Every day, Aucklanders use a wide range of services like beauty and health treatments, tattoo, body piercing and local swimming pools, and Auckland Council wants to ensure that these kinds of services have appropriate hygiene or health practices in place.
The council is proposing changes to the ‘Te Ture ā-Rohe Whakamaru Hauora 2013 / Health and Hygiene Bylaw 2013’ to help minimise risks from the kinds of services that contact the body. You can have your say on the proposed bylaw changes from 26 August to 1 October 2018.
Improving health and hygiene rules
Councillor Linda Cooper, chair of the council’s Regulatory Committee, says that the council recently checked how well the rules are working.
“While most of our health and hygiene bylaw rules are working well, we believe there are some key improvements that can be made to better protect public health.
“We are keen to get feedback from the members of the community who actually use these services as well as from the practitioners who offer them,” says Councillor Cooper.
The main changes proposed to the bylaw are:
- 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
- banning eyeball tattooing unless carried out by a qualified health practitioner
- requiring licenses to be publicly displayed
- clarifying rules about traditional tattooing like tā moko and traditional Pacific tattoo.
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.
We want to know what you think
We want to know what you think about the Health and Hygiene Bylaw, especially the proposed changes.
Visit the council's website to find more information, have your say and find out where you can drop into a ‘have your say’ event.
