Compliance

The following look at specific areas of compliance including:

1. Beauty & Personal Grooming
2. Health Complaints
3. Mosquitoes
4. Public Pools & Spas
5. Rats
6. Supported Residential Facilities
7. Septic Tanks & Grey Water Reuse
8. Water Systems & Legionella.

Our Environmental Health Officers are enforced to monitor businesses such as Hairdressers, Beauty Salons, Tattooists, and Acupuncturists for correct procedures and practices within the following regulations:

1. Public & Environmental Health Act
2. Guidelines on the Standards of Practice for Hairdressing
3. Guidelines for the safe and hygienic practice of skin penetration
4. Food Act 2001 and Food Safety Standards if a business provides tea and coffee or other food to clients.

The objectives of Council's inspections are:

• To ensure community members are protected when receiving treatments or services from a premises;
• To ensure operators are aware of their obligations to carry out safe, clean and hygienic procedures; and
• To ensure premises where procedures are undertaken comply with relevant standards.

For more information regarding this topic, please contact us.

If you have questions or concerns or a complaint about a potential health related issue with a business or neighbouring property please contact an Environmental Health Officer.

Mosquitoes can quickly breed to nuisance levels whenever climatic conditions are suitable. Common breeding sites include roadside drains, septic tank systems, stagnant pools of water in low lying areas, blocked gutters, pot plants and containers and virtually anywhere else that water pools exist for more than a few days.

For more information regarding this topic, please contact us.

Public swimming pools and spas can be very popular however they do pose potential health risks if not properly maintained. Managers of public pools and spas are responsible for ensuring the facilities they provide are safe and hygienic.

All swimming pools and spas available for use by our public are routinely inspected by our Environmental Health Officers. We check for compliance with the Public and Environmental Health (General) Regulations 2006 and other associated standards.

When inspecting public swimming pools, our Environmental Health Officers look at a variety of requirements including:

• automatic doser
• levels of disinfectant, pH and alkalinity
• regular testing
• operator knowledge.

Public & Environmental Health Act Regulations ensure the disposal of refuse is adequate so as not to cause offensive odours or attract flies, rats, mice, cockroaches, animals or other pests. Rats in particular can transmit disease, contaminate food and cause physical damage.

For more information regarding this topic, please contact us.

The Supported Residential Facilities Act and Regulations set out standards that protect people living in accommodation that provides personal care. Nursing care along with assistance with showering, toileting, dressing, eating food, mobility, managing personal finances and medication are all considered and monitored within this regulation.

The Supported Residential Facilities Act, 1992 defines a supported residential facility as 'a premises at which, for monetary or other consideration (but whether or not for profit), residential accommodation is provided or offered together with personal care services (other than for members of the immediate family of the proprietor of the facility).' 

Nursing Homes, Hostels and any facility funded by the Intellectual Disability Services Council, however, are exempt.

Under the SRF Act, premises that operate as a supported residential facility must have a licence. Applications regarding the process are attached for consideration and review during the licensing process.

For more information regarding this topic, please contact us.

The Public & Environmental Health Regulation controls the installation and approval of Waste Control Systems. Some suburbs within the City are not connected to SA Water's Sewer System. Instead, these suburbs have a septic tank on their property which is connected to Council's Community Wastewater Management System or CWMS. Properties connected to the CWMS are required to have their septic tank pumped out every 4 years.  Council currently runs a 'pump out program' for every property connected to the CWMS to help keep these septic tanks working efficiently. 

New developments in the area can impact on the drains running underground facilitating the CWMS and therefore if you are planning on developing your property you will need to find out if any pipe work will be affected by your development and if so the pipe work may need to be upgraded. 
 
Grey water refers to water from showers, baths, washing machines, laundries and hand basins.

Should you wish to install a system that has not been approved for use in South Australia, please contact SA Health. Alternatively visit their website for further details.

Legionnaires' Disease is an infection of the lungs and can be fatal. The disease is caused by breathing in aerosols which contain Legionella bacteria. This bacteria is present in low levels in the environment, but can grow rapidly to dangerous levels in cooling towers and in warm water systems. To exist, Legionella obtains nutrients by invading other microorganisms such as algae, protozoa and other bacteria. Legionella growth can be controlled by proper water treatment procedures and regular cleaning.

The organism can survive freezing but is destroyed immediately when temperatures reach 70ºC. The optimum temperatures for the bacteria to reproduce are at temperatures between from 20-45ºC.

Owners and operators of high risk manufactured water systems (eg cooling towers and warm water systems) are responsible for the control of Legionella. They must be registered with us each year and be operated and maintained in accordance with the Public and Environmental Health (Legionella) Regulations 2008, and the Guidelines for the Control of Legionella and the Australian and New Zealand Standards (AS/NZS 3666) to ensure correct commissioning/decommissioning procedures, decontamination procedures, setup, plans, manuals, maintenance, log books and record keeping are maintained.

The Public and Environmental Health (Legionella) Regulations 2008 (the Regulations) require that registered cooling water systems and warm water systems be inspected for compliance, at least once a year by the relevant authority (generally the local council). Alternatively, the relevant authority can issue a notice to the system owner, requiring that they engage an independent, competent third party to undertake the inspection and prepare a report.  The City of Tea Tree Gully currently serve notice on businesses requiring an independent third party inspection.