Reef Friendly Sunscreen

What does reef safe sunscreen mean?

Last updated: September 30, 2026
Back to blog

"Reef safe" sunscreen is a marketing label. It usually means a sunscreen made without oxybenzone and octinoxate, two UV filters some places have banned to protect coral. No Australian law defines the term or sets a test a sunscreen has to pass to carry it.

We're a chemist-operated sunscreen company, and we don't call any of our sunscreens "reef safe". The rest of this page explains why, and what's worth reading on the back of the tube instead.

Is reef friendly sunscreen different from reef safe? 

There's no real difference between "reef friendly" and "reef safe" sunscreen. Both are label words, and so are "ocean friendly", "ocean safe", "coral friendly" and "marine friendly". None of them has an agreed definition. Reef Check Australia notes the terms aren't strictly regulated, so two tubes with the same words on the front can hold very different filters.

Maxiblock Clear Zinc Stick 12g next to Maxiblock Mineral Sunscreen Cream 75g

These words run into the same problem with "natural" sunscreen. They sound reassuring and don't have to mean anything specific. The names on the shelf vary as well.

Regulators expect environmental claims to be backed up. According to the ACCC's guidance on environmental claims, that means reliable science or reputable certification. In 2025 the ACCC took a sunscreen supplier to the Federal Court over "reef friendly" claims. The ACCC alleges those claims were misleading, and the case is still before the court.

Is there a reef safe sunscreen standard in Australia? 

No. Australia has no legal definition or standard for "reef safe" sunscreen. It also hasn't banned any sunscreen filter for environmental reasons. The rules that do exist are about your skin. The TGA regulates sunscreens, so SPF, broad spectrum and water resistance claims all have to be tested to the Australian and New Zealand standard. A reef claim falls under consumer law instead, which the ACCC enforces.

Maxiblock mineral sunscreen tube on sand with shells and coral

The Great Barrier Reef has no sunscreen rules for visitors either. The Reef Authority names climate change as the Reef's greatest threat, and lists coastal development, run-off from the land and direct human use among the other main ones. 

Professor Terry Hughes of James Cook University was blunter when ABC News asked him about Hawaii's ban in May 2018. On a long list of the harm people do to coral reefs, he said he "would place sunscreen at number 200".

Which sunscreen ingredients are banned, and where? 

A handful of places restrict certain sunscreen ingredients to protect their reefs, and Australia isn't one of them. Each rule names its own ingredients and decides whether it covers selling, bringing in or wearing sunscreen. That's why the rules where you're swimming matter more than any word on the front of a tube.

Hawaii is the one that trips people up. The statewide law stops shops selling sunscreen with oxybenzone or octinoxate, but visitors can still bring and wear their own. Maui County bans using any sunscreen with actives other than zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. The Big Island bans selling them but not wearing them. State lawmakers have tried to add avobenzone and octocrylene to the statewide ban, and those bills haven't passed.

Place What's restricted Since What it covers
Hawaii, statewide Oxybenzone and octinoxate Jan 2021 Sales without a prescription, not personal use
Thailand national parks Oxybenzone, octinoxate, 4-MBC and butylparaben Aug 2021 Bringing in and using, with fines up to 100,000 baht
Palau Whole classes of organic UV filters + preservatives 2020 Bringing in, import, sale and manufacture
US Virgin Islands Oxybenzone, octinoxate, and octocrylene Mar 2020 Retail sale, distribution, and import for sale

Does sunscreen harm coral reefs?

Some UV filters harm coral in lab studies. How much sunscreen affects real reefs is still unclear, and scientists are calling for more research. In August 2022, a US National Academies report noted that UV filters have been found in water, sediment and animal tissue, but that toxicity data for marine species is limited. It recommended the US Environmental Protection Agency carry out an ecological risk assessment.

The labels haven't settled anything either. Wageningen Marine Research screened 98 sunscreens claiming to be "eco-friendly" or "reef safe" in 2018 and found 9% still contained oxybenzone. Its report couldn't give a conclusive answer on whether those sunscreens harm marine life.


So is "reef safe" sunscreen better? For your skin, what counts is SPF 50+ and broad spectrum protection, then using enough and reapplying. The same National Academies report notes that most people use too little and don't reapply often enough. For the reef, nobody can say yet.

Is mineral sunscreen reef safe? 

Not automatically. Mineral sunscreen is the only kind allowed in Maui County, but that's a local law, and lab studies have found zinc oxide can affect coral too. In a 2019 study from the Centre Scientifique de Monaco, the algae that live inside coral were more sensitive to zinc oxide than to any other sunscreen ingredient tested.

It's often said that mineral sunscreen bounces UV off the skin. Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide mostly absorb UV and give the energy off as a little heat, the same way organic (often called chemical) filters do. The real differences are in skin feel, how sensitive skin reacts and the rest of the formula. There's more on how mineral and chemical sunscreens work if you're choosing between them.

If Maui is on the itinerary, you'll need a sunscreen whose only actives are zinc oxide, titanium dioxide or both. Maxiblock Mineral is allowed there, because zinc oxide is its only active.

Does water resistant sunscreen wash off less? 

On your skin, yes. That's what a water resistance rating measures: how much SPF protection is left after a set time in water. Australian labels can claim up to 4 hours, which is longer than most people stay in the water anyway. US labels stop at 80 minutes.

Maxiblock Mineral Zinc Stick Clear SPF 50+ leaning against a surfboard on the sand

What the rating doesn't show is what reaches the reef. Nobody has measured whether a longer rating means less sunscreen in the water, so it tells you about your skin and nothing else.
How you put it on counts too. Cancer Council advises applying sunscreen 20 minutes before going outside and reapplying every 2 hours. It's also worth reapplying straight after towelling off, because the towel takes sunscreen with it. There's more on how often to reapply in our guide. And "waterproof" sunscreen doesn't exist.

How can you check if a sunscreen is reef safe? 

You can't check a sunscreen for "reef safe", because no standard exists. You can check what's in the tube, and whether that's allowed where you're swimming. Four things are worth a look:

  1. The active ingredients: Australian sunscreens list them on the label, usually with the amount of each. You can also check your sunscreen's AUST L listing with the TGA.
  2. The rules where you're swimming: The table above covers them, with the label names decoded underneath.
  3. Any reef logo: A coral picture or reef wording on the front has no Australian standard behind it. It's fair to ask the brand what the claim is based on.
  4. How much goes on: Cancer Council suggests about 35 mL for an adult body, which is more than most people use. Whatever's in the tube, it only protects the skin it covers, and it needs a top-up after a swim.

So, what should you pack for a reef trip? 

The most useful thing to pack is cover, then a water resistant sunscreen that fits the local rules. A rash vest or stinger suit and a hat mean less skin needs sunscreen, so less of it ends up in the water, "reef safe" sunscreen or not. Maui County and the Tourism Authority of Thailand both suggest covering up for that reason.

  • For the sunscreen itself: Mineral-only for Maui County.
  • None of the four restricted ingredients for Thailand's national parks.
  • Mineral-only for Palau, without parabens or phenoxyethanol.
  • SPF 50 or above and broad spectrum.
  • On 20 minutes before you head out, and again after a swim.
  • Within its expiry date, which is easy to forget on a tube from last summer.