Foreign prostitutes wanted on 457 skilled work visas

Foreign prostitutes should be allowed into Australia on 457 skilled worker visas claim the Sex Workers Association. Source: News Limited

The Australian Sex Workers' Association - known as Scarlet Alliance - is urging the Federal Government to expand the controversial visa to cover foreign escorts.

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The Scarlet Alliance migration program manager, Jules Kim, said sex workers were just as skilled as other workers allowed to fly into Australia on the four-year work visas.

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"The (Immigration Department) considers that sex work is not a skilled occupation and so they've been excluded,'' she told News Limited yesterday.

"That's discriminatory and we want equal rights.''

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The Immigration Department already lets Australian companies "import'' overseas workers to fill 624 types of jobs.

The skilled occupations include massage therapists, gardeners, florists, cooks, dog handlers, fashion designers, bed and breakfast operators, entertainers, dancers, recreation officers, makeup artists, jockeys, gymnastic coaches and horse riding instructors.

Scarlet Alliance has told a Senate inquiry into 457 visas that "sex work is no less skilled than other occupations" on the official skills-shortage list.

Its submission lists sex workers' skills as "working with condoms and dams, negotiating prices and services, performing STI (sexually transmitted infection) checks, making risk assessments and establishing boundaries''.

The Immigration Department yesterday said sex workers were not considered "skilled'' because the job did not require a degree or diploma.

"It's not recognised as a trade qualification,'' a spokesman said.

"We operate a skilled migration program.''

But Scarlet Alliance told the Senate inquiry that it provides training for members through a Diploma in Community Education.

Australian unions want the controversial 457 visa scaled back, claiming that employers abuse it to undercut local workers' wages and exploit low-paid foreigners.

The federal government has introduced legislation to parliament that would crack down on any visa rorts, by forcing employers to advertise jobs in Australia first and prove they have tried to hire locally.

Ms Kim said overseas sex workers would be vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation unless they could apply for a long-term work visa.

She said backpackers could not work in brothels if they were older than 30, or if they came from China, Africa or Pacific Island countries.

"There are very limited visa pathways for migrant sex workers,'' she said.

"The more legal, safe migration pathways you have open to people, the less likely they're going to be vulnerable to exploitation.''

The Scarlet Alliance has told the Senate inquiry that the lack of 457 visas has made prostitutes "susceptible to deception and trafficking''.

"In order to gain a visa, some migrant sex workers enter into 'contracts' with people who will sponsor and assist their entry into Australia, or use a third party or broker to facilitate completion of documentation,'' its submission states.

The Immigration Department spokesman said there was nothing to stop foreigners in Australia on a working holiday or student visa from working in the legal sex industry.

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