Cosmetic surgery is a $6 billion-a-year industry but has included cowboy operators, leaving patients disfigured and traumatised.
Under current laws, ordinary doctors can call themselves a cosmetic surgeon even though they have not completed the eight to 12 years of formal training required of registered plastic surgeons.
Updated guidelines from the Medical Board of Australia, which come into effect on July 1, will also require a GP referral for anyone seeking cosmetic surgery, including Botox injections.
Surgeons will also have to screen patients for underlying psychological conditions that could make them unsuitable for cosmetic procedures.
A registered cosmetic nurse since 2016, About Face Cosmetics Bankstown operator Rebecca Ziegler believes any crackdown on the cosmetic surgery industry is positive but the focus should be on actual surgery and not on injectables such as Botox.
“There is so much weight on the GP system at the moment, I’m not sure how these moves will affect them and it will also add a lot of expense for the consumer if they have to pay for a doctor as well as their treatment,” she said.
“More regulation is a good thing but why not trial it first?”
However, Laser Clinics Australia Bankstown’s Natalia says the moves are a bit extreme.
“You still need to have a Skype session with a GP, even for injectables, when you come here and that should be enough,” she said.
Alana from Revesby’s Onyx Aesthetic agreed.
“These changes should focus on actual cosmetic surgeries and not the injectable industry,” she said.
“We already use qualified doctors.”
Other cosmetic surgery and injectable providers contacted by the Torch did not know enough about the new guidelines or did not want to comment.
