How to Become an Escort in Melbourne

What the work involves day to day

An escort meets clients for paid time together, and that time usually includes sex. Escort work is sex work. Any honest agency says so before you apply.

Most escort work in Melbourne is outcall. You go to the client: a hotel room in the CBD, an apartment in Southbank, a house in the suburbs. Some bookings start with dinner or drinks. Others last a single hour.

A shift with an agency usually runs like this:

• You tell the agency which hours you are free.
• Reception screens a client and offers you the booking.
• You accept it or turn it down.
• You travel to the client, check in when you arrive, and check out when you leave.

Much of the job is not sex. It is conversation, reading a person, keeping to time and looking after yourself between bookings. Clients remember an escort who listens.

Who can work as an escort in Victoria

You must be 18 or over. That is the law, and an agency that does not check your age is breaking it.

You also need the right to work in Australia. A fair agency sees your government photo ID before any profile of you goes live.

You do not need experience, a set look or a set age range. Agencies want people who turn up on time, know their limits and make good company.

Questions to ask yourself first

Escort work suits some people and not others. Before you apply anywhere, think through a few things on your own.

• Are you comfortable having paid sex with people you have just met?
• Would you keep the work private, or tell someone close to you?
• Can you say no to a client calmly, and without guilt?
• Do you have somewhere to rest, and someone to talk to after a hard night?
• Do you want regular shifts, or only the odd booking?

There is no wrong answer. If you are unsure, talk to a peer worker at Vixen Collective before you talk to any agency.

Setting your limits

Before your first booking, decide what you will and will not do. Write it down if that helps. Nobody else sets those limits, and you may revise them after any booking.

Tell the agency your limits at the start. A fair agency offers you only the bookings that fit them. It never asks you to bend them for a client.

Limits cover more than sex. Some escorts take no overnights, no couples or no bookings after midnight. Others will not travel past a certain suburb.

If a client asks for something outside your limits, you can say no. You can also end the booking and leave.

Victorian law in brief

Sex work between consenting adults is legal in Victoria. The Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022 took effect in two stages, on 10 May 2022 and 1 December 2023.

Since then, no escort or agency needs a licence or registration. Compulsory STI testing ended in May 2022. You do not have to tell an agency your STI status.

Some things stay crimes: sex work involving anyone under 18, forcing a person into sex work, and recruiting someone by deception. Our guide to rights and safety in Victoria covers the rest.

With an agency or on your own

You can join an agency, work in a brothel, or work independently. Each choice decides who finds the clients, who screens them and who guards your details.

An agency takes a share of each booking. In return it handles advertising, enquiries, screening and safety checks. Working alone, you keep the whole fee and do all of that yourself.

Neither suits everyone. We compare them side by side in agency work or going solo.

Staying safe and keeping your privacy in Melbourne

Before you start, choose a working name. Get a second phone number for work. Check your photos for anything that shows where you live, such as a window view or a street sign.

On every booking, someone should know where you are and when you expect to finish. If a booking feels wrong, leave. No fee is worth more than your safety.

Free, confidential support is there from your first day. RhED runs a state-wide service for sex workers on 1800 458 752. Vixen Collective is run by sex workers, for sex workers.

For names, photos and phones in detail, read our guide to privacy for escorts.

Getting an ABN and paying tax in Australia

Income from escort work is taxable, like any other income. Many escorts work as sole traders with an Australian Business Number (ABN). You can apply for one free through the Australian Business Register.

Ask any agency if you would work as a contractor or an employee. The answer changes how you pay tax and whether anyone pays your super.

Once your business turnover reaches $75,000 a year, you must register for GST. The Australian Taxation Office explains the rules. A registered tax agent can set you up and claim work costs, such as your phone.

Your first booking

Ask the agency to match your first booking with a client it knows, and to keep it short, such as one hour.

Pack the basics: a charged phone, condoms and lube, wipes, a spare outfit and money for a taxi home. In Victoria, a sex work business must take reasonable steps so condoms are used when appropriate.

Agree the time, the place and what the booking includes before you arrive. Check in with reception when you get there, and again when you leave.

Afterwards, give yourself time to rest. Talk it through with someone you trust, or with a peer worker at Vixen Collective.

Your sexual health

STI testing is your choice in Victoria, not a legal duty. Many escorts still test often, to protect themselves and their partners.

A GP or a sexual health clinic can test you. Ask them about vaccines too, such as hepatitis B.

Carry your own condoms and lube, in a few sizes, even when the agency supplies them. Then you never depend on a client to bring any.

Looking after yourself over time

Escort work can tire you in ways you do not expect. Late nights, travel and keeping a secret all add up.

Set your own pace. Take breaks between shifts, eat before you go out, and plan how you get home.

Keep a life outside the work: friends, exercise, another job or a hobby. It helps you hold the work at arm’s length.

If the work starts to feel wrong, you can stop at any time. RhED and Vixen Collective can talk you through your options, whatever you decide.

Applying to Ruby

If you want to work in Melbourne with an agency, read about escort jobs in Melbourne with Ruby. The form takes a few minutes, and only the recruitment team reads it. To see what clients see first, look at Melbourne escorts by Ruby.

After that comes a relaxed talk, in person or by phone. You can ask anything, and you can stop at any step. Nothing goes online until you approve it.