Finding Support for Sex Workers in Australia: A Practical Guide

Sex workers may look for support for many different reasons: workplace issues, safety, sexual health, legal questions, discrimination, housing, privacy, money, stress, peer connection or simply wanting to speak with someone who understands the industry.

The best service depends on what you need and where you are. In Victoria, there are peer-led, legal, health and community services that work specifically with sex workers. Across Australia, Scarlet Alliance maintains a current network of sex worker organisations and projects in each state and territory.

This guide focuses on practical options and how to choose the right kind of support without assuming that every worker needs the same thing.

Start With Peer-Led Sex Worker Support

Peer-led organisations can be a useful first contact because their services are shaped by people with lived experience of sex work. They can offer information, peer support, referrals, safer-sex supplies, outreach and help navigating workplace or service issues.

Vixen — Victoria

Vixen is Victoria’s peer sex worker organisation and is run by and for sex workers. Its services include peer support, workplace outreach, safer-sex supplies, information and referrals. Vixen outreach covers brothels, massage parlours, private workers and street-based settings across Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Phone: (03) 9070 9050
Email: info@vixen.org.au

RhED — Victoria

RhED is a Victorian sex industry service run through Better Health Network. It provides information, support, case management and referrals for current and former sex workers, including people considering starting in the industry. RhED’s Pathways program can assist with issues such as housing, mental health, family violence, health care, visa or migration support and ongoing legal matters.

Phone: 1800 458 752
Email: sexworker@sexworker.org.au

Scarlet Alliance — National

Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association is the national peak sex worker organisation. Its member organisations include peer-led services in every state and territory, including Vixen in Victoria, SWOP NSW, Respect Inc in Queensland, SIN in South Australia, Magenta in Western Australia and sex worker projects in the ACT, Northern Territory and Tasmania.

If you are outside Victoria or unsure which service covers your area, Scarlet Alliance’s member organisation directory is one of the best places to start.

Legal Help for Sex Workers in Victoria

Southside Justice — Sex Worker Legal Program

Southside Justice’s Sex Worker Legal Program provides specialist legal help to current and former sex workers in Victoria when the legal issue relates to their sex work. The service works in partnership with Vixen and RhED and is independent and confidential.

Areas of assistance include workplace rights, unpaid money, discrimination, police, sexual assault, family violence and personal safety, housing and tenancy, and victims of crime compensation.

Phone: (03) 7037 3200
Email: info@southsidejustice.org.au

The program covers people who identify as sex workers, including online and adult-entertainment workers. It does not cover industry workers who do not themselves undertake sex work, such as receptionists, security staff or managers, although Southside Justice may have other services that can assist.

Sexual and Reproductive Health Support

Sexual Health Victoria

Sexual Health Victoria provides sexual and reproductive health services, including STI and BBV testing, contraception and screening for sex workers. Services are confidential, and current fees or bulk-billing eligibility should be checked when booking.

Victoria no longer has the old sex-work-specific requirement for regular STI testing. Testing frequency should be based on current clinical guidance and individual circumstances rather than outdated blanket rules.

Clinic phone: (03) 9257 0100 or 1800 013 952

Support for Street-Based Workers and People Facing Hardship

St Kilda Gatehouse

St Kilda Gatehouse provides a drop-in and community support service for women involved in street-based sex work in St Kilda, particularly people experiencing issues such as homelessness, addiction, mental ill-health, poverty, family violence or social isolation.

This is a more specialised service than a general sex worker peer organisation, so it may be especially relevant for people whose support needs extend beyond workplace questions.

Disability and Sex Work

Touching Base

Touching Base focuses on the rights and access needs of people with disability who want to engage sex workers. It also maintains a referral list of disability-friendly sex service providers in Australia and provides information relevant to workers and clients.

This is a specialist service rather than a general support organisation for all sex workers, but it can be useful for workers who provide services to clients with disability or want disability-specific information and referrals.

What Kind of Support Do You Need?

It can be easier to choose a service by starting with the problem rather than the organisation.

  • Peer support or someone who understands sex work: Vixen, RhED or your state or territory peer organisation.
  • Workplace rights, unpaid money, discrimination or police issues in Victoria: Southside Justice Sex Worker Legal Program.
  • Sexual or reproductive health: Sexual Health Victoria, your GP or another sex-worker-friendly health service.
  • Housing, family violence, mental health or complex support needs: RhED Pathways or an appropriate specialist community service.
  • Street-based work and hardship in St Kilda: St Kilda Gatehouse.
  • Disability-specific sex work information: Touching Base.
  • Outside Victoria: use Scarlet Alliance’s member organisation directory to find the peer service for your state or territory.

Privacy When Asking for Help

You do not need to tell every service your entire work history in your first message. Start with the minimum information needed to explain what kind of help you are seeking. Before sharing identifying information, you can ask how the service handles confidentiality, what information it needs, whether you can use a preferred name, and whether phone, email, video or in-person support is available.

Some services need identifying details for specific reasons. For example, a legal service may need names of parties involved to check for conflicts before providing advice. That is different from asking for information that is not relevant to the help you need.

If privacy is a major concern when you are considering a new workplace, MAE’s guide to safety and boundaries in adult-industry work covers practical questions to ask before you start.

Victoria’s Legal Setting Has Changed

Older websites can still contain outdated information about Victorian sex-work licences, registration and mandatory testing. Victoria completed the second stage of sex-work decriminalisation on 1 December 2023, when the former sex-work licensing system ended.

That does not mean there are no rules. General workplace safety, employment, planning, public-health, tax and anti-discrimination laws can still apply depending on the work and business arrangement.

If you are comparing a job or venue, this Victoria starting-out checklist gives you practical questions about pay, privacy, worker status, safety, boundaries and support before accepting an opportunity.

Be Careful With Unverified Online Groups

Private social-media groups and online communities can be useful, but they are not automatically safe because they are labelled “sex worker only” or “peer support”. Before joining, check who runs the group, what its confidentiality rules are, whether screenshots or reposting are prohibited, and how moderators handle harassment or doxxing.

Avoid posting your legal name, home address, personal phone number or identity documents in a group unless there is a clear reason and you trust how the information will be handled. Keep work and personal accounts separate where that suits your privacy needs, use strong unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication.

Support Does Not Have to Mean Crisis

You do not need to wait until something has gone wrong to contact a peer organisation or support service. Workers use these services for information, referrals, workplace questions, safer-sex supplies, legal education, community connection and help understanding their options.

Reaching out can also be useful when you are new to the industry, moving to Victoria, changing venues, considering independent work or simply trying to work out whether a situation is normal.

Quick Reference: Where to Start

Service details, hours and eligibility can change. Check the organisation’s current website before attending or relying on a particular service. This guide provides general information and is not legal or medical advice.