Non-payment is a major issue for Victorian sex workers. They could soon lose crucial help finding justice

The Guardian

29-05-2025

Aurora* had always considered herself a proud, educated sex worker. For years, she campaigned to decriminalise the industry in Victoria – writing inquiry submissions, contacting MPs and pushing for reform.
Her efforts paid off in 2022, when the state government passed laws recognising sex work as a legitimate job rather than a crime.
But even after the laws changed, Aurora says she still didn't feel safe reporting a series of what she describes as 'really terrible incidents' at work: one client threatened to kill her, others refused to pay and she was once held against her will for refusing to 'issue a refund' after services were completed.
'I felt like I wouldn't be believed because of what I do for work and I know the justice system can be incredibly traumatic for victims,' says Aurora.
'Even though things have changed, I still knew I'd be subjected to some pretty heinous questioning.'
It wasn't until she found Southside Justice – one of only two specialist legal services for sex workers in Australia – that Aurora felt safe enough to report an incident of non-payment to police, who are now pursuing the matter.
Southside Justice's chief executive, Mel Dye, says non-payment is the most common issue reported since decriminalisation, followed by discrimination, police accountability and employment issues.
But as more sex workers seek their help accessing justice, the dedicated legal service now faces the risk of closing due to insufficient funding.
Under Victoria's affirmative consent laws that came into effect in 2023, if a person agrees to sex under false pretences, such as a promise of payment that does not eventuate, that consent can be invalid. In such cases, non-payment can constitute sexual assault.
According to Rachel Payne, an upper house member from the Legalise Cannabis party, non-payment and sexual assault are 'all too common' issues in sex work.
'People involved in the sex industry face stigma, inequality and power imbalances on top of existing barriers to justice. This is why specialist, trauma-informed legal support is so important,' she told parliament on Wednesday.
Aurora says she knows several sex workers who have had clients use a range of tactics not to pay for services: fake transfers, counterfeit cash or staging urgent phone calls to rush out the door.
'It's a huge issue in the industry because they think they can get away with it and we won't report it,' she says. 'I don't know many people who have pursued it through the criminal justice system.'
Dye says many sex workers remain reluctant to report to police without Southside Justice's support, often due to past experiences of criminalisation, stigma and discrimination.
'We're working with a community that has been marginalised and disadvantaged for decades. They need someone in their corner,' she says.
'You can't just decriminalise sex work and expect it to be 'job done, let's move on.''
Despite this, the Victorian government rejected Southside Justice's latest funding bid, allocating nothing to the program in last week's state budget. Of the $12.3m set aside in previous budgets to support the sector's transition to decriminalisation, the service received just $156,000 or 1.3%.
A separate grant from the Victorian Legal Services Board is also due to expire in December.
Dye says they had sought $2.5m from the state government over four years to expand the sex work legal team. When that seemed unlikely, they proposed three scaled-down options: $620,000 to continue funding one lawyer, $1.19m for two lawyers or $1.69m for two lawyers and a peer worker.
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'It's peanuts,' she says. 'It very difficult to reconcile that the government has just invested $1.6bn into the justice system but won't provide a modest amount of support for us to actually make a real difference in the lives of the sex worker community.'
Greens MLC Katherine Copsey said ongoing funding was essential, especially so the service's dedicated lawyer can contribute to an upcoming review of decriminalisation laws – a 'critical opportunity' to assess their impact.
'The success of decriminalisation depends not just on legislation and what we do in this place but on its implementation. Without accessible legal support, sex workers are left to navigate complex systems alone, undermining the reform's intent,' she told parliament on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the Victorian government said it had provided $40m to community legal centres in the budget, including Southside Justice.
They said the government was in 'ongoing discussions' regarding future funding for sex work legal services.
A spokesperson for Victoria police said the force 'treats sex work the same as any other occupation' and sex workers subjected to verbal, physical or sexual abuse 'can report these crimes to police without fear of self-incrimination'.
'If a sex worker is falsely told they will be paid for their services or misled it is a reportable offence. Any reports of sexual offences are also taken extremely seriously,' they said.
As for Aurora, the impact of those incidents was lasting. She says she struggled to work for a year due to trauma, and it shook her self-belief.
'I lost trust,' she says. 'Mostly in myself. I couldn't trust my judgment any more – my ability to read people, to know when I was safe.'
'I've been in the industry a long time. But after that, I couldn't trust anyone.'
She says speaking up now and pursuing a non-payment case through the courts, with the aid of Southside Justice, feels like a step toward reclaiming her identity.
*Name has been changed
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html