Banned sex worker wins case against motel
Australia’s accommodation industry is digesting a sex worker’s discrimination win against a motel that refused to give her a room.
The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled the owners of a motel in the mining town of Moranbah breached the Anti-discrimination Act for turning the sex worker away.
The woman had stayed at the motel 17 times in two years until the property’s owners discovered in 2010 she was bringing clients to her room. They then banned her from staying there.
The Gold Coast-based sex worker lost her anti-discrimination case last year but appealed.
She won after her lawyer argued many people used the telephone or Internet at the motel for business, and a bed was no different.
Accommodation Association of Australia is concerned the ruling denies hotel and motel owners of the right to refuse guests whose behavior might offend others.
Accommodation Association of Australia chief executive Richard Munro says hotel and motel owners must retain the right to refuse guests who might disturb the amenity of their properties.
"The owner, operator, licensee or manager needs to preserve the amenity of the establishment for the benefit of all guests to ensure their tourism experience is enhanced by their stay," he said in a statement.
The anti-discrimination tribunal has yet to set a hearing date to decide on compensation for the sex worker.
Ian Jarrett
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