What insurance does a cosmetic tattoo artist need in Australia?

Cosmetic tattoo insurance in Australia usually combines professional indemnity with public liability. Across cosmetic tattoo policies arranged through upcover, almost all combine professional indemnity and public liability in one policy.

Professional indemnity is designed to cover claims that your advice or services caused a client financial loss. Public and products liability is designed to cover claims for injury or property damage connected with your business or a product you supply.

Cover depends on the policy and insurer you choose. Check the policy wording and its terms and conditions for what is and isn't included. A beauty therapy policy may not cover skin penetration at all. A beauty therapist who adds microblading may therefore hold a policy that leaves the new service uninsured.

Which types of insurance should cosmetic tattoo artists consider?

Cosmetic tattoo artists commonly consider professional indemnity, public liability and products liability.

Important: Claims scenarios are hypothetical examples only. Cover is always subject to policy terms, conditions and exclusions. Policy wordings may also vary between insurers. Always refer to the policy wording and its terms and conditions for details.

Government guidance on insurance types sets out the distinction between them. Professional indemnity claims generally involve an allegation such as negligence, and any financial loss that may have arisen from this. Typically, refunds or the cost of redoing your own work are commonly excluded. It’s also important to note that cosmetic tattooing insurance is not the same as tattoo parlour insurance.

A combined policy includes professional indemnity and public liability, helping you avoid the cost of obtaining separate policies. Whether the combined policy also includes products liability varies between policy wordings, so always check with your broker or the team at upcover.

Does your policy cover microblading and every other treatment?

A policy is generally designed to respond to the treatments listed on your policy schedule. Anything the schedule leaves out may sit outside cover unless the insurer agrees to add it.

Microblading, lip blush and eyeliner all break the skin, and an insurer may treat each one as a separate procedure. A broad label such as "beauty therapy" may not extend to skin penetration, which is why naming each treatment matters under your activities section, particularly where you have certificates and training to perform this as an added service which you charge.

A complete activities schedule could begin with ‘cosmetic tattooing’ but could also consider all other related activities including naming microblading, powder and ombré brows, lip blush, lip liner and eyeliner where you offer them. Insurers may group these under "permanent makeup" or "PMU", and the individual treatments still need to be named within that description.

The following additional services or treatments if you would like them added should also be raised directly with your broker or upcover team to ensure they are specifically listed, as your insurer may have further questions. These are: 

• Scalp micropigmentation
• Restorative or paramedical work, such as areola or scar camouflage
• Fine-line tattooing
• Removal or lightening services
• Teaching or supervising students

A proposal form or record of answers records what you asked for. The policy schedule, wording and any endorsements record what the insurer accepted, and a written answer from the insurer gives you a clear record.

What happens if a treatment is missing from your schedule?

If a client makes a claim about a treatment your schedule leaves out, the insurer may consider to decline this if they were not aware and would not have accepted the activity as coverable under the insurance policy. You could then face the legal costs and any compensation and settlement yourself.

Where an insurer agrees to add a new treatment, it usually does so by endorsement, or listing the activity on your policy schedule, and issuing a written change to your policy, and this may cost an additional fee. That means you may be able to add a new service mid-policy, before your first booking, rather than waiting for renewal.

Can you use numbing creams on clients?

Numbing creams raise a separate legal question from insurance. Queensland Health warns that some pain-relieving products are scheduled medicines. In Queensland, it is illegal to possess, administer or apply a scheduled anaesthetic to another person unless you are authorised. It is important that you consider that you are always using Australian medically approved products, and that you have the requisite training to perform the services you are administering. 

Is cosmetic tattoo insurance compulsory in Australia?

Cosmetic tattooing is not an AHPRA-registered profession, so there is no AHPRA registration or minimum requirement for insurance. Insurance obligations, lease or contract requirements and business registration or licensing with an association may require it however.

Which licences and registrations apply?

The examples below are state operating requirements. In NSW, Queensland and Victoria, they apply to the premises as well as the practitioner.

Source:

1. https://ablis.business.gov.au/service/nsw/notification-of-skin-penetration-premises/16525
2. https://www.health.qld.gov.au/public-health/industry-environment/personal-appearance/services/legislation
3. https://www.health.vic.gov.au/infectious-diseases/information-for-registered-premises-and-environmental-health-officers
   

Your lease or room-hire agreement may also set the cover and limits you hold, and the documents the premises operator needs to see.

For the wider setup process, read our guide to the requirements to do cosmetic tattooing. For the numbers, see what a cosmetic tattoo business can earn.

Does where you work affect your cosmetic tattoo insurance?

Where you work affects two things: whether your policy extends to that location and whether you may lawfully offer the service there.

Standard home insurance often excludes business activities, so your home insurer may need to know about a home studio. A landlord's or salon owner's policy is generally designed for their own business. Whether their policy extends to you depends on its terms, including whether it names your business as an insured.

For mobile work, local health rules set where you may offer the service, even when your policy includes off-site work.

What exclusions and conditions apply to cosmetic tattoo insurance?

The policy schedule and wording together set out which treatments, claims and costs sit outside cover.

What does cosmetic tattoo insurance not cover?

Exclusions commonly include, but are not limited to:

• Infectious diseases 
• Treatment or piercing or tattooing of genital areas 
• Abuse
• Refunds, or the cost of redoing, correcting or improving your own work
• Treatments not listed on your policy schedule
• Claims and circumstances you knew about before the policy started
• Dishonest, fraudulent or criminal acts by you. Dishonesty by an employee may sit under a fidelity or crime section, where the policy includes one
• Injury to your employees, which generally sits with workers' compensation
• Liability you take on under a contract that would not otherwise exist under the law
• Cyber incidents and data breaches, which generally sit with cyber insurance
• Motor vehicle incidents, which generally sit with motor insurance

Important: This list is not exhaustive. Exclusions vary between insurers. Always refer to the policy wording and its terms and conditions for the exclusions that apply to you.

Which conditions and limits apply?

Policies commonly set conditions on which treatments you may perform, the training required and where you may work. The service description on your schedule needs to match your work.

The specified limit is the most the insurer may pay, subject to the terms. The excess is your contribution. Some policies also set smaller limits for particular benefits, and defence costs may sit within or outside the main specified limit.

Before you buy, an upcover representative or a broker can explain anything unclear in the schedule and wording.

How does claims made cover affect past work?

Professional indemnity is generally a claims made policy. That means a claim falls within the period of insurance when it is brought against you, not when the services were originally provided. A claim could be a letter of demand, a writ or a civil suit.

So it is important to keep your cover active and continuously in place, which is known as continuity of cover. This then means the retroactive date on your schedule should cover you for services for as long as you have been providing them. Your retroactive date is the earliest date of past services the policy may respond to.

You can ask your broker or the upcover team about how you may also get an unlimited retroactive date.

When should you tell your insurer?

If you're concerned about a particular customer service or experience, you can always consider telling your insurer as soon as you become aware of an incident, complaint or circumstance that could lead to a claim. Importantly, this doesn’t impact your premiums or cost of insurance until a claim arises, and it means that any future claim is triggered from your original date you notified the insurer - so it helps spread the risk of claims across policy periods too! You don’t need to wait for a formal demand.

Also keep in mind that notifying of a claim late may affect your claim. Client emails, treatment notes and signed consent forms help show what was agreed and done if a complaint arises.

What other insurance might a cosmetic tattoo studio need?

Liability cover is designed for claims made by other people. For losses to your own business, a studio may also consider equipment and contents, business interruption and cyber cover. Employers also have workers' compensation obligations.

1. Equipment and contents: Machines, lighting, furniture and stock may need their own policy for insured damage. Portable property cover may extend to equipment you take to other locations.
2. Theft cover: Theft cover is designed to cover business property stolen from your studio, such as machines, pigments and stock, subject to the policy terms. Many policies respond only where there are signs of forced or violent entry, known as theft from a locked building.
3. Business interruption: Business interruption cover may help with insured lost income or costs when an insured event stops you trading. Closures, equipment faults or council issues without an insured event may fall outside it.
4. Cyber insurance: You may hold client names, health forms and treatment photos. A cyber policy may help with responding to a data breach and restoring records.
5. Workers' compensation: Workers' compensation is legally required for employers under the relevant state or territory scheme. Thresholds and the treatment of contractors differ between schemes.

Property, theft and interruption sections may be available through business pack insurance.

How much does cosmetic tattoo insurance cost?

The cost of cosmetic tattoo insurance depends on the treatments you offer, your turnover, whether you employ anyone and the cover you choose. Cosmetic tattoo businesses differ, so no standard figure applies.

How do you compare cosmetic tattoo insurance quotes?

Quotes compare fairly when each insurer receives the same information: your full treatment list, work locations, qualifications, turnover, staff or contractors and claims history.

Two proposals at similar prices may list different treatments. A proposal that leaves out scalp micropigmentation or teaching may simply offer narrower cover, so the schedule matters as much as the price. Side by side, four points show how proposals differ:

• Which treatments each proposal names as insured
• Who is insured, including any other practitioners in your space
• The limits, excesses and exclusions
• How each treats past work, including the retroactive date

Leaving treatments off your disclosure to reach a cheaper quote may leave that work uninsured and may affect a claim.

How upcover can help

upcover arranges professional indemnity and public and products liability insurance for cosmetic tattoo artists. upcover works with 80+ insurance partners and can arrange quotes from a range of insurers.

• 70,000+ businesses covered across Australia
• 4.9/5 customer rating
• 80+ insurance partners

Added a service, changed premises or started teaching since you last looked? That is the moment to ask about updating your schedule, rather than waiting for renewal.

Explore cosmetic tattoo insurance with upcover and give your full treatment list when you ask for a quote, or see options for beauty businesses.

Cosmetic tattoo insurance FAQs

Is public liability enough for a cosmetic tattoo artist?

Public liability insurance is designed to cover claims for third party injury or property damage, such as a client tripping in your studio. Professional indemnity is designed to cover claims that your advice or services caused a client financial loss. You can consider whether professional indemnity and products liability also apply to your work, rather than looking at public liability alone. An upcover representative or a broker can talk through your options.

Does a beauty therapy policy cover microblading or lip blush?

A beauty therapy policy may not. Standard beauty therapy cover commonly excludes skin penetration, and microblading, lip blush and eyeliner are all skin penetration procedures. An insurer may be able to add a skin penetration treatment to your policy by endorsement before your first booking.

Do students who are practising on models need insurance?

Students practising on models may be insured through their training provider's policy, depending on whether it includes the student, the procedure and the location. Some policies set supervision conditions, and practice outside the course may need separate cover. Confirm this before practising, even if the model is not paying.

Does a client consent form replace insurance?

A consent form and insurance do different jobs. The form records what the client agreed to and supports your records if a complaint arises. Insurance is what may respond to a claim.

Does cosmetic tattoo insurance cover past treatments?

Professional indemnity may respond to past work, depending on the policy. A claim about last year's work may arise after you change insurers. Whether the new policy responds depends on its retroactive date, when you report the claim and the other terms. Known complaints need to be disclosed to the new insurer, and claims and circumstances you knew about before a policy started are commonly excluded.

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_{This article provides general information only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It is not legal, medical or personal insurance advice. Registration, licensing, infection control and medicines requirements vary by state and territory and can change, so confirm what applies with your local council and the relevant health authority. Information about state requirements draws on publicly available guidance from the NSW Government, Queensland Health and the Victorian Department of Health. Insurance availability and cover are subject to underwriting and the terms, conditions, limits and exclusions of the relevant policy. Read the policy wording and its terms and conditions before deciding. upcover arranges insurance products with selected insurers and underwriters and does not compare all general insurers or insurance products available in the market.}