Based on the statements of William Albon, a representative of the Australian Adult Entertainment Industry (AAEI) (formerly the Australian Adult Entertainment Association (AAEA)), the number of illegal brothels in Victoria was estimated as 400 in 2008, with this estimation rising to 7,000 in 2011. In 2011 "News.com.au" published an estimate of 400 illegal brothels in the Melbourne metropolitan area—the article cited the news outlet's engagement with the Victorian State Government's Business Licensing Authority (BLA), the body responsible for registering owner-operated sex work businesses, but does not clarify from where or whom it obtained the estimate.