The Albanese government has opened a technical consultation over the ban on the use of adverse genetic testing results in life insurance underwriting. The deadline for the technical consultation is on 12 March 2025.
First announced last September 2024, the ban would serve as a response to address genetic discrimination in life insurance based on adverse predictive genetic test results.
The Treasury Ministry reaffirmed the Albanese government’s commitment to allowing Australians to undergo potentially life-saving genetic testing without concerns about its impact on their life insurance. Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones emphasized this, stating, “This change will give Australians the confidence to undertake genetic testing without fear it will impact their ability to access financial security through life insurance.”
This move follows years of debate over genetic discrimination in life insurance and builds on previous regulatory efforts to balance industry practices with ethical considerations.
In 2019, Australia’s life insurance industry introduced a partial moratorium on disclosing genetic test results amid concerns that it discouraged individuals from testing because they feared losing affordable coverage.
The Australian Government also released the A-GLIMMER report in 2023, assessing the Financial Services Council (FSC) Moratorium. Findings showed it was inadequate in preventing genetic discrimination and should be replaced with legislation.
Interested parties are encouraged to submit recommendations on the legislative design and technical details, including the definition of a genetic test, enforcement measures, and implementation strategies.
