Victorian prison staff facing a beard ban over new health and safety rules

A beard ban is set for Victorian prison workers. Photo / Supplied

Prison staff in Victoria are facing a beard ban and will need permission to grow any facial hair after the introduction of new workplace health and safety rules. Corrections Victoria staff will have to get their moustaches or beards approved or shave them off from March 5 so they can properly use breathing equipment in an emergency.

"We don't believe it's fair that staff who have beards or non-compliant moustaches should be able to stand aside when there is a fire, leaving it to colleagues to don breathing apparatus and respond to the emergency," a Corrections Victoria spokeswoman told AAP on Wednesday.

Having "acceptable facial hair" is critical to achieving a proper seal to prevent smoke inhalation during a fire, the spokeswoman said. The union representing prison officers criticised the corrections agency for imposing the beard ban.

"They've dismissed outright the many alternatives we've put forward during negotiations over the past 12 months and seem hellbent on causing division inside our jails," spokesman for the Community and Public Sector Union Julian Kennelly said.

"The Acting Corrections Commissioner even has a beard," he said, adding it would be hard to police the ban.

People are exempt from the beard ban if they are determined to wear facial hair on religious grounds or those who are on a permanent roster where frontline response to an emergency is "inconceivable".