitution legal in Australia? Sex work is legal in New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Victoria. However, it is still illegal to do sex work in South Australia and Western Australia. Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT have legalised sex work to a limited extent.
Although previously tacitly tolerated, the first law legalizing brothel prostitution in Victoria was passed in 1984 through the Planning (Brothels) Act 1984. Over the next decade, considerable attention led to the 1994 Prostitution Control Act. In 2011, the Act was amended by the Sex Work (Amendment) Bill and other Acts and is now known as the Sex Work Act 1994. Brothels are regulated by Consumer Affairs Victoria (as are real estate agents and car dealerships, for example). Street prostitution remains illegal. The goal of legalization was to eliminate the involvement of organized crime in the industry and to protect women through regulation and licensing. There is a broad consensus that legalization has failed. In colonial times, before federation, Australia passed the United Kingdom`s Communicable Diseases Acts between 1868 and 1879 to control STDs in the military, which required mandatory inspection of women suspected of prostitution. [3] Brothels are illegal in South Australia under the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935[84] and the Summary Offences Act 1953. [85] Courting in public places (maximum fine of $750), receiving money from someone else`s prostitution and obtaining it is illegal ($2,500 or a six-month jail sentence), but the act of prostitution itself is not.
New South Wales was founded in 1788 and was responsible for Tasmania until 1825, Victoria until 1851 and Queensland until 1859.[86] .