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ARTICLE · 22 JUNE 2022

Are brothels allowed to operate in Australia?

Brothels are legal in some states, illegal in others & partially decriminalised with a licensing model in others.

AustraliaCriminal Law

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Brothels are legal in NSW and Victoria where it is decriminalised without the need to have a licence. Brothels in WA, SA, Tasmania are still illegal, whereas brothels in NT, Queensland and ACT have been partially decriminalised with a licensing model and strict conditions.

The legality of brothels vary across Australia's territories and states. This article is written by our own in-house sexual assault lawyers Sydney team.

According to a study into the sex work industry, men who visit sex workers most often do so at brothels (64.6%), followed by escort services (32.6%), massage parlours (26.8%), private premises with a single sex worker (25.5%), private houses where more than one sex worker workes (11.5%), and street sex work (5.9%).

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