It’s been a tough month since Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that beauty salons would need to shut their doors amid the country’s lockdown.
For salon owners, it signalled an abrupt and shocking end to business. Staff were let go, rent was negotiated, and, at this point, there isn’t an end-date in sight. The doors are firmly closed.
With that in mind, it could be tempting to give in to clients’ requests for home visits, or one-on-one treatments. But to do so could land a salon owner in hot water, with fines of thousands of dollars.
According to Victoria Jade, owner of one of Melbourne’s leading eyebrow salons, a number of clients have been getting in touch, desperate for her or her team to offer at-home treatments.
“We’ve had a few people message us directly asking things like, ‘Are you or any of your team performing one-on-one waxes at home?’ Or even asking if we’re doing ‘sanitised’ visits! In one instance when I replied, ‘Sorry, no’ to a client, she direct messaged a staff member and asked her,” Victoria says. The salon owner says that it puts her in a really tough position, because she knows her clients value her work, and she values her clients, “But it’s also a $10,000 fine if we get caught, so we just say that to them.”
The directive from the government is simple: to carry out any sort of beauty service at this time, is illegal. In fact, business owners can face fines of up to $40,000 in some states if they fail to follow the chief health officer’s directions on self-isolations and business closures.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said that the police will not hesitate to punish those that knowingly ignore the restrictions. “I’m encouraged that most members of the community are taking this issue seriously and are adhering to the government advice.”
However, he said it was disturbing that officers have already had to respond to dozens of reports of breaches of ministerial directions from members of the community. “This is astounding, and incredibly disappointing, as these people are putting themselves and the wider community at an unacceptable risk,” he said. “The last thing we want to do is to have to use police powers to ensure compliance, but let me be clear we have been using them and we will continue to do so.”
For more news and updates, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.