Australia Faces Sunscreen Scandal Amidst Skyrocketing Skin Cancer Rates

Sat Sep 13 2025 11:06:33 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

A nationwide scandal unveils that popular Australian sunscreens may not provide the protection claimed, leaving consumers outraged and health officials concerned.

Australia is grappling with a troubling scandal involving leading sunscreen brands that have apparently failed to deliver on their sun protection promises. According to a recent analysis, many well-known products do not meet their SPF claims, triggering public outcry, investigations, and regulatory scrutiny.

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 – who asked that her surname not be used – 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.

It's definitely not an issue isolated to Australia, cosmetic chemist Michelle Wong told the BBC.

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+ was termed the 'most significant failure' with an astonishing SPF reading of 4. Other brands like Neutrogena, Banana Boat, and Bondi Sands faced severe criticism yet disputed the findings claiming their products meet efficacy standards.

This scandal, leading to recalls and investigations, raises broader concerns about public safety and trust in sunscreen globally, as the nation grapples with both admiration and fear of its harsh sun.