Sex workers will not be required to have mandatory health checks and small owner-operated suburban brothels will not need to be registered under proposed new laws to legalise prostitution announced by the State Government yesterday.

The Department of Racing, Gaming and Liquor will certify brothel operators and approve managers, while councils will approve brothels under planning laws.

Town of Vincent Mayor Nick Catania, whose council has had problems with suburban homes being used as brothels, said the proposed new laws should have gone further and given local government authorities the power to clamp down on the one and two-person operations.

Mr Catania said though suburban sex workers would need local government approval to operate a business from home, he did not expect many to come forward.

“The biggest problem is the one and two-person operations that you don’t know about” he said. “Under this legislation they don’t have to have a licence and that’s one of the weaknesses. I would have preferred to see that everyone who is going to offer their services as a sex worker gets a licence”.

Greens MLC Giz Watson, who was part of the Prostitution Law Reform Working Group, defended the decision to exclude one or two-person operations for fear they would go underground. “There is still a stigma attached to working in the industry, sex workers don’t want to have their name on a register or have to carry a card” she said.

Health Department spokeswoman Lisa Bastian said mandatory health checks gave a false sense of security. “We would prefer the message and the practice within the sex work industry is always to practice safe sex regardless” she said.

A new criminal offence will be created for sex workers and clients who engage in sexual activities while infected with a sexually transmitted infection or blood-borne virus.

Attorney-General Jim McGinty said there were 38 known brothels in WA and there would be substantial fines for unlicensed brothels of about $10,000, as in New Zealand. “I would not expect a proliferation of brothels but I would expect that we could now control them because it would no longer be unlawful” he said.

Assistant Commissioner Wayne Gregson said prostitution now became predominantly a health and planning issue, though police would be able to enter brothels and check whether operators were certified.

Shadow Police Minister Rob Johnson predicted an explosion of brothel numbers.

Brothel owner Mary-Anne Kenworthy was concerned that small suburban operations were exempt from the certification process.