Abstract:
In 1995, the Disorderly Houses Amendment Act 1995 (NSW) abolished the
common law offence of keeping a brothel, making brothels a legitimate
commercial land use regulated under the Environmental Planning and
Assessment Act 1979 (NSW). Councils were given the power to approve
brothels, and to take action in the Land and Environment Court to close a
disorderly brothel in response to complaints by nearby residents. This article
explores whether or not the legislature has achieved the stated aim of
treating brothels as legitimate commercial land use, through an analysis of
local council policies in NSW and Land and Environment Court decisions
regarding brothels. The central argument of this article is that while the
reforms have gone some way toward treating brothels as legitimate
commercial premises, the historical perception of brothels as inherently
disorderly is sustained at local and State govemment levels and in some of
the Land and Environment Court decisions.
