If you have a business which provides higher risk personal appearance services (body piercing, cosmetic tattooing or tattooing) you must hold a licence and only provide services from the premises stated on this licence.
This does not apply to personal appearance services provided in a health-care facility (e.g. cosmetic surgery) or at a declared health service (e.g. acupuncture).
Massage provided by a massage therapist is not a personal appearance service.
Ban on all Tattooing Procedures (COVID-19 response)
In response to the spread of COVID-19, the Prime Minister has announced the National Cabinet has placed a ban on conducting all tattooing procedures in Australia until further notice.
This ban means tattooists and operators cannot perform any tattooing anywhere in Australia including their own home, until the government relaxes the restrictions. There is no estimated time as to when this will occur.
As a result, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is not issuing new licences for tattoo operators or tattooists. However, we want to offer existing tattoo licensees, as much assistance and flexibility as possible with regards to your licence and renewals.
If you recently lodged a new application and paid your licence fees, but have not been issued your licence, you can either:
- withdraw your application and seek a refund of the licence fee
- leave your application and licence fee with us until the ban is lifted.
For existing licensees, the government ban does not affect the validity of your licence. It remains valid until the current licence period expires (either one or three years after the licence was granted or your last renewal).
If your licence is due for renewal during this COVID-19 ban, we recommend you lodge a renewal application without the relevant renewal fee to ensure your licence does not expire. We will contact you at a later date about payment of the renewal fee. Renewal fees can be put on hold during the ban, but it is up to you to ensure your licence remains current in order to avoid having to apply for a new licence again when the crisis is over.
