Sex worker organising in Australia emerged alongside the Women’s Movement in the late 1970s, with formal organisations taking shape in the early 1980s. In NSW, the Australian Prostitutes Collective (APC)—the forerunner to SWOP NSW —was established in 1983 by Sydney University students from SICH (Students’ Initiatives in Community Health) and others. That same year, their first public meeting was held at the Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross.
By the mid-1980s, the rapid spread of HIV created an urgent need for a coordinated, well-resourced response. In 1985, the APC achieved a groundbreaking milestone, securing world-first government funding for a sex worker-led initiative to address a public health crisis—setting a precedent that would resonate globally. (See journal article: “Sex Workers as Safe Sex Advocates: Sex Workers Protect Both Themselves and the Wider Community From HIV.”)
This funding enabled the APC to move beyond its beginnings in a Kings Cross coffee shop, establish a dedicated base, elect a governing body, employ staff, and roll out peer education programs grounded in the long-standing tradition of experienced sex workers mentoring newcomers.
The 1994–1997 Wood Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service uncovered widespread police corruption, including systemic bribery and extortion of sex workers and brothel operators. Evidence revealed that criminalisation had fostered an environment where police exploited their powers to solicit payments and protection money, while failing to address actual crimes against sex workers. In response to these findings—and as part of a broader effort to dismantle corrupt revenue streams—the NSW Government passed reforms in 1995 that decriminalised most aspects of adult sex work. This shifted regulatory oversight from police to local councils, reducing police powers over the industry and aiming to protect sex workers from exploitation and abuse.
The 1995 partial-decriminalisation of sex work in NSW made us a world leader in recognising the human rights of sex workers, being the first jurisdiction in the world to decriminalise sex work. However, NSW now lags behind other states and territories who have implemented laws that fully decriminalise sex work and protect sex workers from discrimination.
