Australia— Tattoo scenes & cities

In Australia, scarification was widely practised by Indigenous peoples; today it is found almost only in parts of Arnhem Land. In the colonial era, a study of records of convicts sent to Van Diemen's Land (1823–1853) shows that about 37% of men and 15% of women arrived already tattooed. The Southern Cross motif became popular, but it remains controversial.

In Queensland, Parliament passed the Tattoo Parlours Act on 16 October 2013, creating a regulatory framework and a permit system for the tattoo industry. Passed on the same day as other laws against organised crime and motorcycle gangs, it notably bars people linked to a criminal organisation from holding a permit.