Doctors push for mandatory sunscreen break in schools

More than 650 medical experts have urged the Albanese government to establish a mandatory five-minute sunscreen break in schools.

The group made their request for a sunscreen application period in an open letter addressed to Education Minister Jason Clare and Health Minister Mark Butler.

“We are a group of concerned doctors calling for Australian schools to be required to set aside five minutes at the start of lunch time for students to reapply sunscreen,” the letter read.

“These five minutes will quite literally save lives.

“Because sunscreen applied in the morning has lost effectiveness by lunchtime, children across Australia are spending about an hour a day outside, at a time when the UV is at its peak, with no effective sun protection except a hat.”

The group argued the mandatory sunscreen time would take the onus off young children, a model that was “setting up kids to fail and (schools) failing in their duty of care”.

“Schools are not currently required to provide dedicated sunscreening time. Many schools have a policy of reminding students to reapply sunscreen before lunch, but this is not always followed consistently and leaves it up to kids to follow through,” the letter read.

“This requires children as young as 4 or 5 to have the impulse control to take time away from their play to sit and apply sunscreen.

“This is not a developmentally appropriate expectation for primary school-aged children, who don’t yet have the capacity to independently engage in long-term risk reduction behaviours.”

Asked whether the Albanese government would consider the request, Mr Clare reflected on the topic as one close to his heart, referencing his 2019 malignant melanoma diagnosis.

“ … It was only because I spotted a mole on my leg that was changing colour and changing shape, and I went and saw the doctor, that I’m still here,” he told Seven’s Sunrise.

“I was able to get it cut out and that saved my life.”

He later added: “I suspect the reason I got melanoma was a lot of time out on the playground or out on the cricket field.”

While educators did “a better job today at school than we used to”, Mr Clare said it was also up to parents to help keep their kids safe from the sun.

But he confirmed sun safety would be on the agenda for discussions with his state and territory counterparts, saying: “ … if there’s something more that I can do here, then I will.”

When pressed on details of what he would discuss, Mr Clare said: “Well, about what works, what’s the best way to get the message across and to keep kids safe.

“We know the sun kills. It may not be as obvious, you know, as a shark attacking somebody or a crocodile attacking somebody, but the sun kills, and we know that all too well.”