AUSTRALIA | The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has advanced reforms to strengthen sunscreen regulation.
Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world, and sunscreen is a critical part of protecting Australians. The primary objective of sunscreen regulation is to ensure quality, safety, and efficacy, protect consumers from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and reduce the incidence and impact of skin cancer.
The reforms being developed are intended to strengthen consumer confidence in sunscreen performance and ensure sunscreen sponsors and manufacturers understand their regulatory obligations.
The proposed reforms are informed by responses from a public consultation held from March to May 2026. Almost 120 consultation responses were received from industry, testing laboratories, health professionals, consumer groups, academia and other stakeholders.
Reforms that will be developed include:
- Strengthening sunscreen testing requirements to improve confidence and reliability of SPF claims.
- Developing quality requirements for specific sunscreen ingredients to help ensure sunscreen products that include those ingredients are of high quality and will perform as expected.
- Limiting the SPF claims cosmetic sunscreens can make to clearly distinguish between sunscreens used primarily for UV protection and secondary (cosmetic) sunscreens.
- Reviewing sunscreen good manufacturing practice (GMP) guidance to clarify expectations and responsibilities, strengthen manufacturing outcomes, and support continued confidence in the quality and performance of sunscreen products in Australia.
Further review and consultation on SPF labelling will be undertaken at a later stage before progressing with any proposed labelling changes.
The TGA has also engaged academic and industry experts for advice on the factors that underpin the quality, efficacy, and safety of sunscreens in Australia.
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