Originally published: The Australian, 28 June 2026
There are some things about life in Australia that are unavoidable: death, taxes and sunburn. For the nearly two million tradies on Aussie soil, the last one is a particular threat, as they spend most of their time on the tools outside in the sun.
On average, one-third of blue-collar workers will spend at least three hours outside in direct sunlight, with 36 per cent copping more than five hours of direct sunlight every day.
No sunscreen, staying on the ball with the help of energy drinks and running on a lack of sleep.
After a hard day’s work, they knock back a beer or three.
Turns out it can have a serious effect on their health.
A Pureprofile survey found that 33 per cent of tradies rarely put sunscreen on their faces, and 28 per cent said they never or rarely wore any sunscreen at all.
