Attorney General and Health Minister Jim McGinty said the laws would decriminalise and regulate brothels and escort agencies in order to protect the health and safety of sex workers, shield children from the industry and protect police from allegations of corruption.

“Prostitution is an unfortunate fact of life and we have been unable to regulate brothels because they are unlawful,” Mr McGinty said.

“It is time we established laws to minimise the potential negative impacts of this industry.

“This is a difficult issue which requires strong government to resolve.

“Both sides of politics have attempted to regulate prostitution over the past two decades and failed.

“Prostitution raises significant moral and ethical issues and is strongly opposed by sections of the community, however we need to acknowledge that the industry does exist and not just stick our head in the sand like previous State Governments.”

Under current laws, prostitution in itself is not prohibited but it is illegal to manage a brothel and live off the earnings of prostitution.

Streetwalking and kerb crawling are also offences and will remain illegal under the new laws.

The Minister said the need for reform was highlighted by Commissioner Geoffrey Kennedy in 2004, following the Royal Commission into WA police.

“In his report, Commissioner Kennedy recommended the Government legislate to clarify the law in this area to assist police and reduce the risk of corruption,” he said.

The legislation is based on recommendations made by the Prostitution Law Reform Working Group in early 2007, which consulted with the community and key stakeholders and considered current legislation in other Australian States and New Zealand.

The Prostitution Amendment Bill adopts a minimalist, decriminalised model similar to that in New Zealand, under which approved operators and managers of brothels would be regulated under a certification system run by the Department of Racing, Gaming and Liquor.

Operators and managers would be required to renew their certification annually and penalties would apply for people found operating without a certificate.

Operators and managers could not have any serious convictions or charges pending related to sexual crimes, organised crime, drugs or violence.

Under the legislation:

• brothels would be subject to planning approval from the relevant local government, which would be guided by specially developed WA Planning Commission guidelines. The Western Australian Local Government Association and several local councils have indicated support for the new laws;
• the WA Police would have a role in vetting the suitability of applicants and would also be empowered to enter brothels to verify that they are being operated and managed by certified persons;
• sex workers who operate on their own or together with one other worker would not be required to be registered. This recognises the difficulty in regulating individual sex workers and the high likelihood that if they had to be registered many such sex workers would operate outside the established system;
• sex workers operating on their own or together with one other worker would be subject to the relevant local government planning laws;
• operators or managers of brothels would be obliged to provide health information to sex workers and clients, provide them with free condoms and take all other reasonable steps to prevent transmission of sexually transmissible infections or viruses;
• sex workers would have the protection of workers' compensation entitlements and work safety legislation;
• a brothel operator or manager would have to be present at all times that the business is operating;
• brothels would not be able to operate from premises licensed to sell alcohol; and
• there would be strict restrictions on how commercial sexual services could be advertised.

Brothel operators would need to ensure children are not employed as sex workers and were not allowed on the premises. Operators would be required to obtain and retain for three years copies of photographic identification showing that sex workers were 18 years of age or over.

The new laws would strengthen existing protections for sex workers and would outlaw the use of coercion or inducement. Sex workers would have the right to refuse to take part in any commercial sexual act.

The Department of Health, Worksafe and industry stakeholders are developing a draft Code of Practice for the industry.

Minister's office - 9422 3000