Cancer Council Kid Sunscreen 50+: Measured 52, and Counted Two Ways
Last updated September 13, 2026
CHOICE measured SPF 52 against a label of SPF 50+ in June 2025 and counted it as meeting the claim; the TGA applies a threshold of SPF 60 to an SPF 50+ product, and counted it as one of 18 that did not.
This product sits exactly on the line between the two ways of counting the CHOICE round. CHOICE treated an SPF 50+ product measuring above 50 as meeting its claim and reported 16 failures of 20. The TGA applies the Australian standard's requirement that an SPF 50+ product must return a test result of at least SPF 60, and counted 18.
What was tested
CHOICE measured SPF 52, 12 June 2025
CHOICE measured SPF 52 against a label of SPF 50+. In the body's own words:
Cancer Council Kid Sunscreen 50+ – tested at 52
This result is contested: the body that measured it counted the product as meeting its claim, and the regulator counts the same figure as a shortfall against its own threshold. Both counts are set out on this page.
Method, as CHOICE states it: AS/NZS 2604:2021, incorporating ISO 24444 (in vivo SPF) and ISO 24443 (in vitro UVA); a 10-person panel under a solar simulator, run at Eurofins Dermatest in Sydney.
What happened next
- on a TGA page stamped 30 September 2025 — The TGA restated the CHOICE distribution and set out its own count, noting that under the current Australian standard an SPF 50+ product must have a test result of at least SPF 60 and that it therefore considers 18 of the 20 products not to have met the testing requirements. TGA.
Market status: no change has been published by any source cited here. Statuses in this story moved repeatedly between 2025 and 2026, so check the regulator before assuming a product is still on sale.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Cancer Council Kid Sunscreen pass or fail?
It depends on whose threshold is applied, and both bodies published their reasoning. CHOICE counted it among the four that met their claims. The TGA's position is that under the current Australian standard, SPF 50+ products must have a test result of at least SPF 60, and that 18 of the 20 products did not meet the testing requirements.
Why do the two counts differ?
They are not different measurements. They are different pass marks applied to the same measurement. Two products in the round, this one and Mecca Cosmetica To Save Body SPF 50+, fall on opposite sides of the line depending on who is counting.
SPF List did not test this product. The results on this page were published by the named test body or regulator; quotes and links go to the original publication. Brand responses and later developments are listed where they were published. Formulations change; a result applies to the batch and date tested.