The Governing Body has approved changes to Auckland’s Health and Hygiene bylaw.
These changes will help to minimise risks from services that contact the body, including beauty and health treatments, tattoo, body piercing and local swimming pools.
Councillor Linda Cooper, Chair of the Hearings Panel that made the recommendations, says the changes are about better protecting Aucklanders.
“We want to make sure that when people use these services, they can have confidence that these practices are clean and safe.
“One of the changes we’re making is that these operators will now need to display their health licenses from 1March 2019, just like food operators do.
“We’ve also had a look at what new areas were missing in the current bylaw, so we have now included minimum standards for therapeutic massage, water play parks and splash pads.”
The improvements include:
- Requiring services that pierce, or risk breaking or burning tissue (not just the skin) to be licensed
- Requiring therapeutic massage, water play parks and splash pads to meet minimum standards (limited to permanent structures)
- Eyeball tattooing is only allowed to be carried out by an ophthalmologist
- Requiring licences to be publicly displayed
- Rules clarified about traditional tattooing, particularly tā moko and traditional Pacific tattoo (tatau).
A public consultation period was held during September, when Aucklanders, stakeholders and local boards provided feedback on the proposed changes.
Read the full report here
“We’ve also committed to working further with the Pasifika community on tatau practice under the bylaw", says Councillor Cooper.
How bylaw rules help keep you safe
Auckland Council sets the bylaw rules requiring the people who provide you with certain services to meet minimum health and hygiene standards.
Every year we inspect places that require a licence and check to see if they comply with the rules. We give people a chance to fix any problem we find, but if the problem is not fixed in the required timeframe, or if it is serious, the council may take legal action.
If you are unhappy or concerned about a service you receive, you can contact the council to discuss your concerns.