Tasmanian Sex Work Laws

Tasmania’s peer-only sex worker project is the Scarlet Alliance Lutruwita (Tasmanian) Sex Worker Project. 

The Scarlet Alliance Lutruwita Project offers peer services to local and touring sex workers. The Lutruwita Project’s main office is located in Nipaluna (Hobart). Peer workers provide weekly outreach services to Launceston at the head of Kanamaluka (Tamar River) and also regularly visit other regional centres. Our office is located at 4 Battery Square, Battery Point, Hobart 7004. The office is not staffed full-time, so please contact us to make an appointment.

In Tasmania, ‘sexual services’ means either:

• an ‘act of sexual intercourse’ and/or

‘any activity where there is any form of direct physical contact between two or more persons for the purpose of the sexual gratification of one or more of those persons’, including masturbation of one person by another (Sex Industry Offences Act 2005).

Both sex workers and clients must:

• use a ‘prophylactic’ (condom) for services involving sexual intercourse, or ‘any other activity with a similar or greater risk of acquiring or transmitting a sexually transmissible infection’
• not discourage the use of prophylactics (condoms), or ‘misuse, damage or interfere with the efficacy of any prophylactic used’
• take ‘all reasonable steps to minimise the risk of acquiring or transmitting a sexually transmissible infection’.

The maximum penalty for breach is a fine of 500 penalty units ($101,000) – Sex Industry Offences Act 2005.

All adults (including sex workers and clients) who are aware that they have a ‘notifiable disease’:

• must take all reasonable measures and precautions to prevent the transmission of the disease
• must not knowingly or recklessly place another person at risk of contracting the disease.

The maximum penalty for breach is a fine of 100 penalty units ($20,200), 12 months imprisonment, or both – Public Health Act 1997.

In many states and territories, STI and BBV may be ‘notifiable infections’. This means that diagnosed infections are confidentially reported to state or territory health departments. You can find more information on our BBV, STI and the Law resource. Check out Red Book Online for information on STI/BBV, testing, safer sex, and harm reduction.

‘Stealthing’ (non-consensual condom tampering or removal) is recognised as a violation of consent in Tasmania. If consent during sex is violated, a sexual assault has occurred.

The Tasmanian Criminal Code states:

a person does not freely agree to an act of sexual intercourse…if the person says or does anything to communicate to the other person that a condom must be used… and the other person intentionally:

• does not use a condom, or
• tampers with the condom, or
• removes the condom – before or during the sexual intercourse.

In the Criminal Code, ‘sexual intercourse’ means any penetration of the genitals, mouth, anus or vagina.

If you’ve experienced stealthing and need peer support, contact the Scarlet Alliance Lutruwita Project.

There are no specific rules (see page 24) for sexual services businesses (self-employed sex workers) advertising in Tasmania.

However, sex work advertising is subject to: 

• Federal advertising and internet laws 
• Terms and conditions set by private advertising providers (e.g. newspapers or advertising websites).

It is illegal to:

Police officers can enter any premises if they ‘believe on reasonable grounds’ that certain sex industry offences have happened, are happening or will happen on the premises. They can search, photograph, visually record, and seize evidence from the premises.

Police officers can arrest a person without a warrant if they ‘reasonably believe’ the person has committed, is committing or will commit certain sex industry offences.

Members of the public can make anonymous complaints and the police do not have to disclose what evidence they have been given. This means it can be difficult to provide a defence against a charge.

This section describes what the Tasmanian legislation refers to as ‘commercial sexual services businesses’, which includes brothels and parlours.

It is not illegal to be a sex worker in a commercial sexual services business, provided you are not managing or operating that business.

‘Sexual services’ is defined as  ‘any activity where there is any form of direct physical contact between two or more persons for the purpose of the sexual gratification of one or more of those persons including…the masturbation of one person by another.’ This likely criminalises commercial sexual massage premises run by a manager. 

It is legal to provide sexual massage services in a private place with up to one other worker, provided you do not manage the other worker.

For further information about working safely in Tasmania, contact the Scarlet Alliance Tasmanian Sex Worker Project.

It is legal to be a self-employed sex worker, and work with up to one other sex worker, provided that neither of you manages the other. This applies to both incall and outcall work. 

Self-employed sex workers must not permit any child to be on the premises while they are working (incalls) (Sex Industry Offences Act 2005).

Clients of self-employed sex workers must not permit any child to be on the premises while they are receiving a service (outcalls) (Sex Industry Offences Act 2005).

For more information on staying safe while working privately, contact the Scarlet Alliance Tasmanian Sex Worker Project.

It is illegal to offer sexual services by 

• accosting any person in a public place 
• soliciting or loitering in a public place (maximum penalty: $3,460 fine – Sex Industry Offences Act 2005).

It is illegal to procure (hire) sexual services by 

• accosting any person in a public place 
• soliciting or loitering in a public place (maximum penalty: $3,460 fine – Sex Industry Offences Act 2005).

For the purposes of this legislation:

• Public place is defined broadly and includes streets, parks, passenger vessels and taxis, licensed premises, public toilets and shops
• Accosting means approaching someone
• Soliciting means verbally offering or asking for sexual services, either your own or on behalf of someone else.
• Loitering means standing, waiting, or walking slowly without an obvious purpose.

Police officers have the power to arrest without warrant any person they reasonably suspect to have committed or reasonably suspect is likely to commit a street-based sex work offence.

If you have been charged or received a fine or notice while doing street-based sex work in Tasmania, or want information about conducting street-based work safely, contact the Scarlet Alliance Tasmanian Sex Worker Project.