Complaints about health-related businesses
Registration and inspection of health-related premises
All health-related businesses must register with Council under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 and must comply with the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009 and the Health Guidelines for Personal Care and Body Art Industries.
Health-related businesses include:
- Personal care and body art businesses that provide hairdressing, beauty treatment, skin penetration procedures and colonic irrigation
- Prescribed accommodation including rooming and boarding houses and hotels, hostels and caravan parks.
Current legislation does not require the registration of colonic irrigation or massage businesses.
Council monitors the hygiene standards of registered health-related premises by assessing the plans of new health-related businesses, conducting inspections, and investigating complaints.
The Department of Health has fact sheets about the responsibilities of health-related business for their clients.
The Tenants Union of Victoria has infomation about the rights rooming and boarding houses residents.
Report a concern about a health-related business
We encourage you to report concerns to Council about health-related businesses in Merri-bek. Council investigates these reports and lets you know the result.
Your report helps us make sure that health-related premises are safe and hygienic.
You can report your concern to Council if you:
- believe a business is operating in an unhygienic manner or has questionable practices
- think you may have contracted a skin condition or infectious disease from a registered business, or
- see poor standards of accommodation or overcrowding in a rooming or boarding house, motel or caravan park.
How to report a concern about a health-related business
Contact Council in person, by phone or email.
Tell Council the details of the problem, including:
- where: the name and address of the place
- when: date and time of day you visited or viewed the premises, and
- any other relevant details.
Council investigates your report and keeps you informed on the progress. Your report is confidential.