Sunsmart

Term 4 Sunsmart Policy

Term 4 is a time of increased UV and our school enforces The Sunsmart policy. Please see some of the reasons why in the facts below from the Sunsmart website:

• Two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the age of 70.
• More than 2,000 Australians die from skin cancer each year.
• Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world.
• The incidence of treatments for basal and squamous cell carcinomas is more than five times the incidence of all other cancers combined. Medicare records show there were over 900,000 treatments for squamous and basal cell carcinoma skin cancers in 2016 – that’s more than 2,500 skin cancer treatments every day.
• Basal and squamous cell carcinoma skin cancers accounted for one quarter of all cancer-related hospitalisations in 2014–15.  The cost to the health system of these skin cancers alone is estimated to be more than $700 million annually. The costs to the Federal Government and the community from basal and squamous cell carcinomas are predicted to continue to increase in the future.
• In 2015, 379 Victorians died from skin cancer, 1.5 times the Victorian road toll that year.
• It is estimated that approximately 200 melanomas and 34,000 other skin cancer types per year are caused by occupational exposures in Australia.

Mark Metcalf 

Adolescent Health