Victorian Sex Work Decriminalisation Review Submissions
In 2020 and 2021 the Victorian Government consulted with key stakeholders in preparation to decriminalise sex work. Fiona Patten MP conducted the review. Submissions were called, with submitters asked to write about how the Victorian Government should decriminalise sex work, rather than whether the Victorian Government should decriminalise sex work. Fiona Patten’s final report to the Victorian Government was never made public. Submissions were not published by the Victorian Government, but many individual submitters chose to publish their submissions elsewhere. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the publicly available submissions.
| Type of Submitter | Name | Position on the Decriminalisation of Sex Work | Submission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Government | City of Boroondara | Opposed | Read Submission |
| Local Government | Brimbank City Council | Opposed | Read Submission |
| Local Government | City of Melton | Opposed | Read Submission |
| Local Government | Municipal Association of Victoria | Strongly opposed | Read Submission |
| Type of Submitter | Name | Position on the Decriminalisation of Sex Work | Submission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex Work | Respect Inc. (QLD) | Supportive | Read Submission |
| Sex Work | RhED (VIC) | Supportive | Read Submission |
| Sex Work | Scarlet Alliance | Supportive | Read Submission |
| Type of Submitter | Name | Position on the Decriminalisation of Sex Work | Submission |
|---|---|---|---|
| LGBT | Thorne Harbour Health | Supportive | Submission not made public |
| Feminist | Coalition Against Trafficking Women Australia | Opposed | Read Submission |
| Feminist | Collective Shout | Very opposed | Read Submission |
| Feminist | Gender Equality Victoria | Supportive | Read Submission |
| Feminist | Project Respect | Mostly Supportive | Read 2020 Submission Read 2021 Submission |
| Feminist | Women’s Health Victoria | Not Known | Submission not made public |
| Legal | St Kilda Legal Centre | Supportive | Submission not made public |
| Legal | Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission | Supportive | Read Submission |
| Legal | Victims of Crime Commissioner | Mostly Supportive | Read Submission |
Can Fiona Patten’s Report to the Government Be Accessed?
For now the answer seems to be ‘No’. The main legal avenue for accessing government documents is freedom of information. However, when someone (the ‘applicant’) tried to use freedom of information laws to request a copy of Fiona Patten’s report to government, the Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) refused the request. In 2022, the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC) reviewed this refusal, upholding the decision to refuse access to this document in its published decision. Both the DJCS and OVIC relied on s28(1)(ba) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) to refuse the document. This ‘cabinet document’ exemption in s28(1)(ba) reads;
‘A document is an exempt document if it is a document prepared for the purpose of briefing a Minister in relation to issues to be considered by the Cabinet.’
Artificial intelligence was not used for the text, charts or images on this webpage.
Last updated: 22 February 2026