Small business owners in the hairdressing and barbering sector will no longer have to operate under unnecessary regulations, including mandatory chair spacing and regulated lighting levels, with dogs banned from salons and restrictions on refreshments served. This slashing of regulations follows BusinessNZ’s October 2024 report Reducing Compliance Burden on New Zealand Businesses, which outlined red tape burdens in a number of sectors including hairdressing and barbering. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Katherine Rich says the outcome for the hairdressing sector bodes well for the Ministry for Regulation’s ongoing work reducing unnecessary and restrictive red tape.