Escort Work in Queensland: Your Rights

Queensland decriminalised sex work on 2 August 2024. Escort work is now treated as work, with the same basic rights and protections as other jobs.

This guide explains what changed, what still applies, what to expect from an agency and where to get free, independent help in Brisbane.

This guide is general information about Queensland, written in plain words. It is not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, speak to a lawyer or to Respect Inc.

What decriminalisation changed for escort work in Queensland

Before August 2024, most ways of doing sex work in Queensland were crimes. Workers could only work alone or in a licensed brothel. Working with a friend for safety was illegal.

Since 2 August 2024, sex work is decriminalised. That means it is no longer a crime, and it is regulated by the same general laws as other businesses.

For clients, booking an escort is now lawful too. Clients have fewer reasons to hide who they are, which makes it easier for workers and agencies to screen them openly.

The new rules apply across Queensland, from Brisbane to the regions. Local councils treat sex work businesses like other businesses when it comes to planning.

• Sex work is recognised as work.
• You can work alone or with other sex workers, and you can share a location.
• Escort agencies are lawful businesses.
• The Prostitution Licensing Authority and the police Prostitution Enforcement Taskforce have closed.
• Police can no longer pose as clients to catch sex workers.

The change came after years of work by sex workers and their organisations, including Respect Inc. Their summary of sex work and the laws in Queensland is the clearest plain-language source on the new rules.

Some things have not changed. You still pay tax on your income. Businesses still follow planning rules like any other business. Home-based workers follow the same home business rules as anyone else who works from home.

Offences that still apply in Queensland

Decriminalisation does not mean there are no rules. Some things are still crimes, and they protect workers:

• Involving anyone under 18 in sex work.
• Forcing someone into sex work, or keeping them in it, through threats, violence or other coercion.
• Removing or damaging a condom without consent, known as stealthing.
• Getting consent by falsely promising to pay.

The last two come from changes to Queensland’s consent laws in 2024. They make clear that consent given on a false basis is not real consent.

Consent can also be withdrawn at any time. That applies at work, with any client, at any point in a booking. If a client does not stop, that may be a crime, and you can report it to police.

Public health laws apply to sex work in the same way they apply to everyone else.

If you are unsure whether something that happened to you was a crime, Respect Inc or a lawyer can help you work it out. You do not have to decide alone whether to report it.

Reporting is your choice. Since decriminalisation, you can report a crime at work without worrying that doing sex work is itself an offence.

Workplace health and safety for escorts in Queensland

Sex work businesses now fall under Queensland’s work health and safety laws, like any other workplace. The business has a duty to manage risks to the people who work there.

Respect Inc’s summary of the law says sex work businesses must provide safer sex supplies, such as condoms, lubricant and dams in a range of sizes, free of charge. It also says they must provide training.

In practice, a safe workplace should also have:

• A way to screen clients before a booking.
• A check-in and check-out system, so someone knows where you are.
• A clear plan for what happens if something goes wrong.
• Safe, clean and private premises for incall work.

If a workplace does not meet these standards, you can raise it with the business, or get advice from Respect Inc.

You can also raise safety concerns with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, the state regulator for workplace safety.

Training should cover the basics: safer sex, what to do if a client becomes aggressive and how the check-in system works. If nobody has explained these to you, ask.

Sexual health for escorts in Queensland

Sexual health is part of workplace health and safety. The basics are the same as for anyone. A few habits matter more at work.

• Use condoms and other barriers. Respect Inc’s summary of the law says businesses must supply them free.
• Have regular sexual health checks. Queensland’s public sexual health clinics offer confidential testing.
• Know that removing a condom without consent is now a crime in Queensland.
• Ask Respect Inc for health information written for sex workers.

You do not have to tell a clinic what you do for work. Telling them can help them offer the right tests.

If a condom breaks or is removed, get advice quickly. Some treatments, such as emergency contraception and medicine to prevent HIV, work best when started early. A sexual health clinic, a GP or a hospital emergency department can help.

If a client refuses to use a condom, you can end the booking. Tell reception, or whoever monitors your bookings, as soon as you are safe.

Anti-discrimination protections in Queensland

It is now against the law in Queensland to discriminate against someone because of sex work. The protection covers areas such as employment, renting a home and getting services.

For example, a landlord cannot refuse you a rental because you do sex work. A business cannot refuse to serve you for that reason either.

If you think you have been discriminated against, you can make a complaint to the Queensland Human Rights Commission. Respect Inc can help you understand your options and support you through a complaint.

If you think you are being treated unfairly, keep notes: dates, what was said and who was there. Notes make a complaint much easier to follow up.

The law has changed faster than attitudes. Stigma still exists, which is one reason privacy still matters. Our guide to privacy for escorts covers the practical side.

Your rights with a Brisbane escort agency

An agency should be clear and fair about how it works before you agree to anything. You are entitled to ask questions and get straight answers.

Things to ask any agency in Brisbane:

• How is the booking fee split? Are there any other deductions?
• Are there joining fees? Is there a lock-in contract?
• How are clients screened before a booking?
• What safety measures are in place on every booking?
• Who controls my photos, and is my legal name ever published?
• What happens if I want to refuse a client or a booking?

Our own answers: a 50/50 split with no further deductions, no joining fees and no lock-in contract. Reception screens every client before a booking is confirmed. Your legal name is never published, and you decide how much of your face and body your photos show.

If you are weighing up an agency against working for yourself, see our guide on agency or independent escort work.

You also have the right to walk away. If an agency will not answer these questions clearly, or pushes you to start before you are ready, look elsewhere.

Get the important terms, such as the split and any fees, in writing before your first booking.

You can hear our own terms in full at the first conversation. The application is confidential, and applying commits you to nothing.

Staying safe on bookings in Brisbane

Safety depends on good systems and good habits. An agency provides some of the systems. The habits are yours.

Our safety measures for companions:

• Reception screens every client before a booking is confirmed.
• Reception knows when each booking starts and ends, and checks on you at both points.
• Secure, well-maintained incall locations.
• Transport to and from outcall bookings, arranged by us.
• If a client crosses a line, reception steps in, and that client is never booked again.

Habits that help, wherever you work:

• Trust your instincts. If something feels wrong at the door, you can leave.
• Keep your phone charged and with you.
• Agree the booking details before it starts, so there are no surprises.
• Tell someone you trust when a booking starts and ends.
• Keep money for a taxi or a charged rideshare app, even when transport is arranged.
• Know where the exits are when you arrive at a room or building.

In an emergency, call 000. For non-urgent police matters in Queensland, call Policelink on 131 444.

After a bad booking, tell reception as soon as you can. Every report helps protect the next worker through the do-not-book list.

Screening is not only the agency’s job. If something in a client’s messages or manner worries you, say so before the booking starts.

Free support in Brisbane: Respect Inc

Respect Inc is Queensland’s sex worker organisation. It is run by and for sex workers, and it is independent of any agency, including ours.

Respect Inc has drop-in centres in Brisbane, Cairns and the Gold Coast. It also runs an Asian-focus drop-in, outreach to regional areas and a career development program.

It is a peer organisation: sex workers supporting sex workers. You can talk openly without having to explain the industry first.

If you work outside Brisbane, Respect Inc also offers outreach and remote support, so you can get help wherever you work in Queensland.

It can help with:

• Plain-language information about the law.
• Sexual health information and safer sex supplies.
• Workshops and training.
• Support after a sexual assault or another bad experience at work.
• Help with discrimination complaints.

You do not need to be working with an agency to use Respect Inc. If you are thinking about starting, it is a good place to ask questions before you apply anywhere. When you are ready, our guide on how to become an escort in Brisbane and our page on escort jobs in Brisbane explain the next steps.