Choice, Accord Australasia and the Australian Sunscreen Association (ASA) welcome parts of the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s (TGA) proposed sunscreen reforms – but they are urging the TGA to assess the impact on costs and product access before finalising the rules.
The organisation is calling for greater oversight of SPF claims after testing last year found 16 of 20 sunscreen products failed to meet their claimed SPF levels.
Andy Kelly, Choice director of consumer impact, said the proposed reforms would require brands to test finished products, not base formulas, and submit results to the TGA before listing. Brands would also need to continue testing after listing.
Currently, brands only need to provide SPF test data when requested by the TGA. Choice wants the regulator to publish results, monitor compliance routinely and conduct its own testing. It also supports requiring SPF testing laboratories to hold international accreditation.
“In a country where around two in three people will be diagnosed with skin cancer in their lifetime, consumers deserve to trust the claims on sunscreen products are accurate,” Kelly said. “These proposed reforms are an important step towards ensuring this is the case.”
Accord warned that repeat testing, mandatory laboratory accreditation and a proposed SPF limit for cosmetics could raise prices and reduce product choice.
It welcomed the TGA’s proposals to allow SPF testing either in laboratories (in vitro) or on human volunteers (in vivo), and to reference international testing standards directly. Accord recommended both measures in May.
Accord Australasia executive director Damian Mitsch also urged the TGA to define an acceptable margin of error for SPF testing to guide requirements and keep sunscreen affordable.
“Everyone wants SPF claims people can rely on. The way to get there is testing that is targeted and proportionate, so the money goes into reliable results rather than accreditations,” Mitsch said.
The TGA has deferred changes to SPF labels at Accord’s request, pending evidence of consumer benefits. It has also proposed a single SPF limit for secondary sunscreens, including cosmetics, but has yet to specify the threshold. The TGA would require products exceeding the limit to drop their SPF claims or regulate them as medicines.
The TGA has deferred changes to SPF labels at Accord’s request, pending evidence of consumer benefits. Manufacturers would need to remove SPF claims from products exceeding the limit or register them as medicines.
Accord urged the TGA to clarify how the limit would apply to products such as blush, bronzer and high-SPF moisturisers, consult industry and the community, and assess regulatory costs before finalising the rules. Accord and ASA said they would continue working with the TGA on the reforms.
