A TEACHER got more than he bargained for when he arrived at a licensed brothel in Queensland — one of the prostitutes was a colleague at his school.

When he shared his discovery with other teachers the part-time prostitute was suspended from her teaching post by educational authorities who decided that her extra-curricular activities were incompatible with her day job.

The woman teacher, who is in her thirties, was transferred to another state school in Queensland after agreeing to quit the brothel.

But the furore caused by her double life refused to die down when parents alleged that she had returned to work at the brothel, apparently breaking her agreement.

Her real name has not been revealed but she is reported to use “Tiffany” and “Candy” when she works as a prostitute.

The teacher who exposed her as a prostitute has escaped criticism, despite acknowledging that he routinely visits licensed brothels.

The dispute has split local communities. Peter Beattie, the Queensland premier, has sided with those who claim that her part-time work is incompatible with teaching. He called for her to be barred from working in schools. He said: “I don’t believe the community standard is that if you’re a school teacher you should also be a sex worker.”

But Susan Booth, the state’s anti-discrimination commissioner, defended the woman, saying that it was illegal to discriminate against a person on the basis of lawful sexual activity. Ms Booth said: “I’d remind government that that is the law in Queensland and what teachers do in their own private time is very difficult to regulate,” she said. “That would include both teachers who are working as lawful sex workers and teachers who may wish to attend a lawful brothel.”

Sources said that educational authorities had known about the woman’s other job but had turned a blind eye because she was considered to be a gifted teacher. But parents have expressed concern over her role as a student counsellor and as a supervisor on school trips.

This week a senior official at the Queensland health department was forced to defend herself after newspapers revealed that she also worked as a brothel manager. Nicole Mair, director of health information services at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, said that she was a managing director of Club Tigerlily, one of the city’s licensed brothels. The divorced mother of two works three days a week at the hospital and three days at the club. She also lectures on public health at Queensland University of Technology.

She described Club Tigerlily as a “high-class establishment”, where prostitutes could earn up to A$1,000 (£419) a night. “I had never done anything like it before and saw it as a real challenge,” Ms Mair said. “It has been very interesting. The learning curve has been quite substantial.”

Her grown-up children and her mother all approved of her work, she said. Queensland has 19 licensed brothels.

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