AAWAA has been part of a coalition of Australian feminist organisations that has submitted a formal letter to the Prime Minister and the Minister for Women, advancing a substantive case for comprehensive national reform to prostitution law and requesting a National Apology for women and girls harmed and criminalised by past and present policies.
A National Apology: Acknowledgment and restitution
A National Apology is not simply symbolic. It is an essential act of restitution for women and girls who have endured criminalisation, stigma, and exclusion as a result of their being prostituted. Precedents for such apologies exist within Australian public life, notably those addressed to the Stolen Generations and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, each recognising systemic harm and providing a foundation for healing and renewed accountability. These necessary apologies show that as a nation we are capable of recognising great wrongs in our country.
In the case of prostitution, such an apology would constitute formal acknowledgment of the harm experienced by women and girls criminalised for circumstances shaped by systemic disadvantage and lack of protection. And it would signal a clear shift in national responsibility, from the punishment of the exploited to the accountability of exploiters and those who have profited from abuse. It’s time for Australia to say sorry and to set things right.
The legal context: Decriminalisation, legalisation, and their failures
Prostitution law in Australia remains a fragmented patchwork. Regulatory models differ by jurisdiction: New South Wales, Victoria, the Northern Territory, and Queensland have each adopted decriminalisation, treating prostitution as a form of regulated business. The Australian Capital Territory operates a legalisation framework predicated on licensing, registration, and localised controls. Other states, such as Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia, maintain partial criminalisation or abolitionist provisions where third-party exploitation is proscribed but the act of prostitution itself is not a criminal offence.
This legal divergence has not resulted in the protection for women and girls and decriminalisation and partial regulatory models have not ended exploitation; rather, they have entrenched the interests of sex buyers, profiteers, and intermediaries, while leaving those at highest risk — women and girls who enter prostitution due to poverty, trauma, or coercion — without effective safeguards or viable pathways to exit.
International context and evidence: Scotland, the Nordic Model, and beyond
Recent legislative developments, including the Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill, reflect a growing consensus that the criminal law must focus on the men who purchase sex, facilitate or profit from prostitution, while fully decriminalising and restoring the dignity of those who have been exploited. Evidence from Sweden, where the Nordic Model has operated for over two decades, demonstrates that targeting demand by criminalising buyers reduces prostitution markets and related trafficking. Scotland’s proposed Bill goes further by mandating survivor support and statutory redress for those previously criminalised, advancing practical and restorative justice.
The Australian Abolition Approach: Core components
But we ask the Australian Government to move beyond even the Scottish suggestion. Our coalition’s recommendations for the Australian Abolition Approach (‘Triple A’) for Absolute Protection are as follows:
- Criminalise the purchase of sex in all settings and all forms of profiteering – including brothel-keeping, pimping, facilitation, and advertisement – with robust enforcement.
- Fully decriminalise those who sell sex, repeals all related offences, and expunges historic convictions, restoring dignity and opportunity to the exploited.
- Enshrine a statutory right to trauma-informed exit support: housing, healthcare, legal advice, and financial assistance as a matter of right.
- Mandate survivor-led policy and service design, ensuring lived experience shapes reform and delivery.
- Properly fund prevention, education, and exit support, aiming to change attitudes – especially among men and boys – and tackle root causes.
- Establishe strong cross-agency oversight and coordination for real protections.
- Deliver national consistency using federal legal power, closing state and territory loopholes and leading the world in fighting sexual exploitation.
- Provide a National Apology to all those criminalised and exploited in prostitution.
Feminist coalition: Legitimacy and expectations
Our signatory coalition represents the broadest, most consistent body of feminist advocacy in the country on these issues. Its members have a long history of public engagement, legal analysis, and policy development for women’s sexed-based protections and rights. As such, our expectation is that the Prime Minister and Minister for Women will directly, substantively, and respectfully engage with these recommendations, in line with democratic principles and our established records of expert advocacy on behalf of women and girls in Australia.
Principled and practical reform is needed
Law and policy regarding prostitution in Australia are overdue for principled and practical reform. A new national approach centred on accountability, restoration, and the unambiguous protection of women and girls would demonstrate the kind of governmental responsibility and moral leadership that historic moments demand. A National Apology, in this context, is both appropriate and necessary: a public acknowledgment of past harm and a clear signal for future justice.
Our coalition remains ready to assist government in advancing this agenda and will continue to press for a substantive response, one that places the rights, safety, and futures of women and girls at the centre of national law and policy.
