Dear Prime Minister Albanese and Minister Gallagher,
Re: Urgent need for a new national approach to prostitution law to protect women and girls, plus a call for a National Apology for all those exploited in prostitution
We are a coalition of independent feminist organisations representing groups from across Australia and united in our persistent alarm over the harms of prostitution being inflicted on women and girls across Australia. All our groups advocate for the protection of women and girls, especially in domains where we face discrimination or vulnerability because of our sex.
Prime Minister and Minister, we write today to urge the Government through you to adopt the boldest reforms yet to address sexual exploitation and the safety of women and girls in Australia. You will already be familiar with the introduction to the Scottish Parliament of the Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill, which offers both a warning and a model, and that signals to the world what real, rights-based law can achieve. We believe that Australia can and must show both courage and vision – not only to match this standard, but to lead globally by going further.
Across the nation, the fragmented legal landscape amounts to legislative failure. States such as New South Wales, Victoria, the Northern Territory, and Queensland have embraced ‘decriminalisation’, effectively transforming sexual exploitation into a legal business model. Elsewhere, partial criminalisation and licensing in Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and the ACT perpetuate confusion and leave dangerous gaps. In not one jurisdiction is the safety, dignity, or agency of women and girls genuinely prioritised ahead of the interests of sex buyers, brothel owners, or profiteers.
Scotland’s new Bill, if enacted, will shift the paradigm: criminalising the purchase of sex, expunging historic convictions for those abused and coerced, and establishing an enforceable right to long-term government support – housing, healthcare, and legal and financial assistance – reflecting the lived realities of those seeking to escape prostitution. Of particular note is the Bill’s commitment to historic justice for thousands of women criminalised for their circumstances. And the international evidence is clear: the Nordic Model (which criminalises buyers but decriminalises those who sell sex, and offers exit support) has halved street prostitution in Sweden and reduced trafficking. These gains have never been realised under decriminalisation in other jurisdictions, which instead see increased trafficking, violence, and normalisation of exploitation.
Prime Minister Albanese and Minister Gallagher, Australia has both the constitutional power and the moral duty to do better. Section 51 of the Constitution grants the Commonwealth all necessary legislative scope to act: using its external affairs, corporations, and trade and commerce powers, the Federal Parliament can introduce uniform laws, outlaw sex buying, criminalise third-party profiteering, and coordinate a national strategy against sexual exploitation and trafficking. Current federal law already tackles slavery and trafficking; there is no principled obstacle to extending these powers to prostitution.
We therefore urge the Government to introduce the ‘Australian Abolition Approach (‘Triple A’) for Absolute Protections’, a model that
● Criminalises the purchase of sex in all settings and all forms of profiteering – including brothel-keeping, pimping, facilitation, and advertisement – with robust enforcement.
● Fully decriminalises those who sell sex, repeals all related offences, and expunges historic convictions, restoring dignity and opportunity to the exploited.
● Enshrines a statutory right to trauma-informed exit support: housing, healthcare, legal advice, and financial assistance as a matter of right.
● Mandates survivor-led policy and service design, ensuring lived experience shapes reform and delivery.
● Properly funds prevention, education, and exit support, aiming to change attitudes – especially among men and boys – and tackle root causes.
● Establishes strong cross-agency oversight and coordination for real protections.
● Delivers national consistency using federal legal power, closing state and territory loopholes and leading the world in fighting sexual exploitation.
● Provides a National Apology to all those criminalised and exploited in prostitution.
This bold new approach would dismantle the infrastructure of sexual exploitation – including that which condones such exploitation through decriminalisation – and create real pathways out for women and girls trapped by violence and poverty. In enacting these reforms, Australia would honour the dignity and rights of women and girls, and send a message globally that we will not tolerate exploitation under any guise.
We urge you to seize this opportunity for transformative leadership. We also ask you to visit https://womensadvocacy.net for further detail and argument, as well as to listen to podcast episodes containing the voices of women from our groups – women imploring you to protect those in prostitution, to provide them with restitution, and to give them a National Apology for the historical injustices they have suffered.
Please let us know how our coalition can assist in the design or implementation of this vital reform, and we look forward to receiving your considered reply that directly engages with the issues we have raised.
Yours Sincerely,
Dr Megan Poore, per Feminist coalition
SIGNATORIES
