Take a look at Scarlet Blue to get a sense of independents pricing range by city.
Sydney is silly expensive as a city in general - I didn’t hobby while I was there but think about Vancouver + NYC rolled into one. Gorgeous weather with super expensive real estate but lots of fun stuff to do and a vibrant APAC oriented business district (CBD). So Patron is right on the money in that regard. Based on my research Brisbane (Queensland) is different and more affordable.
I spoke to a lady in Montreal that has been to Australia and worked at massage parlours there and she hated it. I think the analogy we arrived on was legalization means people target the lowest common denominator / broadest part of the market broadly plus catering to specific luxury tastes on the side (high priced Indy’s). Most of Europe such as Germany is very cheap but very commoditized (RLDs and FKKs) with some super expensive high tier offerings (
https://www.societyservice.com/) and the same could probably be said about the Oz brothels. I equate to the fact that most people consume cheap beer (which ironically is free at FKKs) vs. luxury spirits.
Having emigrated to Sydney over 20 years ago, I might be able to provide some background for anyone considering visiting Australia. Your summation of Sydney Exnocomment is pretty much spot-on - in the last few years, prices have rocketed throughout Australia for accomodation, meals, tours and (unfortunately) hobbying due to a mining boom, a generally strong economy, a big increase in overseas visitors (particularly from China), and foreign investment in real estate (again particularly from China). To be blunt, I would not recommend anyone come here if all they are interested in is hobbying, for while many local girls are gorgeous, you will effectively be paying double Montreal prices for half the service. However, if you wish to explore the local scene as part of a holiday, then that is a different matter. Australian cities obviously don't have the history or culture of Europe, but IMO Sydney is hands-down the most beautiful "modern" city I have been to (and as examples, I have been fortunate enough to visit Vancouver, NY, San Francisco, Cape Town and Rio). Amongst the other Australian major cities, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide all have their attractions; personally I wouldn't recommend Brisbane. I won't turn this post into a tourism ad, but a week in Sydney, some time in the "red centre", a visit to another Australian city, and a week in New Zealand would be a terrific holiday.
With regards to hobbying, while each State sets its own laws, prostitution and strip clubs are indeed almost universally legal - the following comments relate to Sydney, but are generally true for other cities also. All prices I mention are Australian Dollars, which are roughly equal in value to Canadian Dollars.
As Patron says, there are a large number of brothels and massage parlors with Asian girls, and if you are on a tight budget then these would be your best option (again though, if you are only visiting Australia to hobby, then if you like Asian girls you would be much better off going to Asia). On average, a 30 minute nude massage with HJ would start at around $100; and FS at an Asian brothel (sometimes with BBBJ) would be around $150 for 30 minutes.
For caucasian girls, you have a choice of massage parlors or brothels; in both, you will generally find young, attractive local students, European and British backpackers, and occasionally South American girls. Massage parlors normally provide a nude bodyslide massage and HJ ending, with varying degrees of mutual touching depending on the girl and the establishment. Prices have recently gone silly, and a basic 30 minutes at a nice parlor will cost around $180. Some girls offer extras, which start at $50 for CBJ and $100 for CFS. I am assuming Sydney's hugely-expensive real estate costs have largely driven the price increases. A couple of examples of massage parlors close to the CBD are:
http://blissoncrown.com.au/
http://atmichelles.com.au/
Full service brothels are a jump in price, with 30 mins starting around $200 for CBJ, usually DATY, sometimes kissing, and CFS. My "local" parlor is Liaisons, which includes a more GFE service (which includes kissing and DATY) as standard. I guess most places go through cycles, but recently there seems to have been a surge in the number of girls working at Liaisons and all of the girls I have met have been friendly and pretty. Interestingly, there were quite a few Toronto girls last year - I wonder if your friend exnocomment might have been one of them? In most brothels, you meet the available ladies individually in a private meeting room; on a friday morning last month in liaisons I met 15 girls, so I was totally overwhelmed when the time came to make my choice!
https://www.liaisons.com.au/
I would say I am a 'semi-regular" at Liaisons, visiting maybe once a month and saving my other hobbying dollars for my (highly anticipated!) trips to Montreal and other overseas holidays. Brothels are all over the city, with varying levels of class and workers; I haven't visited it for years, but another example is:
http://www.lapetitearoma.com.au/
If your preference is for outcall from a brothel girl, be aware that the price is much higher - generally $500 per hour plus taxi. Outcalls don't really work for me, so while I haven't tried them, this operator may be worth checking out (and I notice the girls provide a more GFE service):
https://www.lnbsydneyescorts.com.au/
As other posters have noted, there are also quite a few independent ladies, such as:
https://www.privategirls.com.au/
I haven't used this option, but I would advise you to pay close attention to the "extras" costs, and I confess I am very sceptical about some of the ladies' stated ages. But if you have the money, then I am sure most of these ladies will be terrific.
Finally, the strip club scene has taken a depressing turn for the worse. The main red light district in Sydney is Kings Cross - do not on any account go to any strip clubs here, they are a total rip off. In the CBD, Pure Platinum on Pitt Street used to be great, but they increased their tipping prices, and a 15 minute non-contact dance will set you back $120! Mens Gallery and Minx are other options, but