The Senate has just passed a bill to ban all cosmetic testing on animals in Australia.
Although the Industrial Chemical Charges Bill 2017 was brought into the House of Representatives in June 2017 and agreed upon in October, there has been no further action until today.
The Australian government has committed to an agreement with Humane Society International, with the bill seeing a promise to adhere to 11 substantial measures. The measures ensure all cosmetic ingredients are included in the ban, as well as funding to support the development and uptake of non-animal test methods.
Despite not having an explicit ban on animal testing, Australia will no longer accept animal testing results as proof of a product’s efficiency or safety. Effectively making animal testing redundant, cosmetic brands will now be required to prove safety through other methods of testing.
The Body Shop, which was the first international beauty brand to campaign against animal testing, said they were ‘thrilled with the news.’
“Today we are celebrating a major win in the fight to end animal testing,” The Body Shop marketing and corporate responsibility director, Shannon Chrisp, said. “The Body Shop has been on a mission to end cosmetic animal testing globally for over 30 years, so to have this bill passed in Australia is fantastic progress. Hopefully, we will see more governments around the world follow suit.”
