Australia

Australia Proposes SPF Testing Shake-Up After Sunscreen Scandal

Should sunscreen reform be built carefully through expert consultation or must SPF test results be made public now?

4 hours ago·Updated 1 hour ago

Australia Proposes SPF Testing Shake-Up After Sunscreen Scandal

Story

Above: Sunscreens for sale at a shop in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 2, 2025. Image credit: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) announced proposed sunscreen reforms on Tuesday, including stronger testing rules that would require brands to submit SPF results before products reach shelves.
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
Nine
BBC News
It follows a controversial report published last December by the Australian consumer group Choice, which found that 16 of the 20 popular branded sunscreens tested by the organization failed to meet their labeled SPF claims.
CHOICE
ABC Australia
News.com.au
Among those that failed were Ultra Violette's Lean Screen, advertised as SPF 50+ but measured at 4, which was subsequently pulled from sale; Aldi's Ombra SPF 50+, tested at 26; and Cancer Council's Ultra Sunscreen SPF 50+, registered at 24.
CHOICE
Under the proposed regulations, suppliers would test the SPF of the finished product, not just the base formula, submit results to the TGA confidentially before listing and periodically test products in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
The TGA will also develop quality requirements for specific sunscreen ingredients and limit SPF claims on cosmetic sunscreens to separate them from dedicated products. Labelling changes, however, await further review after nearly 120 consultation responses.
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
In addition, the regulator suggested strengthening international accreditation of testing labs and allowing in vitro testing, whereby sunscreen is applied to lab equipment rather than human skin, citing variability in current in vivo results.
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)

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The Spin

Pro-government narrative

Getting sunscreen rules right for Australians matters more than getting them fast. That is why the TGA is focused on shaping reforms with expert advice and broad consultation to build durable protections. These safeguards will enforce stricter testing standards, clearer ingredient regulations, and properly distinguish between cosmetics and effective sunscreens, helping restore public trust.

Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)

Government-critical narrative

While the TGA's announcement is welcome, stricter testing rules mean little if the results stay locked away, visible only to a regulator that isn't even promising to check them. Public safety demands that SPF data be published, monitored and backed by an independent compliance testing program. Letting brands mark their own test papers in secret is no way to protect people in the skin cancer capital of the world.