Thousands of sex workers across Australia are in limbo, with the Federal Government outlawing their industry as part of coronavirus restrictions and giving no indication of when they might be allowed to return to work.
Brothels were ordered to shut on March 25 along with strip clubs and massage parlours.
All in-person sex work was banned from early April, with breaches punishable by fines of more than $13,000.
Since then, the Government has released a three-stage road map for easing restrictions, but while sex workers were included in the initial shutdown advice, there is no mention of the industry as the state begins to reopen.
Brisbane-based sex worker Jennifer, 30, said she travelled across Queensland to the Sunshine Coast, Cairns and Townsville, plus the Tweed region of northern New South Wales.
She said the restrictions were making it a battle to survive with her teenager and she had no way of knowing when she could return to work.
"I'm lucky I have a part-time job, but other than that I'm basically unemployed because three-quarters of my income has been made illegal to earn."
While restrictions had been in place, Jennifer said her phone continued to ring and she was forced to refuse potential income despite struggling financially.
Jennifer said she had been told that with her part-time job, she was earning $27 a fortnight too much to qualify for government support.
"The only way I'm surviving right now is because my Mum passed away recently and so she left some super for the kids.
"I'm actually using that to pay off my bills and feed my child and myself at the moment.
"If I didn't have that money, I don't know what I'd be doing."
Nikki Vee says the closure of the industry means many workers are falling behind on bills.
Advocacy group Respect Queensland has released COVID-safe guidelines for workers to limit the amount of face-to-face and bodily contact.
Queensland Health said given the current coronavirus guidelines, which included cleaning, hygiene and physical distancing, it was "unlikely they would be able to comply with these health rules".
"Further consideration will be given to whether these businesses can operate in stage three," a spokesman said.
It means those with disabilities are also unable to access specialised sex worker services, despite earning the right through a Federal Court ruling against the National Disability Insurance Agency earlier this month.
Queensland is not alone — only the Northern Territory has given clear advice for sex workers, telling the industry it can reopen from early June.
Jennifer said workers wanted to know when they could return to work.
"All of these other personal services can go back to work with a COVID plan in place, and there's absolute silence when it comes to sex work," she said.
Some may feel forced to break the law
Jannelle Fawkes from Respect Queensland, who is a sex worker herself, said misconceptions about the industry were likely a contributor.
She said industry statistics suggested most sex workers were not working every day and saw an average of three clients per 24 hours.
"So actually the number of people sex workers are coming in contact with is extremely low compared to other industries," Ms Fawkes said.
Sunshine Coast sex worker Nikki Vee said the Government was taking a risk, because while she believed she could manage financially until July, others were falling weeks behind on bills.
And that meant some might feel forced to choose between paying rent and obeying the law, she said.
"If the Government simply refuses to consider it, there are workers who are going to be forced to have to take work when they would prefer not to."
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