A brief review of prescribed infection control procedures for Queensland tattooists

Tattooing carries with it the risk of transfer of disease if appropriate infection control practices are not followed. This paper is a review of the current literature and legislative requirements for tattooists in Queensland, with additional reference made to an earlier study by Trott (1993). Trott (1993) reviewed the infection control practices of tattooists operating within the municipality of Brisbane City Council to determine their compliance with the relevant legislation of the time, the Skin Penetration Regulations 1987. Some of the key findings of his study included the operators’ lack of understanding of specific infection control measures, the applicability of the legislation to the tattooing industry, poor personal hygiene of operators, insufficient training of operators in infection control procedures and inadequate sterilisation of equipment. Current legislative requirements applicable to licensed tattoo operators require that they hold qualifications in infection control is a substantial advancement. However there are still areas of concern that are raised in this paper including, the method of providing training to these operators; guidance to the operators on sterilisation of equipment should be included in existing infection control guidelines; tattoo operators’ reluctance to provide information about the process of tattooing and their wariness of local authorities; and the lack of specialised training provided to local authority officers in the processes of tattooing.This paper discusses many elements of the legislation that currently govern tattooing in Queensland and suggests that the current legislation does not go far enough in limiting the potential infection control risks to clients.