Personal Appearance Services 

The Public Health (Infection Control for Personal Appearance Services) Act 2003 introduced a new term ‘personal appearance services’.  These services have been further broken down into Higher Risk and Non-Higher Risk.  Only higher risk personal appearance services are required to be licensed with Council.  Non-higher risk personal appearance services have no licensing requirements but do have other obligations.

To help you refine your search we have defined what both terms mean.

Higher Risk Personal Appearance Services (link to more information )
A higher risk personal appearance service involves any of the following skin penetration procedures, in which the release of blood or other bodily fluid is an expected result:

• Body piercing, other than closed ear or nose piercing
• Implanting natural or synthetic substances into a person’s skin (eg hair or beads)
• Scarring or cutting a person’s skin using a sharp instrument to make a permanent mark, pattern or design
• Tattooing (including cosmetic tattooing or semipermanent make-up)

Non-Higher Risk Personal Appearance Services (link to more information )
A non-higher risk personal appearance service includes hairdressing, beauty therapy and those skin penetration procedures that are not higher risk services eg closed ear or nose piercing.

Definitions:
Beauty therapy means a procedure, other than hairdressing, intended to maintain, alter or enhance a person’s appearance, including the following –
(a) facial or body treatments;
(b) application of cosmetics;
(c) manicure or pedicure;
(d) application of, or mending, artificial nails;
(e) epilation including by electrolysis or hot or cold wax

Body piercing means the process of penetrating a person’s skin or mucous membrane with a sharp instrument for the purpose of implanting jewellery or other foreign material through or into the skin or mucous membrane.

However, it does not include the process of piercing a person’s ear or nose with a closed piercing instrument that –
(a) does not come into contact with the person’s skin or mucous membrane; and
(b) is fitted with a sterilised single-use disposable cartridge containing sterilised jewellery and fittings.

Hairdressing means a procedure intended to maintain, alter or enhance a person’s appearance involving facial or scalp hair and includes cutting, trimming, styling, colouring, treating or shaving the hair.

Higher risk personal appearance service means a higher risk personal appearance service involving any of the following skin penetration procedures in which the release of blood or other bodily fluid is an expected result –
(a) body piercing;
(b) implanting natural or synthetic substances into a person’s skin including, for example, hair or beads;
(c) scarring or cutting a person’s skin using a sharp instrument to make a permanent mark, pattern or design;
(d) tattooing;
(e) another skin penetration procedure prescribed under a regulation.

Non-higher risk personal appearance service means a personal appearance service other than a higher risk personal appearance service.

Personal appearance service means beauty therapy, hairdressing or skin penetration that is provided as part of a business transaction.

Skin penetration means a procedure intended to alter or enhance a person’s appearance that involves the piercing, cutting, scarring, scraping, puncturing, or tearing of a person’s skin or mucous membrane with an instrument.

Tattooing means the process of penetrating a person’s skin and inserting into it colour pigments to make a permanent mark, pattern or design on the skin.

Tattooing also includes any process that penetrates the skin and inserts into it colour pigments to make a semipermanent mark, pattern or design on the skin including, for example –
(a) the process known as cosmetic tattooing; or
(b) the process for applying semipermanent make-up.

 Other laws that apply to personal appearance services:
 Please be aware of your obligations under other Queensland legislation.

Piercing and tattooing of persons under 18 years
It is an offence under the Summary Offences Act 2005 to pierce the genitals or nipples of a minor (a person under 18 years) as part of a business transaction, or to tattoo a minor. 

The maximum penalty for both offences is 40 penalty units ($3000) or 6 months imprisonment.  However, the maximum penalty for the piercing offence is doubled if the minor’s decision-making capacity is impaired by alcohol, drugs or by intellectual disability.  It is no defence that the minor’s parent or guardian consented to the piercing.

Smoking
Smoking in enclosed places is prohibited under the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1998.

Waste Management
See the Environmental Protection (Waste Management) Regulation 2000 about the disposal of waste (including sharps disposal).

Workplace health and safety
The Workplace Health &Safety Act 1995 requires employers to take steps to ensure the safety of employees at work.  It also requires employers and self-employed persons to conduct their business in a manner which ensures their own health and safety, the health and safety of people not in their employment, and the health and safety of members of the public who may be affected.

Relevant Standards under this Act include the First Advisory Standard 1999 and the Supplements to the Risk Management Advisory Standard 2000: Supplement No. 1 (Personal Protective Equipment) and Supplement No. 2 (Training).

Use of anaesthetic substances (eg to reduce pain, discomfort)
It is illegal for a person to administer or apply or inject a scheduled anaesthetic or pain reducing substance to another person unless they are endorsed under the Health (Drugs and Poisons) Regulation 1996 to administer the substance.

It is also illegal for a person to sell or give away a scheduled anaesthetic or pain reducing substance to another person unless they are endorsed under the Health (Drugs and Poisons) Regulation 1996 to sell or give away the substance.