Personal appearance services

What is a personal appearance service?

Personal appearance services (PAS) include beauty therapy, hair dressing, or skin penetration procedures (e.g. tattooing, body piercing, scarring and implants) that are provided as part of a business transaction as defined under the Public Health (Infection Control for Personal Appearance Services) Act 2003.

Who requires a PAS licence?

Personal appearance services are classed into two categories, higher risk and non-higher risk.

Only those activities classed as "higher risk" personal appearance services are required to be licensed with Council. These activities include;

  • body piercing (does not include ear and nose piercing with a gun),
  • implanting natural or synthetic substances into a person's skin (for example hair or beads),
  • scarring or cutting a person's skin using a sharp instrument to make a permanent mark, pattern or design,
  • tattooing, and
  • tattoo removal involving skin penetration

Whether accidental or not, personal appearance services that involve skin penetration can spread blood-borne diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C and are therefore deemed "higher risk" activities. These diseases are spread by blood-to-blood contact due to contaminated instruments from an infected person being used on another person without adequate precautions.

Businesses that do not require a licence with Council to operate are non-higher risk personal appearance services. These include:

  • Beauty and nail services;
  • Hairdressing services; and
  • Closed ear and nose piercing (i.e. with a gun).

However, operators are still required to comply with other relevant requirements, including:

It is recommended that the following departments be contacted to discuss their requirements:

  • Planning and Development Services to determine if any planning approvals are required.
  • Building Department to discuss any building requirements.
  • Trade Waste Department to determine if any trade waste approvals are required.

What are the legislative requirements?

The Act requires all proprietors of all personal appearance services (including both higher risk and non-higher risk) to take all reasonable precautions and care to minimise the risk of infection to their clients, and to ensure all employees do the same.

Queensland Health has developed the booklet What Business needs to know about Personal Appearance Services to assist businesses in implementing measures to minimise the risk of infection.

Training Requirements - Higher Risk Personal Appearance Services

Operators carrying out higher risk PAS must complete the minimum training requirements as stated in the Public Health (Infection Control for Personal Appearance Services) Regulation 2016.

Note: Training must be carried out by a registered training organisation.

A copy of the certificate of attainment for competency for each proposed operator must be submitted with your application.

Application - Personal Appearance Services(PDF, 241KB)

Can a licence be transferred?

The short answer is yes. A licence can be transferred to a new licensee.

Before purchasing an existing business, it is recommended that an application is made for a Health Search to be conducted by Council’s Environmental Health Services. The search can take the form of a desktop audit or a physical audit, dependant on individual choice, and allows officers to advise of any non-compliant matters.

Application - Health Search

Application - Transfer a Licence

How can a licence be amended?

Council must be notified of any proposed changes to the licensed premises. Minor changes, such as a change of contact details, can be emailed through to ceo@bundaberg.qld.gov.au with the licence number for the premises quoted in the subject field.

For any structural changes to the premises (i.e. refurbishments) additional information will need to be submitted with the below application.

Application - Amending a PAS Licence

When are licences renewed?

Once a licence is issued by Council, it will remain in force until the 30th of June each year, unless surrendered or cancelled prior to this date.

In the months prior to the end of the financial year the operator of the premises will receive a renewal notice and accompanying invoice which must be completed and submitted to Council’s Environmental Health Services prior to 30 June for processing.

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