Sex workers across Australia are hopeful the tide is turning in their favour, with several jurisdictions considering changing laws that prohibit brothels or leave workers operating alone out of hotel rooms.

Key points: Legal reforms have been flagged for the Northern Territory's sex industry, the latest of the states and territories to look at changes

Legal reforms have been flagged for the Northern Territory's sex industry, the latest of the states and territories to look at changes Different states and territories have different laws, creating a range of difficulties for sex workers

Different states and territories have different laws, creating a range of difficulties for sex workers Expensive flights and hotels are among the issues they face working in the Northern Territory

The Northern Territory has just become the latest jurisdiction to open the door to reforming laws around sex work.

Queensland's Attorney-General has also been in discussions with Police about reviewing its laws and South Australia's Parliament will — after many previous attempts — again debate legislative change in June.

Elena Jeffreys is a sex worker in regional Queensland and an industry advocate with organisation Respect.

She worked in Townsville's last brothel until it closed its doors in late 2017.

"So I don't have a lot of options here in Townsville. I can work as a private worker but everything to do with my safety is criminalised," Ms Jeffreys said.

It is legal to run a licensed brothel in Queensland or be a sole trader, however sole traders must work completely alone, except for if they want to recruit a bodyguard.

Elena Jeffreys speaking at the sex worker rally for decriminalisation in Brisbane in March, 2019. ( Supplied: Respect Inc 2019 )

"It's illegal for me to share overheads or a physical space with another worker," Ms Jeffreys said.

"So if I want any kind of co-op or shared space environment for safety or even just for company or economic reasons, that is criminalised here and the police are heavily involved in policing it."

Ms Jeffreys had a bad experience with police when she was working solo out of her apartment about 10 years ago.

"I've had undercover police come to my place of work pretending to be a client. Extremely unnerving. It made me feel fearful for my safety and confidentiality."

Different laws mean different issues

Across Australia, there is a mashup of different laws around sex work.

New South Wales allows brothels to be operated without a license, but states like the Territory and SA completely outlaw them.

In the Territory, this means sex workers — which are allowed to work solo without a license — technically cannot do this out of their own home because that would constitute running an illegal brothel.

Leanne Melling from advocacy group SWOP NT (sex worker outreach program) said this leaves workers at the mercy of the hotel industry.

"Acquiring hotels in tourist season or even two-star hotels is very high in price. It's really hard for any workers in the Territory to make money back and put flights on top of that," she said.

"And then if you live in the Territory, pay your mortgage or rent and pay for hotels on top of that as well."

Victoria's sex workers are also allowed to operate solo but they are not allowed to invite clients to their hotels or homes, meaning they can only go into a client's residence instead.

Sex workers asking for changes for 50 years

It is unclear what changes to the Territory's Prostitution Regulation Act would look like, with community consultations open until next month, after which legislative changes to decriminalise brothels could forge forward.

Independent NT politician Gerry Wood — who had previously objected to changes to abortion laws — said his mind was not made up yet about what reform he will support.

"I'm in favour of looking at the laws," Mr Wood said.

"I would rather, if I lived in a utopist world, I'd love that we didn't have prostitution at all.

"But it's obviously something we do have in the Northern Territory.

"So the least we can do as a society is make sure that women aren't being exploited or families being exploited.

"It's not a simple issue. It's a complicated issue. It's certainly an issue I'll be giving a lot of thought to before I make any definitive judgement about where we should be going."

Woods hoping for look at Swedish model

The Territory's Labor Government has an overwhelming majority, meaning whichever reforms they settle on will likely pass Parliament.

Mr Woods said he hopes the discussions about reform in the Territory include those around the so-called Swedish model, where it is illegal to buy sex, but not to sell the use of one's own body for such services.

Yet advocates like Ms Jeffreys are instead pushing for complete decriminalisation.

"Sex work is work. The Swedish model of criminalising our work is still criminalising our work like it isn't labour, when it is labour."

She said the fact that several jurisdictions across Australia are considering reform was a source of optimism for those in her industry.