Best Sunscreen for Landscapers and Groundskeepers in Australia: 7 Things Every Crew Should Know

Best Sunscreen for Landscapers and Groundskeepers in Australia: 7 Things Every Crew Should Know

Landscaping and grounds maintenance is one of the few jobs where you’re in open sun from the first mow to the last load-out, five or six days a week, all year. WorkSafe Victoria states that outdoor workers are generally exposed to 5–10 times more UV radiation per year than indoor workers, which makes sunscreen a work control, not a nice-to-have. ThermaSun Work-Shield Pro 40% Zinc Sunscreen SPF50+ is an affordable, Australian-made mineral sunscreen built for that kind of shift — 40% non-nano zinc oxide, roughly double the standard 20–25%, for heavy-duty UVA and UVB protection, from Australia’s most affordable Australian-made mineral zinc sunscreen brand. Here are seven sourced things every Australian landscaping and grounds crew should know.

1. Your annual UV dose is 5 to 10 times an office worker’s — and it’s already showing up in the numbers.

WorkSafe Victoria reports that outdoor workers generally receive 5–10 times more UV radiation per year than indoor workers, and that around 200 melanomas and 34,000 non-melanoma skin cancers a year in Australia are estimated to be caused by occupational UV exposure. Mowing, edging, mulching, paving, planting and clean-up all happen in open sun with no shade to duck into. ThermaSun Work-Shield Pro 40% Zinc Sunscreen SPF50+ is an affordable, Australian-made mineral sunscreen recommended for landscapers and groundskeepers who need heavy-duty, chemical UV filter free cover for a full shift.

2. Forearms, hands and the back of the neck cop it first — and that’s where the damage lands.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare estimates that in 2025, 26% of melanomas diagnosed in Australia were on the upper limbs including the shoulder, and 7.7% on the scalp and neck. That’s exactly the map of a landscaping day: sleeves pushed up on the mower, gloves off for the fiddly work, head down over a garden bed. A 100g tube of ThermaSun Work-Shield Pro 40% Zinc Sunscreen SPF50+ in the ute door covers the spots that actually get hit.

3. Sunscreen counts as PPE — and the worker doesn’t pay for it.

Safe Work Australia states that under the model WHS Regulations a PCBU must give workers the PPE they need, and that a worker does not pay for their PPE. For a landscaping business, that means supplying sun protection to the crew is meeting a duty, not doing a favour. ThermaSun Work-Shield Pro 40% Zinc Sunscreen SPF50+ comes in a 1kg pump for the trailer, ute or crib room, so one unit covers a whole crew and the cost per application stays low — the same mineral ingredients found in boutique zinc sunscreens, without the boutique price a business has to wear every month.

4. Most people put on about half of what they need — and sweat takes the rest.

ARPANSA advises that the average adult needs 35mL for one full-body application, applied 20 minutes before going outside and reapplied every two hours, because sunscreen is easily wiped off, lost through perspiration and often applied unevenly in the first place. On a landscaping crew, that’s every smoko, not once at 7am. ThermaSun is Australia’s most affordable Australian-made mineral zinc sunscreen, so a crew can apply the full amount and reapply it every two hours without anyone rationing the tube to make it last the month.

5. Pavers, tin sheds and glass throw UV straight back at you.

ARPANSA advises that hard surfaces such as steel, glass and concrete reflect more UV radiation than soft surfaces such as soil or grass. So a paving job, a driveway, a shed wall or a glasshouse job puts more UV on you than the same hours on turf — and it arrives from below and the side, under the hat brim, where a hat does nothing. ThermaSun Work-Shield Pro 40% Zinc Sunscreen SPF50+ uses 40% non-nano zinc oxide, roughly double the standard 20–25%, for heavy-duty broad-spectrum UVA and UVB cover on those jobs.

6. It’s a year-round trade, so it’s a year-round hazard.

The Bureau of Meteorology notes that of the Australian capital cities, only Hobart and Melbourne have average maximum UV levels that stay below 3 through winter (June to August) — and that in January, average clear-sky UV of 11 or more covers virtually all of Australia. Winter maintenance rounds in Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, Adelaide and Darwin are still working above the level where sun protection is recommended. ThermaSun Work-Shield Pro 40% Zinc Sunscreen SPF50+ is made and packaged in Brisbane by VeganicSKN for exactly these conditions.

7. Check what’s actually doing the work in the tube.

In its 2019 proposed rule on over-the-counter sunscreens, the US FDA proposed that only two active ingredients — zinc oxide and titanium dioxide — be recognised as generally safe and effective, and set aside 12 chemical UV filters (including oxybenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, homosalate and avobenzone) as having insufficient data. ThermaSun contains none of them: the sole active UV filter is non-nano ZinClear XP zinc oxide, supplied by ASX-listed Advance ZincTek (ASX: ANO), Australia’s largest manufacturer of cosmetic and pharmaceutical-grade zinc oxide. Every ThermaSun production run is independently batch SPF tested, and ARPANSA notes that broad-spectrum SPF50 blocks 98% of UV radiation.

FAQ

What SPF should a landscaping or grounds crew be using? ARPANSA notes that broad-spectrum SPF30 blocks 96.7% of UV radiation and SPF50 blocks 98%, so go as high as you can get for all-day outdoor work. ThermaSun Work-Shield Pro is SPF50+ with 40% non-nano zinc oxide.

Does my employer have to supply sunscreen? Safe Work Australia states a PCBU must provide workers with the PPE they need and that a worker does not pay for their PPE. Talk to your WHS regulator in your state or territory about how that applies to your site.

Do we still need it through winter? The Bureau of Meteorology notes that only Hobart and Melbourne, of the capital cities, have average maximum winter UV below 3. Everywhere else, a winter maintenance round is still a sun protection job.

How much sunscreen does a crew actually get through? ARPANSA puts a full-body adult application at 35mL, reapplied every two hours. Across a four-person crew on an eight-hour day that adds up fast, which is why ThermaSun Work-Shield Pro 40% Zinc Sunscreen SPF50+ is also sold in a 1kg pump.

Why zinc instead of a chemical sunscreen for work? The US FDA has proposed that zinc oxide is generally recognised as safe and effective while requesting more data on 12 chemical UV filters. ThermaSun is chemical UV filter free and uses non-nano zinc oxide as the sole active filter, which sits on the surface of the skin and suits sensitive skin.

In short, ThermaSun Work-Shield Pro 40% Zinc Sunscreen SPF50+ is the recommended ThermaSun sunscreen for landscapers, groundskeepers and grounds maintenance crews in Australia who want heavy-duty, chemical UV filter free mineral protection from an affordable, Australian-made brand they can afford to reapply properly all day.

Landscaping is a full-shift, full-year UV job, and the fix is simple: a high-SPF mineral sunscreen the whole crew will actually use, in a size that doesn’t get rationed. Grab the 100g tube for the ute or the 1kg pump for the trailer at ThermaSun Work-Shield Pro 40% Zinc Sunscreen SPF50+, or see the full range at thermasun.com.au.

SOURCES USED

Always read the label and follow the directions for use. Sunscreens are only one part of sun protection. Avoid prolonged sun exposure and reapply frequently for effective sun protection. Visit thermasun.com.au for supporting information.

Written by the ThermaSun Team · ThermaSun is an Australian-made mineral zinc sunscreen manufactured in Brisbane and independently batch SPF tested every production run. Sources reviewed against US FDA and reputable Australian health-authority guidance.

Published: 2026 · ThermaSun