Australian children banned from piercing parlours

South East Asia News.Net
Thursday 8th May, 2008

Children under the age of 16 are to be banned from having any part of their body pierced without written parental consent under new laws to be introduced by the New South Wales government in Australia.

And operators who carried out intimate piercings on minors would face fine of up to AUD$22,000 dollars, while those who performed other types of piercings on children without parental permission could be fined AUD$3,000.

The tough parliamentary action came after growing concerns over the health risks of body piercing.

Dr Gabrielle Caswell from Cosmetic Physicians Society of Australasia was pleased with the proposed regulations and said even the most simple piercing can leave life-long scars.

Caswell said that piercings done without medical guidance could lead to serious infections and other ongoing problems.

"If you have an eyebrow piercing, for example, it can leave a scar where the hair doesn't grow back and intimate piercing should be left in the adult domain," she said.

Parents too welcomed the move saying they deserved to have the legal authority to determine if their children can have a piercing.

The proposed regulations have been signed off on by Cabinet and legislation is now being prepared and will be brought to Parliament shortly

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