Cruelty-free beauty in Australia has a different landscape to the US and UK. Here's what the certification actually means, which products qualify, and how to shop cruelty-free with confidence in Australia.
What Cruelty-Free Actually Means
A product is cruelty-free when it has not been tested on animals — and neither have its ingredients — at any point in the manufacturing process. The brand, the ingredient suppliers, and the third-party manufacturers all need to be cruelty-free for the claim to hold.
This is different from 'not tested on animals in Australia.' Australia banned cosmetic animal testing in 2020 under the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Amendment (Cosmetics) Act. But this only prevents testing on Australian soil. Brands that import from countries that require animal testing for market entry — China being the most significant — cannot make a complete cruelty-free claim.
Cruelty-Free Certifications in Australia
Two main certifications are recognised: Leaping Bunny (global, most stringent — requires supplier-level cruelty-free) and PETA's Beauty Without Bunnies (brand self-reported, widely recognised). Neither is mandatory in Australia. The absence of certification doesn't mean a brand isn't cruelty-free; it may simply mean they haven't completed the certification process.
Glow and Flow Health products are cruelty-free at brand and supplier level. We never test on animals. Neither do our ingredient suppliers or manufacturing partner. We're in the process of completing formal certification.
Cruelty-Free vs Vegan
These terms are often used interchangeably but mean different things. Cruelty-free means no animal testing. Vegan means no animal-derived ingredients.
A product can be cruelty-free but not vegan (e.g. if it contains beeswax or lanolin, which are animal-derived but not tested on animals). And theoretically a product could be vegan but not cruelty-free (if plant-derived ingredients were tested on animals somewhere in the supply chain — this is rare but possible).
18 of 20 Glow and Flow Health products are both cruelty-free and vegan. The exceptions are the Soft Touch Tinted Lip Balm — which contains Beeswax (Cera Alba) for its conditioning texture — and The Lip Lover Set that includes it. Both are cruelty-free but not vegan. We're transparent about this on the product page and ingredient list.
Shopping Cruelty-Free Beauty in Australia
For genuinely cruelty-free beauty in Australia, look for: Australian-made products (no Chinese market entry requirement), complete ingredient transparency, explicit cruelty-free claims at both brand and supplier level, and brands that will give you direct answers when you ask.
Browse all 20 products — every one cruelty-free, 18 of 20 vegan, all made in Australia.