MMA proposes reforms to protect consumers, qualified massage therapists and sex workers
Massage & Myotherapy Australia
Key Facts:Anyone including sex workers can and do falsely advertise their services as massage therapy.
Consequently, professional massage therapists and their employees are regularly subject to sexual harassment from clients demanding sexual services because of the confusion between the two very different professions
No effective protections for professional massage therapists. Sexual harassment and abuse in a private massage room by a client is impossible to prove because it simply becomes one person’s word against the other
In its submission to the ACT Sex Work Decriminalisation Consultation, Massage & Myotherapy Australia has warned that without clear and enforceable regulations, ambiguous shop signage will continue to expose patients and clients and professional massage therapists*1 to numerous risks.
Ann Davey, CEO said that effects of ambiguous shopfront signage and street advertising promoting sex services as healthcare related massage therapy are very significant because they blur the lines between professional massage therapists governed by legislated codes of conduct, and sex workers.
‘While the ACT proposal rightly aims to improve worker safety, access to legal protections, and reduce exploitation for sex workers; reforms must benefit all affected stakeholders including professional massage therapists, clients, patients and sex workers.’
‘Healthcare professions including massage therapy rely heavily on trust. Clients and patients seeking treatment often disclose personal information, experience physical vulnerability, and rely on practitioners to act in their best interests.’
Ambigous shop signs that advertise sexual services under the disguise of health-related massage therapy confuse clients and patients, encourage sexual harassment of qualified massage therapists, and occupy a legal grey area that undermines both safety and professional integrity.
As members of a recognised healthcare profession, professional massage therapists provide treatment based on trained therapeutic modalities including musculoskeletal rehabilitation, pain management, injury recovery, and stress reduction; services fundamentally distinct from sex services.
Mrs Davey said, ‘Maintaining professional boundaries is therefore not only a matter of ethics but a critical component of consumer safety and trust in massage therapy health care services.’
Street and shop front signs that operate in a legal grey area, by promoting sex services under the disguise of legitimate healthcare massage therapy, circumvent the Australian Capital Territory’s National Code of Conduct for Health Care Workers (the National Code).
The National Code establishes the minimum ethical and professional standards for unregistered health practitioners, including professional qualified massage therapists. Any person offering massage therapy must comply, however, if sex work is presented as massage it falls outside the legislation.’
In Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland where sex work has been decriminalised, shop fronts that offer sex services still advertise their services under the cover of ‘massage therapy.
Mrs Davey said ensuring that these essential National Code and Ethical Standards of healthcare are maintained has become exceedingly difficult in states where sex work has been decriminalised.
‘This compromises professional massage therapy self-regulation and enforcement of the National Code, industry standards of practice and ethics and can put consumers at greater risk.’
While these incidents typically go unreported, the recent case reported in The Standard 2026 article ‘I felt invaded’: the blurred boundaries of the massage industry’ highlights the confusion, risks and difficulties facing legitimate massage therapy patients and clients seeking health care. The comments of the victim, 76-year-old Steve Hardy are particularly telling:
'I'm not judging [the sex worker's] choice of profession. But what I'm judging is our city allowing this to go under the radar as an illusion of a legitimate massage place'.
This is not a one-off case. The Sunshine Valley Gazette article 2026 ‘Questions raised over Nambour massage parlour boom’ highlights the ongoing confusion in the community.
Unfortunately, enforcement of advertising regulations and codes by the ACCC typically requires proof of economic loss, which is virtually impossible to establish, leaving misleading advertisements largely unchecked.
‘While enforcement of advertising codes relies on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, it is evident that the decriminalisation of sex work in other states has not resolved issues relating to false and ambiguous street signage. Mrs Davey said.
Mrs Davey added that this also leaves professional massage therapists exposed to safety risks.
‘Even visible signage stating sexual services are not offered, client screening, and staff training have not eliminated the high levels of sexual harassment experienced by professional massage therapists.
‘This too is impossible to prove. When a client sexually harasses a massage therapist there are no witnesses or clear evidence, and the accusation becomes one person’s word against another.’
Street and online advertising practices misrepresenting sex services as legitimate massage therapy or alongside legitimate health related massage therapy, creates persistent legal ambiguity, eroding public confidence, and undermining the professional standing of qualified massage therapists.
Massage & Myotherapy Australia has therefore asked for reforms that:
- Ensure clear and enforceable shopfront signage and service representation.
- Maintain a strong separation between professional healthcare services and sexual services.
- Support workplace safety and equitable protections for all workers, including sex workers and professional massage therapists.
- Strengthen regulatory oversight and consumer protections to clarify legal responsibilities and close loopholes.
The proposed measures will help ACT decriminalisation reforms achieve their intended purpose - enhancing safety and fairness - while protecting legitimate healthcare services, supporting professional standards, and safeguarding consumers.
Mrs Davey said, ‘By ensuring that professional massage therapy and sex services are clearly distinguished, the ACT can lead Australia and truly achieve the objectives of sex work reform while also protecting the integrity and human rights of legitimate professional massage therapists and other affected stakeholders.’
*1Professional massage therapists include qualified remedial massage therapists and myotherapists that have qualifications recognised under the Australian Qualification Framework, and who are members of accredited associations that administer Provider Numbers for health insurance rebates.
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