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The SunSmart program | Our impact | Skin cancer in Victoria | SunSmart strategy | SunSmart's history
SunSmart supports Victorians to prevent skin cancer and detect it sooner to save lives.
Through the delivery of targeted evidence-informed prevention and early detection programs, SunSmart reduces both the personal and financial burden of skin cancer.
Meet our team
Our mission: Reduce skin cancer incidence, morbidity and mortality
Our vision: To lessen the impact of skin cancer on people’s lives and deliver value to the Victorian healthcare system
Our values: Authoritative | Practical | Accessible | Approachable | Empathetic | Respectful
The SunSmart program
Established in 1988, SunSmart is one of the longest running and most successful skin cancer prevention programs in the world.
Jointly funded by Cancer Council Victoria and the Victorian Government, SunSmart is famous for its Slip! Slop! Slap! catch-cry, which now includes Seek (shade) and Slide (on sunglasses).
Through partnerships, community programs, mass media campaigns and advocacy, we support Victorians to be SunSmart, reducing skin cancer rates and saving lives.
In recognition of the impact of the SunSmart program, Cancer Council Victoria has been designated a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborative Centre for Ultraviolet Radiation since 2004.
Our impact
The SunSmart program’s impact on preventing skin cancer is acknowledged as one of the 10 greatest successes of public health in Victoria.
There has been a decline in melanoma rates in Victorians under 50 years who have lived during the SunSmart era.
The SunSmart program is estimated to have prevented more than 43,000 skin cancers between 1988 and 2011.
After nearly a decade of campaigning, Victoria became one of the first states in Australia to legislate solariums in 2008 and went on to ban commercial solariums entirely in 2015.
Skin cancer in Victoria
While melanoma incidence is stabilising for those who have lived during the SunSmart era, the number of new melanoma cases is expected to increase by 24% over the next decade as the population grows and ages.
Skin cancer represents a largely preventable burden on Victorians and the Victorian healthcare system. More than 95% of skin cancer can be prevented by using good sun protection.
Through working alongside schools, workplaces, health professionals and communities, SunSmart supports all Victorians to prevent skin cancer and detect it sooner to save lives, helping reduce both the personal and financial burden of skin cancer.
Latest skin cancer facts & stats
SunSmart strategy 2023–25
SunSmart’s strategy is focused on three goals to reduce skin cancer incidence, morbidity and mortality.
- To improve UV protection behaviours
- To support early detection of skin cancer with a focus on high-risk groups
- To improve policies and environments to reduce UV exposure
Read SunSmart's strategic plan
SunSmart’s history
1960s Sun protection activities were first introduced when the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria identified the risks of overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
1980 Cancer Council Victoria set out to raise awareness of the dangers of UV by launching the iconic Slip! Slop! Slap! campaign featuring Sid the Seagull.
1986 The success of this campaign led to an expansion of activities, including the establishment of the Centre for Behavioural and Epidemiological Research.
1988 The SunSmart program was officially launched when Cancer Council Victoria received funding from the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth).
2004 Cancer Council Victoria was designated a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborative Centre for Ultraviolet Radiation.
2007 Clare Oliver bravely told her ‘No tan is worth dying for’ story. The campaign was instrumental in the fight to make commercial solariums illegal.
2008 The iconic Slip! Slop! Slap! catch-cry was expanded to include Seek! and Slide! to help emphasise the five forms of sun protection.
2010 In partnership with the Australia Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) and the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), the SunSmart app was launched, helping make sun protection times more accessible through use of UV alerts.
2015 Following a decade of campaigning led by SunSmart and Cancer Councils across Australia, commercial solarium operation was banned.
2015 SunSmart launched the UV. It All Adds Up campaign to help educate the public around the dangers of cumulative exposure to UV.
2018 Thanks to philanthropic and government support, SunSmart launched the Dermoscopy for Victorian General Practice Program to aid in skin cancer detection and prevention in regional and rural Victoria.
2019 The Victorian Government took over funding of the SunSmart program from VicHealth.
2021 The Same Goes For You campaign is launched to encourage Victorian men to protect their skin from the sun’s UV.
2022 SunSmart app evolved into the SunSmart Global UV app with international collaborations to provide live and forecast UV index levels across the world and available in eight languages.
2023 The Don’t Let Cancer In campaign is launched to remind Victorians to cover up whenever the UV is 3 or above with all five forms of sun protection.
2023 The iconic Slip! Slop! Slap! jingle by Peter Best and Phillip Adams was recognised and added to the National Film & Sound Archive of Australia.