Businesses conducting beauty therapy, cosmetic applications, colonic irrigation, hairdressing, skin penetration or tattooing must be registered under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 .
These premises are registered to minimise the risk of clients contracting certain infectious diseases.
The Act and Regulations documents can be found on the Victorian Legislation website.
Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2019 requirements
The Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2019 establish a regulatory framework for registered premises, with a focus on infection prevention and consumer protection. The regulations do not assess or endorse the quality of services provided or the skills and qualifications of individual practitioners.
In summary, under the regulations, businesses must comply with a range of ongoing requirements, including:
Registration and advertising
- Businesses must ensure that all advertising relating to registration is accurate. False or misleading advertising in relation to registration is an offence.
- A Department of Health approved notice explaining the scope of registration must be displayed in a prominent position at the entrance to the premises.
Infection control
- Premises must be clean, sanitary and hygienic.
- Skin penetration articles must be sterile at time of use.
- Skin penetration articles must be disposed of or destroyed after use or approved sterilisation methods must be used.
- Hand washing facilities must be accessible to staff.
- Water used for personal services must be of drinking water quality.
Client information and record keeping
- Businesses that provide tattooing, body piercing or other skin penetration procedures (excluding ear piercing and dry needling) must keep client records for those procedures.
- Department of Health approved information about the risks and safeguards associated with tattooing, ear piercing, body piercing and other skin penetration procedures must be provided to clients before the procedure is carried out.
Enforcement
- Infringement penalties may apply for breaches of certain regulatory requirements.
- Registration exemptions apply to certain mobile businesses, except in relation to their principal place of business:
- mobile hairdressers
- mobile beauty therapists
- mobile cosmetic application services, provided the service does not involve skin penetration or tattooing.
Purpose of the regulatory framework
The regulations are designed to:
- reduce the risk of infection associated with personal service procedures
- prevent the misuse or misrepresentation of registration
- ensure clients receive accurate and consistent information about health risks and safeguards
- clearly distinguish infection control requirements from service quality or practitioner competency.
Information for businesses
Registered businesses are expected to be familiar with and comply with all applicable regulatory requirements. In practice, this includes:
- displaying the approved notice about the scope of registration
- providing approved client information where required
- maintaining appropriate records and infection control practices
- ensuring advertising accurately reflects the registration status of the premises.
View the client information sheets.
Notice about the scope of registration
The regulations include the requirement of a notice to be displayed in premises that are registered under the under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008. The notice sets out that the registration applies to infection control standards and not to the standards or safety of the procedures undertaken within the premises.
This provides clarity for both the consumer and the regulator.
The notices are approved by the Secretary of the Department of Health and published in the Victorian Government Gazette.
View the notice of registration sheets.
Information for Environmental Health Officers
The information sheets below have been developed with the aim of providing guidance and advice to Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) regarding issues that may be encountered with the hair, beauty, tattooing and skin penetration industries.
The information sheets are provided as guidance only and do not constitute legal advice.
These guidelines do not replace industry-specific guidelines or codes of practice.
Updated