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Independent okay for New Zealand’s sex industry
In 2000, sexworkers advocates in Australia published “A guide to best practice – Occupational health and safety in the Australian sex industry”. They tried for some time to have OHS authorities accept...
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Working Alone in the Sex Industry
One of the strongest qualities that a consultant has is to provide a new perspective on an existing process. For over 10 years, I provided OHS advice to the Victorian sex industry. It started in...
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Sex trafficking and brothels
Every employee has the right to a safe and healthy work environment. It was this statement and belief that pushed me to providing OHS advice to the legal brothel industry in Victoria. The industry is...
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West Australian moves on sex work law neglect OHS
Australia has an enviable occupational health and safety record in its licensed brothels. A recent sex work symposium in Melbourne restated the fact that sex workers have a lower presentation of...
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Brothel safety gains new media attention
The occupational health and safety of sex workers is one of the most difficult areas to write about as the industry is politically and ideologically charged with matters of feminist ideology, human...
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Academic clarifies objections to sex work
Caroline Norma of RMIT University responded to some questions about sex work and brothel safety put to her by SafetyAtWorkBlog in response to her recently published opinion piece. This article is a...
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One industry sector continues to struggle with new OHS obligations
Some companies and industry sectors are struggling to cope with a major change to Australia’s occupational health and safety laws – the removal of the employer/employee relationship. One example of an...
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Short-sighted redefinition of worker
In May 2013, Workcover Queensland supported the government’s intention to change the definition of worker to match that of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The definition re-emphasises the...
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Brothels continue to misunderstand the employee/contractor difference
For many years the brothel industry in Victoria has struggled with its occupational health and safety obligations, not because it does not understand them but that it denies OHS laws are relevant as...
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Sex Work regulations review safety obligations
2000 edition of SafetyATWORK magazine addressing some of the OHS issues in brothels Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) is seeking public comment on some proposed revisions of the Sex Work Regulations....
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A narrow view on sex work safety
Dr Caroline Norma had an opinion piece published in The Age newspaper on October 24 2018 that fails to acknowledge the occupational health and safety (OHS) duties of Victorian businesses operating...
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Who’s checking the brothels?
In 2017 the Victorian Government reviewed and revised its Sex Work Regulations moving the responsibility for oversight of the safety and health elements of these regulations to WorkSafe Victoria....
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The absurdity of Work
In early July 2019, my son and I braved a cold Melbourne Friday night to see our very first improvisational comedy show. The catalyst was a show called “F**k this, I Quit“, produced by the Improv...
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Sex Work review includes many OHS matters
The Victorian Government has announced a review of the regulations pertaining to sex work. It will include several areas related to occupational health and safety (OHS): Workplace safety including...
View ArticleCOVID19 controls for sex work safety
Thinking about the occupational health and safety (OHS) issues of sex work is fascinating and, to some, titillating. But work is work and the OHS issues are just as real in a room in a brothel as in...
View ArticleCan the sex industry be the same as any other industry?
The Australian State of Victoria has committed to the decriminalisation of sex work. It made this decision some time ago, conducted an inquiry into how this could be achieved and is now in a further...
View ArticleWork, not Sex, won the day
On February 10 2022, the Victorian Parliament passed laws to decriminalise sex work, supporting the (Labor) government position that sex work needs to be treated the same as any other type of work. The...
View ArticleUnsuccessful dismissal case reveals sex work hazards
Last week was a big one for the sex industry in Victoria. A brothel manager was found guilty of allowing a 16-year-old girl to work as a dominatrix in his mother’s brothel. And a sex worker was found,...
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