TGA Overhauls Sunscreen SPF Testing After 16 of 20 Products Failed Claims

Sixteen of 20 popular Australian sunscreens failed to deliver their advertised SPF in consumer group Choice's 2025 testing — and on Tuesday the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) responded, announcing reforms that will force brands to test finished products and hand results to the regulator before listing them.

The numbers behind the scandal are stark. Only four of the 20 sunscreens tested met their label claims. Seven products advertised as SPF 50 or SPF 50+ came back in the 20s. One — Ultra Violette Lean Screen SPF 50+ Mattifying Zinc Skinscreen — returned an SPF of just four in initial testing, and five when retested at a different laboratory in Germany. An SPF 50+ label promising roughly 50-fold UVB protection delivered a fourfold one.

Ultra Violette initially disputed Choice's findings. Then its own internal investigation produced eight widely varying SPF results for Lean Screen, ranging from four to 64. The company withdrew the product from sale in August, apologised to customers and offered refunds and product vouchers.

What does the reform actually change?

Under the current system, sunscreen brands aren't routinely required to provide SPF testing data to the TGA unless the regulator asks. The proposed reforms close that gap with several concrete measures:

• Brands must test finished products, not just base formulas, and submit results to the TGA before products are listed
• Manufacturers must keep testing sunscreens throughout their shelf life
• Laboratories conducting SPF tests on products sold in Australia will need international accreditation
• The TGA will introduce quality requirements for certain sunscreen ingredients
• SPF claims on cosmetic sunscreens will be limited
• Good manufacturing practice guidance will be reviewed to clarify manufacturers' responsibilities

The regulator said the changes aim to strengthen consumer confidence in sunscreen performance and clarify manufacturers' responsibilities. Nearly 120 submissions arrived during public consultation between March and May this year, informing the package. Further consultation on labelling changes will follow at a later stage.

What does this change for Australian consumers?

For a country where about two in three people are expected to be diagnosed with skin cancer in their lifetime — among the highest rates in the world — the stakes are measurable. Millions of Australians rely on SPF ratings for daily sun protection, and Choice said the results exposed significant inconsistencies between expected and delivered protection.

Choice has endorsed the reforms but says they don't go far enough. "Choice welcomes the TGA's proposed sunscreen reforms, following testing last year which found 16 of 20 sunscreen products did not live up to their SPF claims – revealing an urgent need for changes to the way sunscreen is regulated," said Andy Kelly, the group's director of consumer impact.

Kelly flagged two gaps: the TGA isn't proposing to routinely monitor and evaluate test results, and brands would only have to provide those results confidentially. Choice wants the data published and wants the regulator to run its own compliance testing rather than relying solely on manufacturers' reports.

Homosalate adds another pressure point

Separately, German researchers found the UV-filter chemical homosalate in urine samples from 80 per cent of Australian children tested. The compound is considered a potential hormone disruptor, and the gap between jurisdictions is wide: Europe restricts its concentration in sunscreen to just over 7 per cent, while Australia permits up to 15 per cent. The findings have prompted calls for tighter limits here.

Choice's bottom-line message for the public: some sunscreen is still better than none, and misleading protection claims pose both a genuine health concern and a serious breach of consumer trust. Australians should keep applying sunscreen regularly, alongside protective clothing, hats, sunglasses and shade.

What happens next is the real test. If the TGA adopts public reporting and independent compliance testing alongside its proposed pre-listing requirements, SPF labels in Australia could finally carry the verifiable weight that two-in-three lifetime skin-cancer risk demands.