Australia, Victoria

Is selling sex criminalised?

No, however there are some restrictions on when and where street-based sex work can take place. 

Is buying sex criminalised?

No.

Is organising/managing criminalised?

No.

Is there mandatory HIV/STI testing?

No.

Is there mandatory registration?

No.

If sex work is regulated, is it in line with other work, or are the regulations unfair or overly restrictive?

As of 1 December 2023, sex work businesses are treated the same as other Victorian businesses, and are regulated through standard planning, occupational health, and safety laws that apply to all businesses. 

Is sex work recognised as work?

Yes, sex work is recognised as legitimate work under the Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022, which took full effect 1 December 2023. 

Is sex work decriminalised with limited regulation?

Yes, the Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022 has decriminalised sex work in Victoria and repealed the previous model of regulation. 

Sources/further reading

Victoria State Government website on Decriminalisation, available at: https://www.vic.gov.au/sex-work-decriminalisation

Victoria State Government Department of Transport and Planning, available at:

https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/guides-and-resources/guides/all-guides/decriminalisation-of-sex-work-in-victoria

The Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022, available at: https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/as-made/acts/sex-work-decriminalisation-act-2022

Scarlet Alliance website on Victorian sex work laws, available at: https://scarletalliance.org.au/resources/laws/vic/

Extra info

The Online Safety Act 2021 is a federal Australian law that came into force on 23 January 2022. The Act includes a scheme to remove cyberbullying material, cyber-abuse content that seriously harms adults, abhorrent violent material and image-based abuse. There are concerns among sex workers that the implementation or enforcement could be too broad such that it will negatively impact sex workers by taking down consensually created sexual content online.

Contact
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