Made for the Australian Sun: What Our Sunglasses Standard Asks of Every Pair

Australia lives with some of the strongest UV in the world, and it shows in how seriously the country treats a pair of sunglasses. Australia wrote the world's first national sunglasses standard back in 1971, and today every pair sold here as sunglasses has to meet a mandatory safety standard enforced by the ACCC. Here's what that standard asks of a pair, how it compares with the rules in the United States and Europe, and what's worth looking for wherever you happen to be buying.

Is there a legal standard for sunglasses in Australia?

Yes. Since July 2019, all sunglasses and fashion spectacles sold in Australia have had to comply with the Consumer Goods (Sunglasses and Fashion Spectacles) Safety Standard 2017, which is based on AS/NZS 1067.1:2016. It sets requirements for design, construction, performance, testing and labelling, and suppliers who fall short can face fines or a recall.

The standard has a long history. The ACCC describes the original 1971 Australian standard as generally accepted to be the first voluntary standard for general-use sunglasses anywhere in the world, and parts of it have been mandatory since 1985. It became a joint Australian and New Zealand standard in 2003 and was last updated in 2016, when it was brought closer to the international ISO standard while keeping a handful of deliberate Australian differences.

The rules cover more than a standard pair of sunglasses. Clip-ons, one-piece visors, children's sunglasses and light-tint fashion frames are all included. Prescription lenses sit under a separate standard, which is worth knowing if you wear prescription sunglasses.

What does the Australian standard require?

In short, real UV protection and an honest label. Sunglasses sold in Australia must protect against ultraviolet radiation across the full 280 to 400 nanometre range, and every pair must carry a clear label showing who made or supplied it, its lens category, what that category is suitable for, and any warnings that apply.

The label is a bigger deal than it sounds. Under the ACCC's rules it can't be hidden under a price sticker, and it has to tell you plainly if a lens isn't suitable for driving. That means you can pick up a pair in a shop, or read a product page online, and know what the lens is built to do before you buy it.

ARPANSA, the federal radiation safety agency, runs a testing service that measures the UV and visible light transmission of sunglasses against the standard. It's one of the few places in the world where a government agency will put a pair of sunglasses through that kind of measurement.

What do sunglasses lens categories mean?

Lens categories run from 0 to 4 and describe how much glare a lens cuts, from almost none to very high. Categories 0 and 1 aren't considered sunglasses at all. Categories 2 and 3 are general-purpose sunglasses, and category 4 is for extreme glare and must not be used for driving.

Category	What it is	Glare reduction	UV protection	Driving
0	Fashion spectacles	Very low	Limited or none	Not intended as sunglasses
1	Fashion spectacles	Limited	Some	Not suitable at night
2	Sunglasses	Medium	Good	Suitable in daylight
3	Sunglasses	High	Good	Suitable in daylight
4	Special-purpose sunglasses	Very high	Good	Not suitable for driving or road use

Source: ACCC Product Safety Australia.

For most people, most of the time, a category 2 or 3 lens is the right choice. Category 3 suits bright beach days and high summer UV, while category 4 is designed for conditions like high-altitude snow, where glare is intense enough that the darker lens is worth the trade-off.

How do Australian sunglasses standards compare with the US and Europe?

All three regions regulate sunglasses, but in different ways. Australia makes its standard mandatory, with UV protection defined to 400 nanometres and a required lens category label. The US legally requires impact resistance, while its main performance standard is voluntary. The EU treats sunglasses as protective equipment that needs a CE mark.

	Australia	United States	European Union
Main standard	AS/NZS 1067.1:2016, made law through the Consumer Goods Safety Standard 2017	FDA rule 21 CFR 801.410 for impact; ANSI Z80.3-2025 for performance	EN ISO 12312-1:2022 under the PPE Regulation (EU) 2016/425
Legally required?	Yes, the full mandatory standard	Impact resistance only; ANSI Z80.3 is voluntary	CE marking is required; the ISO standard is the usual way to show conformity
UV range defined	280 to 400 nm	Set out in ANSI Z80.3, which is voluntary	Set out in ISO 12312-1
Lens category on the label	Required	Not federally required	Category information supplied with the product
Who oversees it	ACCC	FDA	National market surveillance authorities; sunglasses are self-declared Category I PPE

In the United States, the FDA classes non-prescription sunglasses as medical devices and requires their lenses to pass an impact test. The broader performance standard, ANSI Z80.3, covers UV and light transmittance, flammability and durability, and most reputable brands follow it, but compliance is voluntary.

In Europe, sunglasses are regulated as personal protective equipment. Manufacturers declare conformity themselves and apply a CE mark, usually by meeting EN ISO 12312-1, which uses the same 0 to 4 category system as Australia.

When Australia updated its standard in 2016, it chose to keep three differences from the ISO standard rather than adopt it word for word: its UV protection requirements, its limits on blue light, and its labelling rules. The UV difference is the clearest. The ISO standard Australia aligned with at the time defined UV protection to 380 nanometres, while Australia kept the higher 400 nanometre threshold.

So are sunglasses made to Australian standards better?

Not automatically, and it's worth being honest about that. A standard sets the floor a pair must meet, not how good it is above it. ARPANSA notes that sunglasses already tested to other international standards mainly need their transmission re-tested to meet Australian labelling, because the rest of the requirements are broadly equivalent.

What Australia does differently is make that floor law, test UV protection to a slightly wider range, and insist the lens category is on the label where you can see it. That's a meaningful baseline, particularly if you're buying from a market where the equivalent rules are voluntary.

Above the floor, quality comes down to choices the standard doesn't make for you: the optical clarity of the lens, whether it's polarised, how the frame holds its shape over years of wear, and how well it fits.

What does UV400 mean?

UV400 means a lens blocks ultraviolet light up to a wavelength of 400 nanometres, which covers both UVA and UVB. It matches the range the Australian standard requires. Outside Australia, UV400 is a manufacturer's claim rather than a legal requirement, so it's worth looking for it on the label or product page.

You'll also see "100% UV protection" used to mean the same thing. Lens colour and darkness don't tell you how much UV a lens blocks, so a pale lens can offer excellent protection and a very dark one can offer little. The label is the only reliable guide.

What should you look for when buying sunglasses?

Wherever you're shopping, a few things are worth checking before you buy.

A lens category. Category 2 for everyday wear, category 3 for bright sun, beach and water.
UV400 or 100% UV protection, stated on the label or product page.
Polarisation if you spend time near water, sand or snow, where reflected glare is strongest. Polarisation reduces glare and is separate from UV protection.
A named lens maker. Established lens manufacturers publish their specifications, which tells you more than a generic description.
A good fit. Frames that sit close to the face and cover the sides let less light in around the edges.

If you want to go further into when sunglasses actually help, and when some morning light is worth letting in, our guide to the right light at the right time covers the evidence.

How Pacifico approaches it

Pacifico was born in Bondi, where the light is bright from the first swim of the morning to the last, and every frame is designed and tested here before it goes into the range. As an Australian brand, our sunglasses are made to meet the Australian standard, and we treat that as the starting point rather than the goal.

Each pair is handcrafted from plant-based Japanese acetate, a lighter and more sustainable material than standard acetate, and fitted with premium polarised Carl Zeiss Vision lenses and Italian-engineered hinges. The aim is eyewear that holds its shape and clarity through years of daily wear, not just one summer.

Explore our polarised sunglasses, read more about our lenses and materials on our Technical page, or learn what polarised lenses actually do.

Frequently asked questions

Do prescription sunglasses have to meet the Australian sunglasses standard?

No. The mandatory sunglasses standard applies to non-prescription sunglasses and fashion spectacles. Prescription lenses are covered by a separate standard.

Can I drive in category 4 sunglasses?

No. Category 4 lenses are not suitable for driving or road use, and in Australia this has to be stated on the label.

Are polarised sunglasses required to block UV?

Polarisation and UV protection are separate. Polarising lenses sold in Australia must still meet the standard's UV requirements, but polarisation itself is about reducing reflected glare.

Are sunglasses bought overseas safe to wear in Australia?

Often, yes, if they're clearly labelled UV400 and have a suitable lens category. They just haven't been checked against Australian rules, so the label is the thing to read.

Is a darker lens more protective?

Not necessarily. Darkness affects glare, not UV protection. A lens category and a UV400 rating tell you far more than how dark a lens looks.

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have concerns about your eyes, speak with an optometrist.