The concerns instigating this inquiry are not evidence-based, and a new regulatory system is not warranted. A move away from decriminalisation would be to step back 17 years in sex worker law reform. It would be a public health disaster and damaging for Australia’s international reputation. The United Nations Report on Sex Work and the Law in Asia and the Pacific released in October 2012 states specifically in its conclusions that ‘positive public health and human rights outcomes have been achieved in jurisdictions that have decriminalized sex work’ and that ‘licensing and registration models have not been effective.
