Sex Industry Offences Act 2005

Sex Industry Offences Act 2005

This Act may be cited as the Sex Industry Offences Act 2005.

This Act commences on a day to be proclaimed.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears – child means a person under the age of 18 years; commercial operator means – a person who is not a self-employed sex worker and who, whether alone or with another person, operates, owns, manages or is in day-to-day control of a sexual services business; and if the person referred to in paragraph (a) is a corporation or a body corporate, a director, within the meaning of the Corporations Act, of that corporation or body corporate; commercial sexual services business means a sexual services business operated or managed by a commercial operator; prophylactic means a condom or other device used to prevent the transmission of a sexually transmissible infection; self-employed sex worker means – a sex worker who solely owns and operates a sexual services business; or a sex worker who, together with no more than one other sex worker, neither of whom employs or manages the other, owns and operates a sexual services business; sex worker means a person who provides sexual services in a sexual services business; sexual intercourse means sexual intercourse as defined in section 2B of the Criminal Code; sexual services means – an act of sexual intercourse; or any activity where there is any form of direct physical contact between 2 or more persons for the purpose of the sexual gratification of one or more of those persons including, without limitation, the masturbation of one person by another; sexual services business means a business providing sexual services for fee or reward; sexually transmissible infection means an infection that is transmitted through sexual contact between people, including the following:syphilis; gonorrhoea; chlamydia; human immunodeficiency virus; hepatitis; any other prescribed infection.

For the purpose of the definition of “commercial operator” in subsection (1), a reference to a commercial operator is a reference to – a person who determines any one or more of the following:when or where a sex worker will work; the conditions in which a sex worker will work; the amount of money, or proportion of an amount of money, that a sex worker will receive as payment for sexual services; or a person who employs, supervises or is in day-to-day control of any person referred to in paragraph (a).

A person must not be a commercial operator of a sexual services business.

Fine not exceeding 800 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 8 years, or both.

In this section – commercial sexual services means sexual services provided by a sex worker in a commercial sexual services business.

A person must not knowingly receive commercial sexual services. Fine not exceeding 100 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or both.

Proceedings may not be instituted against a person for knowingly receiving commercial sexual services contrary to subsection (2) – if the person gives evidence in court, if called to do so by the prosecution, that he or she received those commercial sexual services; or if the person agrees to give evidence in court, that he or she received those commercial sexual services, but is not called to do so by the prosecution.

For the purpose of any time limit imposed by any Act on the taking of proceedings under subsection (2), the period within which proceedings may be instituted commences on the day the alleged offender is called by the prosecution to give evidence in court.

A person who is giving evidence for the prosecution in any proceedings for an offence against this Act is not required to disclose –

that he or she has received any information; or the nature of any information that he or she has received; or the name of a person from whom the witness has received any information.

A person must not – intimidate, assault or threaten to assault a sex worker; or supply or offer to supply a prohibited plant, prohibited substance, narcotic substance or restricted substance, as defined in the Poisons Act 1971, to a sex worker; or supply or offer to supply a controlled substance, as defined in the Misuse of Drugs Act 2001, to a sex worker; or administer to a sex worker, or cause a sex worker to take, any drug or other substance with the intent to stupefy or overpower that sex worker. Fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or both.

A person must not, for the purpose of inducing any person to provide or continue to provide sexual services in a sexual services business or for the purpose of inducing any person to provide or continue to provide him or her with any fee or reward derived, directly or indirectly, from the provision of sexual services in a sexual services business – intimidate, assault or threaten to assault any person; or supply or offer to supply a prohibited plant, prohibited substance, narcotic substance or restricted substance, as defined in the Poisons Act 1971, to any person; or supply or offer to supply a controlled substance, as defined in the Misuse of Drugs Act 2001, to any person; or administer to another person, or cause another person to take, any drug or other substance with the intent to stupefy or overpower that person; or make a false representation or otherwise act fraudulently; or threaten to cause a person to be deported; or exert any other form of unreasonable or unfair pressure on any person. Fine not exceeding 1 500 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 years, or both.

A person who is indicted for but found not guilty of an offence under subsection (2) may be convicted of an offence under subsection (1) if the evidence in the proceedings on the indictment establishes that the person committed an offence under subsection (1).

A person must not, for the purpose of offering or procuring sexual services in a sexual services business, accost any person, or solicit or loiter, in a public place. Fine not exceeding 20 penalty units.

A person must not, for the purpose of offering or procuring sexual services in a sexual services business, accost a child. Fine not exceeding 300 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years, or both.

A person must not procure, or otherwise cause or permit, a child to provide sexual services in a sexual services business. Imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 years.

A person must not receive a fee or reward that he or she knows, or must reasonably be expected to know, is derived, directly or indirectly, from sexual services provided by a child in a sexual services business. Imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 years.

Subsection (2) does not apply to a fee or reward received in the ordinary course of a business that is not a sexual services business.

In a proceeding for an offence against subsection (1), it is a defence to the charge for the accused to prove that, having taken all reasonable steps to find out the age of the person concerned, the accused believed on reasonable grounds, at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed, that the person concerned was of or over the age of 18 years.

If – a person does an act or thing referred to in section 7 or 9 outside, or partly outside, Tasmania; and there is a real and substantial link, within the meaning of subsection (2), between doing the act or thing and Tasmania – section 7 or 9 applies to that act or thing as if it had been done wholly within Tasmania.

For the purpose of subsection (1), there is a real and substantial link with Tasmania – if a significant part of the conduct relating to, or constituting, the doing of the act or thing occurred in Tasmania; or where the act or thing was done wholly outside Tasmania or partly within Tasmania, if substantial harmful effects arose in Tasmania.

A self-employed sex worker must not, without reasonable excuse, proof of which lies on that sex worker, permit a child to be on any premises used by the self-employed sex worker while sexual services are being provided on those premises. Fine not exceeding 20 penalty units.

A person must not, without reasonable excuse, proof of which lies on that person, permit a child to be on any premises used by that person while he or she is receiving sexual services from a self-employed sex worker. Fine not exceeding 20 penalty units.