Skip to main content

                    Healthcare businesses

                    A hairdressing business
                    If you operate a personal care and body art business or prescribed accommodation business, you must be registered under and comply with the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008.

                    ​​​​​Personal care and body art businesses include:

                    • hairdressing
                    • beauty therapy
                    • colonic irrigation
                    • tattooing
                    • body and ear piercing businesses
                    • any other process involving the penetration of skin.

                    Prescribed accommodation includes hotels, motels, boarding houses and accommodation facilities. Solaria and massage businesses are not required to be registered under this legislation.

                    Did you know?

                    It is an offence to operate a healthcare business without a current Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 Certificate of Registration.

                    The Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 and Regulations aim to protect public health by preventing or containing outbreaks of infectious diseases. They also encourage businesses proprietors to provide and maintain environments free from infectious diseases.

                    Registrations

                    Registration is valid for 12 months and must be renewed each year. We will send you an application to renew your registration.

                    If you're opening a new business

                    If you want to change the use of your premises - for example, from a hardware store to a hairdressing salon - you may need to apply for a change of use permit. Contact us for more information.

                    Submit plans

                    Plans are required if you are going to change the use of the premises or if you are going to make any structural alterations to a new or existing business. Plans to be submitted electronically and drawn to scale of not less than 1:100 for a prescribed accommodation an no less than 1:50 for other business, showing:

                    • General requirements: floor plan, the layout of all the equipment, fittings and fixtures, where they will be located and how they will be fitted. Include specifications describing the materials to be used on floors, walls and ceiling.
                    • Specific requirements: indicate the nature of the work process to be carried out with the operation of the establishment. This includes type of treatment rooms for beauty therapy salons or number of beds and room size for prescribed accommodation.

                    Application form

                    Complete the Application for Plans Assessment and submit it together with your plans and the required fee.

                    Premises inspection

                    You will need to contact us to arrange for an on-site inspection. Prior to opening you are entitled to:

                    • one inspection during the construction of your works
                    • one final inspection on the completion of your works.

                    The inspection during construction makes sure that work is being carried out as per the approved plans. It is also an opportunity for you to ask questions.

                    During the final inspection, we will check that all of the specified Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 requirements have been met. If all the requirements have not been met, you may not be able to open. Additional inspections are available, subject to a fee.

                    Registration

                    If all requirements have been met, you will receive a Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 registration form. This must be completed and submitted to council with the prescribed fee before the premises or any alterations may be opened to the public.

                    Once your registration has been processed, you will receive a Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 Certificate of Registration.

                    If you're taking over an existing business

                    It is your responsibility to transfer the registration of an existing business into your name. Contact us to confirm the fee payable.

                    Property enquiry

                    We recommend you have a property enquiry carried out for the business you intend to buy. A property enquiry will let you know if there are any outstanding issues that fall under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008.

                    Our current service standard is 15 working days. On request, a priority five working day service is available.

                    Inspections of registered businesses

                    Our environmental health officers conduct regular inspections to ensure registered businesses comply with the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 and Regulations.

                    Hairdressing, beauty therapy and body art businesses

                    ​As well as checking cleaning, sterilisation and operator procedures, our environmental health officers educate proprietors and provide them with information about changes that may affect their business and operations.

                    Prescribed accommodation

                    Routine annual inspections of premises check proprietors are meeting the Regulations’ aims to:

                    • prevent overcrowding in prescribed accommodation
                    • ensure a reasonable standard of hygiene, sanitation and safety in prescribed accommodation
                    • minimise the risk of airborne and other communicable diseases among people living in prescribed accommodation.
                    Report a public health issue

                    If you see a personal care or accommodation business that has issues with hygiene, cleanliness, safety, overcrowding, or other public health concerns, you can report it to us. You can also report suspected unregistered businesses.

                    Reported issues will be investigated by our environmental health officers.

                    Contact us

                    Contact name
                    Health and Wellbeing
                    Telephone number
                    03 9658 883103 9658 8831
                      Was this page helpful?

                      If you'd like to give more feedback or ask a question, please contact us.