u/DemocratGreen

This is the popular Cancer Council Moisturising Sunscreen SPF50+ 500ml (Homosalate 10% + Octocrylene etc).

The TGA proposed putting Homosalate into Schedule 5 of the Poisons Standard. That means the front label would be legally required to start with:

CAUTION
KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN
READ SAFETY DIRECTIONS BEFORE OPENING OR USING
DO NOT SWALLOW

(That’s the exact wording and placement required by the Poisons Standard for Schedule 5 substances on the main label.)

Public consultation mostly supported the restrictions. Then industry groups presented and the decision got delayed for “further work”.

Cancer Council’s official line is still that chemical sunscreens sold in Australia are safe.

So what’s the go?
Should the TGA push through the Schedule 5 labelling given hormone disruption concerns, or leave it as is?

Curious what everyone thinks, especially parents and people who use the big bottles every day.

Source

tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-07/FOI 26-3100.pdf

Hey everyone, did anyone else catch this 9News report? I know we always talk about how strict Australian SPF regulations are compared to the rest of the world, so this was a pretty wild watch.

For those who can't watch the video right now, here is a quick TL;DW of what they found:

The segment looks into the chemical UV filters 4-MBC and Homosalate.
Apparently, 4-MBC is unapproved in over 40 countries (including the US and China) due to endocrine (hormone) disruption concerns. Recently they banned it in EU countries as well.
Despite this, it's still used in over 100 Aussie sunscreens, including Banana Boat Kids. YT comments pointed out that Cancer Council Kids also uses 4-MBC
The craziest part to me: Someone filed an FOI request and got internal TGA emails. The TGA's own toxicologists admitted 4-MBC "does not appear to be safe," but the TGA is just sitting on it and hasn't officially restricted it yet.

They had an Assoc. Professor of toxicology from UQ and some local industry people on there calling for the TGA to finally align with global standards.

What are your thoughts on this?

Are you guys actively checking ingredient lists to avoid 4-MBC and Homosalate now, or are you waiting for the TGA to actually make an official ruling? Would love to hear what the ingredient nerds on this sub think about the TGA's stance here!

Would you still buy this Cancer Council sunscreen if it had to have a big “CAUTION” poison warning on the front?

What are everyone's thoughts on this? 9News just exposed that the TGA internally admits 4-MBC is unsafe, but it's still in 100+ sunscreens (including Cancer Council).