Larger text size Very large text size A fly-in fly-out sex worker says private escorts should be made to show proof of recent sexual health checks when placing advertisements in newspapers and condom use should be made mandatory across the industry.
Regulations failed to protect private workers and prevented people from working in pairs, an advocacy group says. Credit: Jacky Ghossein She believed regulations needed to be tightened to protect the health and safety of private workers. Only a sliver of Queensland's sex work industry is regulated, a concern highlighted in the Prostitution Licensing Authority's annual report released on Friday. Advertisement North Queensland-based sex worker Taylor Tara.
The major population centres of Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Hervey Bay, Bundaberg and Gladstone are all without a licensed brothel. There are two legal forms of sex work in Queensland: sex work conducted in a licensed brothel, from which outcalls are prohibited, and sole operators who are sex workers who work privately from a premises. Escort agencies, unlicensed brothels, massage parlours, street workers and two or more sex workers operating from a single premises are considered illegal.
Janelle Fawkes from the sex worker advocacy group Respect said the PLA's report proved the regulatory framework was "effectively creating the illegal sector". She said the regulations failed to protect private workers and prevented people from working in pairs. Loading "Prostitution advertising has overwhelmingly shifted from traditional media, such as newspapers, to online. Five new applications were submitted to the authority last year, however none were approved.
The businesses will have to get the go-ahead from the PLA before it can open.
