Beauty and tattooing
Starting a new or taking over an existing personal appearance service? You may need a personal appearance service licence.
Hairdressing, beauty therapy and skin penetration such as tattooing and body piercing are personal appearance services (PAS). Hairdressers, nail salons and beauty therapists, as well as tattooing, body piercing and other skin penetration can spread diseases and cause infections. There are a number of documents that new and existing PAS licences need to be aware of. They include:
- Public Health (Infection Control for Personal Appearance Services Act 2003)
- Queensland Development Code, part MP 5.2 - Higher Risk Personal Appearance Services and
- Infection Control Guidelines for Personal Appearance Services.
A personal appearance service can be operated from a home, commercial premises or mobile premises, e.g. a caravan.
The following information provides a snapshot of the information found on the Toolbox website.
Do I need a licence?
Whether starting a new PAS or taking over an existing PAS, you may need a licence. To find out whether you need a licence for your personal appearance service, refer to the Toolbox website.
How to start a personal appearance business
Home-Based Businesses need to ensure that they have the correct Planning, Building, Plumbing and Trade Waste Approvals. You may also need other applications or approvals such as development or advertising approval.
Before starting a PAS there is a lot to consider. The PAS home-based business needs to be in a separate room and will not be approved within mixed domestic rooms ie not in a living room that is used for domestic purposes as well. You will need to consider the design and fit out of the premises.
Home based and mobile business must meet the same design and fit out requirements as fixed premises (shops). Existing shops may need an upgrade to meet current standards. For more information, refer to the Toolbox website.
Are you starting a new business, taking over or making changes to an existing business? Forms are available from the Toolbox website.
Tattooing, body piercing and other skin penetration
If you are operating a:
- tattooing
- body piercing or
- other skin penetration business
you need to minimise the risk of spreading diseases to your customers. Diseases include HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, and infections. For information on infection control, personal hygiene, after care and more, visit the Toolbox website.
Beauty and hairdressing
Hairdressers, nail salons and beauty therapists may spread infections like:
- cold sores
- ringworm
- scabies
- head lice and
- staphylococcal bacteria.
Operating your business safely can prevent the spread of infections. Find out how to operate your business safely on the Toolbox website.
Inspections, complaints and licence renewals
To help understand the process for licence renewals, inspections, complaints and enforcement refer to the Toolbox website.