Prostitution Act 2000 (WA)

Western Australia

Western Australia

Prostitution Act 2000

An Act to make provisions about prostitution and for related purposes, and to amend certain other Acts 1.

This Act may be cited as the Prostitution Act 2000.

This Act comes into operation on a day fixed by proclamation.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —

act as a prostitute means to take part, as a prostitute, in an act of prostitution;

act of prostitution means anything the doing of which amounts to prostitution;

child means a person whose age is less than 18 years;

client has the meaning given to that term in section 4;

Commissioner of Police means the person holding or acting in the office of Commissioner of Police under the Police Act 1892;

document includes any tape, disc or other device or medium on which information is recorded or stored mechanically, photographically, electronically or otherwise;

place means anywhere at all, and includes anywhere in or on something that is moving or can move;

prohibited drug has the meaning given to that term by section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1981;

prostitute has the meaning given to that term in section 4;

prostitution has the meaning given by section 4;

public place means —

• (a)

  any place to which the public, or any section of the public, have or are permitted to have access whether on payment or otherwise; or

• (b)

  a school, university or other place of education, other than a part of it to which neither students nor the public usually have access; or

• (c)

  a privately owned place that is unoccupied or is occupied by a person who is not the owner and does not have the authority of the owner.

When this Act refers to prostitution it means prostitution in which payment is consideration for the sexual stimulation of a person (the client) by means of physical contact between the client and another person (the prostitute), or between either of them and anything controlled by or emanating from the other, and it is irrelevant whether payment is in money or any other form.

• (1)

  A person who, in or in the view or within hearing of a public place, seeks another person to act as a prostitute commits an offence under this subsection.

• (2)

  The offence under subsection (1) is a crime if the person whom the offender seeks to act as a prostitute, or any of them if there are more than one, is a child.

• (3)

  A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable —

  • (a)

    if it is a simple offence, to imprisonment for 2 years;

  • (b)

    if it…