The Government has announced a sector review into rules for hairdressers and barbers, with David Seymour saying it will seek to give the industry a regulatory “buzz cut”.
The review will be “short and sharp”, the Minister for Regulation said.
“Hairdressers and barbers provide a valuable service in every community. They make up a billion-dollar industry of more than 5000 mostly small businesses employing around 13,000 people,” Seymour said in a statement.
“The review will seek to give the industry a regulatory ‘buzz cut’, as barbers and hairdressers deal with regulations which have been out of style since the ’80s.
“Some of the rules include whether salons are allowed to give customers coffee with haircuts, or whether dogs are allowed in salons. These rules aren’t making a practical difference to public health, but they are frustrating for business owners and customers.”
“The review will seek to give the industry a regulatory ‘buzz cut’,” Minister for Regulation David Seymour said. (Source: 1News)
Last month, a new bill was introduced in Parliament to make serving drinks at hair salons and barbershops legal.
“Over the past few years, calls for removing absurd hairdresser and barber rules has grown, but they haven’t been answered yet,” Seymour said.
He said he personally hoped the rule banning hairdressers from serving drinks would be removed.
“The review will look at whether current rules are suited to a billion-dollar industry made up of mostly small businesses, while ensuring public health is protected.”
The Ministry for Regulation would begin industry engagement on the review early next year, and was expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025, Seymour said.
It would be the ministry’s third sector review, with evaluations of the rules for early childhood education and agricultural/horticultural products “nearing completion”.
The Ministry for Regulation was established earlier this year, as part of the coalition Government’s agreement.
