Sex work has now been decriminalised in the Northern Territory — with the Territory Parliament voting 16-5 to repeal the NT's old sex work laws and pass a new act.

Tonight, Territory politicians voted to adopt the new legislation which means brothels, soliciting and home-based sex work are no longer illegal, although the Government refused to remove penalties for non-compliant advertising. NT Attorney-General Natasha Fyles said the new act was about keeping workers safe.

"When you take the word 'sex' out of it, we are looking at it from a worker safety perspective and we are looking it from regulating it so our community has a say in it," she said. "We have taken the approach that this is something that happens in our communities and we want to regulate that so that communities can have a say on what activities take place and we look at this through a business framework."

Ms Fyles also said the NT Government would not allow brothels to operate next door to childcare centres or schools but was not able to say exactly how far away the businesses could be.

Speaking on the bill, Member for Braitling Dale Wakefield broke down in tears. Read more via ABC