Skin Penetration and Hairdressers

Hairdressers, beauty and skin penetration premises

All beauty salons and skin penetration premises (such as tattooing, body piercing and waxing/hair removal) within Griffith Local Government area are required to be registered with Council and are routinely inspected to ensure compliance with the Public Health Act 2010 and Public Health Regulation 2012. Hairdressing premises are also required to be registered with Council and premises are inspected to ensure compliance with the standards required by the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005.

Skin penetration is an activity that includes any of the following procedures

• Dry needling
• Beauty treatments (e.g. waxing, electrolysis)
• Body Piercing
• Colonic Lavage
• Cosmetic enhancement
• Ear piercing
• Tattooing
• Cuticle cutting
• Microdermabrasion

Premises not inspected by Council include:

• Registered medical practitioners
• Dentistry’s
• Chiropractors
• Osteopaths
• Dental technicians
• Nurses
• Optical dispensers, optometrists
• Pharmacies
• Podiatrists
• Psychologists

If skin penetration procedures are not undertaken correctly they have the potential to transmit bacterial and fungal infections, as well as viral infections such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C. Infection control procedures must be implemented to protect the health of the client and the operator.

NSW Health has developed a number of different resources (factsheets, posters etc.) to assist skin penetration practitioners. These resources can be found on NSW Health’s Skin Penetration website.

Sterilisation of Re-usable Skin Penetration Equipment

To prevent the spread of disease, reusable instruments used in skin penetration procedures must be thoroughly cleaned and then sterilised using a bench-top steriliser.

Sterilisation kills microorganisms including bacteria (and their spores), fungi and viruses. According to the Public Health Regulation 2012, all re-usable instruments which penetrate the skin must be sterilised.

Instruments which need to be sterilised include:

• Cuticle cutters
• Razor scrappers
• Microdermabrasion heads
• Metal nail files
• Dermarollers

Single use items

• Instruments that penetrate the skin and cannot be adequately cleaned and/or sterilised must not be re-used, they must be ‘single use’
• Needles (including tattoo needles) must not be re-used. They must be ‘single-use’ and immediately disposed into an approved sharps container following use on a client.

Further information on sterilisation requirements within the skin penetration industry can be found on NSW Health’s website.

Inspections of Skin Penetration and Hairdresser businesses

Inspections are carried out by Council’s Environmental Health Officers on an annual basis or on a more frequent basis if a premise is found to be non-compliant. The fees are outlined in Council’s Revenue Policy. Please contact Council’s Environmental Health Officer on (02) 6962 8100 for more information on skin penetration and hairdresser business inspections.

New Skin Penetration and Hairdresser businesses

Before starting a new skin penetration or hairdresser business you will need to contact Council on 6962 8100 to discuss any requirements that need to be met.