The Dunedin City Council is seeking public submissions on proposed changes to two bylaws – the Beauty Therapists, Tattooists and Skin-Piercers Bylaw and the Trading in Public Places Bylaw.
The Local Government Act sets specific timeframes for bylaws to be reviewed, which is why these changes are being considered now.
The purpose of theBeauty Therapists, Tattooists and Skin-Piercers Bylaw is to protect public health and safety, and prevent the transfer of communicable diseases and bacterial skin infections such as Hepatitis B and C, HIV/AIDS and bacterial skin infections through beauty therapy, tattooing and skin piercing practices.
Any person undertaking these practices in Ōtepoti Dunedin must be registered, and their activities must comply with all the requirements set out in the bylaw.
“Late last year, we invited the community to share thoughts and perspectives on this bylaw and gathered input from interested parties such as registered operators, training providers, the Medical Officer of Health, mana whenua and the Pasifika community,” says Tanya Morrison, Team Leader Environmental Health and Alcohol Licensing.
“After this period of engagement, we are proposing to update the bylaw to add a greater level of protection for the public, and to include emerging practices.”
Key proposed changes include:
- Council may alter, suspend, or cancel a practitioner’s licence if licence conditions are being breached.
- A parent or legal guardian must be present during a skin-piercing or skin-penetration process for a person under 16 years (in addition to providing permission).
- Skin piercing and skin penetrating operators must complete bloodborne pathogen training.
- Only a qualified ophthalmologist may administer eyeball tattooing.
TheTrading in Public Places Bylawregulates trading activities in public spaces, to enhance public safety and protect against nuisances. Trading activities included within this bylaw are street performing, street fundraising, mobile trading, commercial use of footpaths, rental scheme operators (such as e-scooter companies) and tour operators.
“Dunedin experiences benefits from many of these activities because they help to provide vibrancy and liveliness in the city,” says Cazna Savell, Acting Compliance Solutions Manager. “The community feedback we gathered late last year indicated this bylaw is working well, so we are only proposing some minor changes.”
These include:
- Providing greater clarity around the definitions and scope of conditions and trading activities.
- Removing reference to oral permissions for permits, as only written permissions are currently provided.
- Changing references to ‘pedestrian access’ to ‘footpath access’ in acknowledgement that not all footpath users are pedestrians.
The public consultation period for both bylaws closes on Tuesday, 6 June. To find out more or to make a submission, please visit dunedin.govt.nz/consultation