Update 20/11/2025 The South Australian Parliament has voted yes to referring the question of decriminalising prostitution to the South Australian Law Reform Institute (SALRI). This development makes your voice all the more vital as South Australia moves towards yet another debate on the issue.
Recent moves in the South Australian Parliament indicate there is a collaborative effort to decriminalise prostitution in South Australia next year.
On November 12th, Parliament voted to refer the matter of decriminalising prostitution to the South Australian Law Reform Institute (SALRI).
Although officially non-partisan, SALRI has previously been associated with some of the state’s most radical social reforms, including the legalisation of abortion to birth, and is therefore likely to recommend the full decriminalisation of prostitution to the South Australian Parliament.
The SALRI referral adds pressure for South Australia to follow in the footsteps of Victoria, where pimping is legal and brothels operate as largely unregulated businesses.
Additionally, earlier this year, Hon Tammy Franks MLC introduced, and then suddenly withdrew, her latest prostitution bill. The Bill was presented as “a compromise that has been negotiated with those in the Labor Party.” 1
Recent comments from the Attorney General indicate he will support the re-introduction of a bill to decriminalise prostitution next year.
Why this matters:
We must stop this renewed push for the normalisation of brothels, pimping, and the commercial sexual exploitation of women.
In every State where decriminalisation has passed, prostitution has increased. This means more brothels, more street prostitution, and more pimping and exploitation of vulnerable women.
The sex trade is sustained by violence, poverty, and coercion. Reliable studies indicate that 89% of people in prostitution wish to escape but remain in it for survival. Furthermore, 68% experience post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of prostitution. This is not an industry that South Australia should lend legitimacy to.
Writing to your MP is crucial. It gives South Australia a fighting chance at more balanced, protective reform—reform that aims to reduce, not expand, the exploitation of women.
[1] https://hansardsearch.parliament.sa.gov.au/daily/uh/2025-04-30/42
