Discriminating against someone because of their job is unlawful: Matthew’s story

Discrimination news: It’s unlawful to discriminate because of someone’s job

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers has successfully relied on new laws to protect sex workers from discrimination by financial service providers. In Victoria, these laws apply to all professions, trades and occupations, and by helping one person achieve their rights, our legal team has delivered an important reminder that it is now illegal to discriminate against people, including sex workers, on this basis. 

New discrimination laws protect profession, trade or occupation

The Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022 (Vic) (the SWD Act) was enacted in Victoria on 10 May 2022. A central purpose of the SWD Act was to reduce discrimination and harm towards sex workers.

This purpose was to be achieved in part by making amendments to the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) (EO Act) These amendments included the addition of a new protected attribute of “profession, trade or occupation” at section 6(la) of the EO Act.

This amendment means that, in Victoria, it is now unlawful to discriminate against someone on the basis of their profession, trade or occupation in the areas of activity set out in the EO Act, which include employment, education, the provision of goods and services, accommodation, clubs and club members, sport and local government.

While the protected attribute encompasses any “profession, trade or occupation” the impetus for its introduction is the discrimination faced by sex workers, historically and continuing today. As was noted in the second reading speech for the SWD Act:

“[the existing system] perpetuates stigmatisation of sex work, by proclaiming that sex is a dangerous service in need of extensive government regulation and control. Destigmatising the sex work industry and reducing discrimination is essential for protecting people working in the industry and shifting public perceptions of sex work. Entrenched negative perceptions of the sex work industry impacts sex workers’ mental health, reinforces attitudes that drive violence against sex workers, creates barriers to accessing healthcare, social services and housing, and limits educational and employment opportunities for workers, including those who wish to leave the industry.”

Our client: Matthew Roberts’ story

Matthew Roberts works as a self-employed sex worker in Victoria and uses an EFTPOS machine to accept electronic payments for his services.

Between around February 2020 until June 2021, these payment processing services were provided to Matthew by Mint Payments Limited (Mint).

But, after a change in its acquirer, Mint terminated the provision of these services in June 2021. When he queried his inability to access the services they had previously provided to him, Mint told Matthew that, because he was a sex worker, his occupation was classified as a “restricted business category”.

After the law changed and discrimination because of occupation became unlawful, Matthew lodged another application for an EFTPOS machine and payment processing services to use in his business. This application was submitted to Mint, whose acquirer was then First Data Merchant Solutions Australia Ltd (FDMSA).

Matthew made this application by completing Mint’s online application form in early June 2022. On 15 June 2022, he received their response.

Their letter stated that, due to the contractual terms and conditions of their acquirers, Mint could not provide the services he’d requested.

Matthew reached out to Maurice Blackburn’s Social Justice team for advice and representation.

In June 2023, we filed an application in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria on Matthew’s behalf, alleging that, because Mint and FDMSA’s conduct constituted discrimination on the basis of his occupation as a sex worker, it was unlawful under the EO Act.

Although the respondents denied the allegations and defended the claim, the support Matthew received from his Maurice Blackburn legal team led to his claim being resolved in his favour.

It was a personal and professional win for Matthew – but the outcome was also significant for all Australian sex workers, with various media channels covering the story and hailing it as “transformative” for the adult industry.

Sex workers regularly face unlawful discrimination

Discrimination against sex workers persists in the community, despite widespread decriminalisation measures. The denial of financial services to sex workers, in particular, (often referred to as “de-banking”) happens too often. In an increasingly cashless economy, de-banking has serious implications for the livelihood of sex workers and other small business owners.

With our lawyers by his side, Matthew secured a commitment from two financial service providers that they will not engage in this conduct – not only in Victoria but Australia-wide. This is significant because, currently, sex workers are only protected from this type of discrimination by legislation in Victoria, Australian Capital Territory, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

As well as providing a powerful reminder that this conduct is now unlawful in Victoria, Matthew’s case is also important because it shows that, even though laws have changed, there is a still a lot of work to be done to address discrimination against sex workers, especially in terms of de-banking by financial institutions.

Helping all workers understand – and access – their rights

Maurice Blackburn has a long history for standing up for workers’ rights and seeking to eliminate discrimination in all forms.

Our team has been proud to represent Matthew in this important case. 

We look forward to seeing the business community – in particular, financial service providers – respond to these new laws appropriately and ensure their policies and practices do not discriminate against sex workers, or any other occupations, trade or profession.