In 2019, Fiona Patten MP was appointed by the Victorian Government to lead an inquiry into laws governing sex work in Victoria, and to find the best way of decriminalising sex work in Victoria. The Government have announced a series of changes which flow from that report.

They include:

— Removing offences and criminal penalties for consensual sex work;
— Repealing public health offences;
— Repealing the Sex Work Act 1994 to instead regulate sex work through existing government agencies and business regulation;
— Modernising planning, public health and anti-discrimination laws to support a decriminalised system.

The government is providing an opportunity for people to take part in further consultation for how these changes will be implemented.