Australia's Sunscreen Scandal: A Wake-Up Call for Sun Safety

Mon Oct 20 2025 18:20:30 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

A trusted consumer group reveals shocking findings about sunscreen efficacy in Australia, raising concerns about skin cancer risks amid the scandal.

An independent analysis in Australia found that many popular sunscreens, including those from Ultra Violette, Neutrogena, and Cancer Council, are failing to provide the advertised protection against harmful UV rays. The report came as a shock to many Australians who trust these products for protection against the country's high skin cancer rates. The fallout has led to product recalls, an investigation by health authorities, and heightened scrutiny over sunscreen regulations.

The sunscreen scandal shocking Australia - the world's skin cancer hotspot

Like many Australians, Rach grew up terrified of the sun in the country with the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. Her childhood was characterised by the infamous no hat, no play rule that is commonplace in Australian schools, 90s advertisements that warned the sun would give you cancer, and sunscreen tubes that stood guard at every door in her home.

It made the now 34-year-old the kind of person who religiously applies sunscreen multiple times a day and rarely leaves the house without a hat. So she was shocked when doctors found a skin cancer on her nose during a check last November, something they said was abnormal given her age and ray-dodging regime.

Though technically classified as a low grade skin cancer – a basal cell carcinoma – it had to be surgically removed, leaving the Newcastle mum with a scar just below her eye. I was just confused, and I was a little bit angry because I was like, 'Are you kidding me?' Rach told the BBC. I thought I'd done all the right stuff and it still happened to me. That rage grew when she learned the sunscreen she had been using for years was unreliable and, according to some tests, offered next to no sun protection at all.

Independent analysis by a trusted consumer advocacy group has found that several of Australia's most popular, and expensive, sunscreens are not providing the protection they claim to, kicking off a national scandal. There has been a massive backlash from customers, a probe launched by the country's medical watchdog, multiple products pulled from shelves, and questions raised about the regulation of sunscreen around the globe.

Australians have a complicated relationship with the sun: they love it, but they also fear it. Effective public health messaging – which has drilled Slip, Slop, Slap into their heads – competes with a beauty culture which often idolises bronzed skin. The country has the highest incidence of skin cancers in the world and it is estimated that two out of three Australians will have at least one cut out in their lifetime.

So when Choice Australia released its damning report in June, it immediately made waves. The group had tested 20 sunscreens in an independent accredited Australian lab, finding 16 did not meet the SPF, or skin protection factor, rating listed on the packet. Ultra Violette's Lean Screen SPF 50+ Mattifying Zinc Skinscreen, a facial product that Rach says she used exclusively, was the most significant failure identified. Other brands also featured prominently in the report, but many have rejected the findings.

The uproar caused by the report prompted swift responses from brands, with Ultra Violette recalling its product after inconsistency in test results. This sunscreen scandal has shaken consumer trust and is a wake-up call for regulatory bodies and consumers alike regarding the safety and efficacy of sun protection products.