Local Town & City Councils (LGA's)

Guidance to support local QLD governments August 2024

Background

On 2 August 2024 the Criminal Code (Decriminalising Sex Work) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (the Act) took effect.

The Act establishes a legal framework to provide a safe, decriminalised sex work industry in Queensland, and improving the health, safety, rights and legal protections for sex workers. The Act is based on the recommendations of the Queensland Law Reform Commission (QLRC) report ‘A decriminalised sex work industry for Queensland’ (QLRC Report) which was released in March 2023. The QLRC report identified several recommendations to decriminalise the sex work industry in Queensland, ten of which relate specifically to the planning framework.

For the Act to be given effect and to support the recommendations of the QLRC report, amendments were required to several pieces of legislation, including the Planning Regulation 2017 (Planning Regulation).

Purpose:

The information provided in this guidance has been prepared to assist local government to understand the effect of the decriminalisation of the sex work industry in planning for their local communities including the effect on local planning schemes and how a sex work business is assessed to ensure decisions are consistent with the policy intent to ensure sex work business is treated the same as any other business, including a home-based business.

Changes to regulation of sex work business:

The Justice (Decriminalising Sex Work) and Other Legislation Amendment Regulation 2024 took effect on 2 August 2024 and made a number of key changes to the Planning Regulation:

Plan making •

Removal of ‘brothel’ as a defined land use term in Schedule 3 ‘Use terms’ for local planning schemes • Removal of prohibitions and assessment provisions in Schedule 10 ‘Development Assessment’ • Amend the land use definitions of ‘home-based business’ and ‘shop’ in Schedule 3 to include a ‘sex work business’ as an example of types of activity for each use. • Include a new administrative definition in Schedule 4 ‘Administrative terms’ for local planning schemes for ‘sex work business’ to clarify that a home-based business and shop include sex work business.

Development assessment •

Removal of provisions in section 17(e) of the Planning Regulation for the assessment of brothels against Schedule 3 of the Prostitution Regulation 2014. • Inclusion of new section 17A Material change of use, limiting all home based business to the maximum category of assessment of code with specific assessment benchmarks for the number of workers and visitors at a time. • Inclusion of new provisions in Schedule 6 that ensure a material change of use cannot be misused to target a sole operator sex work business where operating as a home-based business.

Enforcement and compliance-

To support existing sex-work businesses to become compliant with planning laws, amendments have also been made to the Planning Act 2016. These amendments include provisions that provide for a 12-month moratorium period on development offences and enforcement action to encourage any unlawful or proposed sex work business to seek planning advice and make a planning application, where necessary.

Further Information see: Implementing the decriminalisation of sex work in the planning framework.

More Info