Escort agency vs independent work: both are legal in Queensland, and each suits a different kind of woman. Working independently, you keep every dollar and run the whole business yourself. With an agency, you hand the business side over in exchange for a share of each booking.
Here is what each involves day to day, so you can weigh it up honestly.
What working independently involves
As an independent escort, you are the business. You keep the full fee and choose every client yourself.
You also do everything around the booking. That means paying for photos and advertising, keeping your profiles up to date, answering enquiries at all hours and screening every client yourself. Much of that time is unpaid, and a quiet week still has costs.
Some women enjoy that control and are good at the admin. For them, independence works well.
The benefits of working for an escort agency
An agency exists to do that work for you. At Velvet, we organise and pay for your photoshoot and advertising, and we put your profile in front of our existing clients.
We answer every enquiry, talk to and vet each client, and confirm the booking before it reaches you. We also organise your transport and stay in contact while you work.
Your part is good communication. The hours you would have spent on messages and ads go into paid bookings instead.
Money: the full fee or your time back
Independent, you keep the whole fee, but advertising, photos and your own time come out of every week. With an agency, you keep a share of each booking and pay nothing to start.
At Velvet there are no joining fees, and our busiest escorts take home $5,000 to $10,000 a week, after our share. That is the top of the range, not a promise. You are paid once a week, at the start of the week, and we go through exactly what you keep on the first call.
Our guide to what escorts make in Cairns breaks the numbers down.
Control and flexibility
Independence gives you total control, from your rates to who you see.
With Velvet, rates are fixed and public, so nobody haggles with you. You still choose your hours, see every booking before you accept it and decide which services go on your profile. There is no lock-in contract, so you can stop whenever you want.
One thing to know before you apply: escorts at Velvet work with us only, not alongside their own independent bookings.
Safety and support
Working alone, every safety step is yours. You screen the client yourself and make sure someone knows where you are.
With an agency, someone else carries part of that. We vet clients before a booking reaches you, and you are never the only one who knows where you are. Our guide to escort work safety covers how it works.
Whichever way you work, Respect Inc offers free, confidential peer support to sex workers in Queensland, and it has an office in Cairns.
Which suits you?
Independent work tends to suit you if:
- You want to keep the full fee and set your own rates.
- You enjoy marketing yourself and handling enquiries.
- You are comfortable screening clients on your own.
An agency tends to suit you if:
- You would rather spend your time on bookings than on admin.
- You want clients vetted and transport organised for you.
- You are new to the work, or new to Cairns.
If you are still unsure, ask us anything on the first call. Applying does not commit you to anything.
Our escort agency jobs page has the application form, and our guide to becoming an escort explains each step.
