Your favourite sunscreens could skyrocket in price – here's why

Is your SPF layer actually protecting your skin?

Our favourite luxury and multi-purpose sunscreens may soon cost us more as the ATO cracks down on skincare companies’ marketing and pricing of products.

We love a multipurpose product – a hair and body mist, an anti-aging hydration serum, sunscreen that’s also skincare, or mixed with a foundation.

But the brands behind many of our favourite sunscreens say they may have to increase the cost of their products as the Australian Tax Office looks to revise GST guidelines. 

Not all sunscreens are exempt from GST

The ATO said sunscreen products need to be principally marketed as sun protection to be GST-free. 

A spokesperson from the government agency said “Increasingly, modern products are being developed and marketed as having other benefits or uses, such as moisturising and tint.”

They urged that, “descriptions of products as multi-use or multi-functional, either explicitly or through descriptors such as ‘2-in-1’ or ‘3-in-1’, are indicative of products with multiple equal uses and no main, chief or predominant marketed use.”

After receiving reports of “alleged non-compliance of sun protection products", the spokesperson insisted “If a product is not marketed principally for use as a sunscreen, it is, and always has been, subject to GST.”

Products are also required to have a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15, be applied to the skin, and be included on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.

The ATO is pushing skincare companies to review its updated guidance and make sure their products are priced correctly – so your next refill of your ‘dual action’ ‘BB’ or ‘CC’ cream, or foundation with added SPF may cost you more than usual. 

Skincare companies have expressed concern about whether higher prices could deter shoppers from buying and using sun protection products.

The ATO said sunscreen products need to be principally marketed as sun protection to be GST-free. Image: Pexels

Are multi-purpose sunscreens protective enough?

Many of us love to layer our SPF serum or foundation, thinking we’ve ticked off the sun protection step of our routines. 

But according to the ABC, the Cancer Council national skin cancer committee chair Professor Anne Custl said “It’s important to know that most cosmetic products, such as make-up or skincare products with SPF, offer either no protection or protection that is much lower than the recommended SPF50 or higher.”

While some of these multiuse products could possibly still have a high SPF, Queensland registered nurse and Bond University researcher Jessica Stokes-Parish said sun protection needs to be applied liberally and topped up over the course of the day, so it’s likely we aren’t getting the highest possible level of protection from these products

“The SPF effect is only effective if you apply the right amount … and you would rarely put a teaspoon of foundation on,"  she said.

Considering research published last year found that deaths from non-melanoma skin cancer have almost doubled in Australia in the last 20 years, it’s important we make sure we’re applying an adequate sun protection barrier to our skin.

“The SPF effect is only effective if you apply the right amount … and you would rarely put a teaspoon of foundation on". Image: iStock

Cosmetic sunscreens

Other sun protection products are classed as ‘cosmetic sunscreens’, and are excluded from therapeutic goods legislation. These include:

• Products applied to the lips that contain sunscreen with an SPF of 4 or more
• Tinted bases and foundations that contain sunscreen with an SPF of 4 or more
• Moisturising skin-care products that contain sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or less, that are in a pack size no larger than 300ml or 300g 
• Sunbathing skin-care products with sunscreen that contain an SPF between 4 and 15, and are in a pack size no larger than 300ml or 300g.

If you’re concerned your sunscreen isn’t TGA-approved, you can search for it through the ARTG online database, or check the packaging says ‘AUST L’ or ‘AUST R’, indicating it has been properly tested and listed as a TGA-regulated therapeutic sunscreen.

Mismarketed sunscreens

Stokes-Parish said products mismarketed as providing adequate sun protection is a growing issue in Australia.

“What I've been seeing is companies that are marketing their product as a sunscreen but they've not gone through the TGA testing processes to have their product listed as a sunscreen," she told the ABC. "They'll call it a sun stick or sun wax or sun balm, anything that doesn't use that phrase [sunscreen]."

The ATO is looking at the overall impression given in sunscreen product marketing to help determine which are principally sold for use as sunscreen. It said, “A ‘moisturising sunscreen’ is primarily identified as a sunscreen with a supplementary moisturising benefit”.

“However, ‘SPF moisturiser’ or ‘moisturiser with SPF’ may be a factor indicating the reverse.”

So the experts recommend applying a base layer of sunscreen with an SPF of at least 50, even if your makeup or serum is labelled as sun protection.

Originally published as Your favourite sunscreens could skyrocket in price – here's why