Some sunscreens in European countries and elsewhere have SPF ratings much higher than 30+, for example SPF 60 and even SPF 100, so why are there no such sunscreens available for sale in Australia?

Firstly, SPF testing protocols are, unfortunately, not universal. Therefore SPF ratings on UK/EU sunscreens cannot be compared directly with SPF ratings of Australian/NZ sunscreens. The SPF rating for Australian/NZ sunscreens is determined ‘post immersion’ using an Australian standard method which subjects the sunscreen to the SPF test after it is applied to the skin AND after immersion in turbulent water under controlled standard conditions.

On the other hand, UK/EU SPF test protocol is ‘pre immersion’, which means that the sunscreen is SPF tested, without the skin surface that has had the sunscreen applied to it, being immersed in turbulent water BEFORE the SPF test. In other words the Australian SPF test protocol is more robust than the UK/EU procedure and more relevant to Australian conditions.

Secondly, there is concern among Cancer Councils and other health promotion bodies in Australia/NZ that the raising of claimable SPF greater than the current 30+ numeral designation may give people a false sense of security and encourage much longer exposure to the sun, with the likelihood of further burning incidents and increased skin cancer risk. It is considered that an SPF factor of 30+ is more than enough protection against sunburn under normal conditions of exposure and time and that to increase the SPF numeral above 30 may do more harm than good. Therefore, TGA regulations do not permit SPF factor numerals greater than 30 to be claimed on sunscreen labels. Notwithstanding this, all broad spectrum SPF 30+ rated sunscreen formulations in Australia/NZ will have an SPF rating greater than 30 but the exact rating numeral cannot be claimed, hence the use of the designation 30+ which means that the sunscreen has an SPF factor greater than 30.