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COMMITTEE’S REPORT

The committee tabled its Report No. 4, 57th Parliament - Criminal Code (Decriminalising Sex Work) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 on Friday, 12 April 2024.

View: Report

About the BILL 

On 15 February 2024 the Hon Yvette D'Ath, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence introduced the Criminal Code (Decriminalising Sex Work) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 into the Queensland Parliament. The Bill was referred to the Housing, Big Build and Manufacturing Committee for detailed consideration.   

View: Explanatory speech
View: Bill
View: Explanatory Notes 
View: Statement of compatibility 

The objective of the Criminal Code (Decriminalising Sex Work) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (the Bill) is to establish a legal framework that will enact a safe, decriminalised sex work industry in Queensland, while improving the health, safety, rights and legal protections for sex workers.

The Bill establishes a decriminalised framework for the sex work industry based on the recommendations of the Queensland Law Reform Commission (QLRC) report: A decriminalised sex-work industry for Queensland (the QLRC Report). 

This includes:

• repealing sex work specific offences such as those relating to working alone or with others, public solicitation and sex work advertising, as located in the Criminal Code, Prostitution Act 1999 and Prostitution Regulation 2014
• removing the current licensing system and specific obligations on brothel licensees relating to alarms, lighting and signs
• repealing sex work specific health offences that are located in the Prostitution Act and Prostitution Regulation
• implementing the QLRC’s recommendations to update discrimination protections in the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 
• ensuring that the power to make local laws, which reside with local government authorities, should be restricted so that a local law must not be made which prohibits or regulates sex work or the conduct of sex work businesses
• repealing sex work specific offences in the Criminal Code, and introducing a definition of ‘commercial sexual services’ in addition to new offences that address coercion and the exploitation of children in commercial sexual services
• introducing a legislated review requirement to assess the operation and effectiveness of the new regulatory framework of the Bill and the decriminalised sex work industry in Queensland
• implementing consequential amendments to reflect the decriminalisation of the sex work industry and removal of the brothel licensing system.

Further information

Further information including written briefings, correspondence, response to submissions, transcripts and answers to questions taken on notice are available under the Related Publications tab.

submissions

Submissions closed on Friday, 8 March 2024. 

PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS

The committee held a public briefing on the Bill by officers of the Department on Monday 26 February 2024. Public hearings will be held on Friday 22 March and Tuesday 26 March 2024.  See timeline below for further information.

Timeline