Standards Australia, the organisation that develops the country’s standards and is the Australian member of ISO, is considering the possibility to raise the SPF limit to 50-plus for sunscreens in marketed in Australia. This would put Australia’s rule in line with current practices in the US and the European Union.
The organisation also proposes:
– to ban terms such as ‘sun block’ and ‘water proof’ in the labelling of sunscreen products,
– a new method for measuring broad spectrum properties,
– somemodifications to the method of measurement of sun protection factor (SPF) to bring this measurement into line with international practice,
– changes to the classification of sunscreens to take account of the new limits to SPF and the new requirements for satisfying the claim of broad spectrum.
“They say Australia is the sunburnt country, so this draft standard reflects genuine public interest and ultimately consumer demand,” said Colin Blair, Chief Executive, Standards Australia.
The draft Australian/New Zealand standard (DR AS/NZS 2604), which was published by Standards Australia and would supersede current AS/NZS 2604:1998, is currently open for public comment. Members of the public, interested parties and consumers are invited to have their say on the proposed new standard through the Standards Hub Website: www.hub.standards.org.au
