Australia Prohibits Life Insurers from Using Genetic Test Results

Patrick Foong, PhD
Member, ISCT Ethics of Cell and Gene Therapy (ECGT) Committee
Western Sydney University
Australia

Gabrielle O'Sullivan, PhD, MPH(Hons), BSc
Vice-Chair, Regulatory, ISCT Ethics of Cell and Gene Therapy (ECGT) Committee
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Australia

The Australian Parliament has recently passed legislation banning life insurance providers from using predictive genetic test results to deny or limit cover to applicants¹. The new law, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance and Other Measures) Act, will come into effect in 8th October 2026. This is indeed a great step forward, and it is widely welcomed by many in society, including the Human Rights Commissioner,² the Disability Discrimination Commissioner³ and the Australian Medical Association.⁴

The new law will apply to new life insurance contracts made on or after six months after royal assent. These include death cover, income protection, disability cover, and trauma and critical illness cover. It introduces criminal offences and civil penalties for violators, which will be regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

The prohibition does not apply to travel insurance or health insurance. Moreover, it will not stop people from volunteering genetic test results with their written consent.⁵ Life insurers can still ask about the medical history of the applicant as well as their immediate family and use clinically diagnosed medical conditions (and the clinical diagnosis may include diagnostic test results that also include diagnostic genetic test results) to adjust premiums or exclude conditions for cover.

There is a mandatory statutory review of the law every five years. If an individual disputes an adverse life insurance decision or denial on the basis that they were discriminated against on the basis of predictive genetic test results they can bring their dispute to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) for resolution.

Previously, the life insurance companies could deny life insurance to potential applicants based on predictive genetic testing. Life insurance underwriting involves conducting a risk assessment on applicants and insurance contracts are classified as contracts of utmost good faith, where applicants are expected to be honest and forthright when completing forms and answering questions. Misrepresentation, even half-truths, renders the contract voidable, meaning the insurance company can nullify it and premiums paid are forfeited. And this creates a stressful situation for insurance applicants. This has been known to result in non-disclosure of genetic information or test results as applicants may be fearful that they could have their premiums increased or their application denied outright. Discriminating on the basis of predictive genetic testing can amount to discriminatory treatment of asymptomatic individuals based on actual or presumed genetic features. It is premised on the projection that the individual may develop the condition in the future when, depending on the penetrance of the genotype, its expressivity and other factors that affect disease expression, the person may not develop the condition at all.

The fear of genetic discrimination adversely affects people’s decisions about whether to undergo genetic testing. Moreover, it also affects research participants’ willingness to participate in genomic research.

Concerns had been raised about insurance discrimination in the past, and the Financial Services Council (FSC) moratorium was introduced in 2019 to limit insurers from asking applicants for predictive genetic test results before the purchase of insurance cover below a certain threshold amounts. While the introduction of the moratorium was a positive step forward, it was a voluntary, self-regulated measure and not legally enforceable. Thus, this new law is an important trajectory for life insurance applicants and participants in medical research.

Even earlier, in 1998, there was a broader effort by Senator Natasha Stott Despoja to put in place a comprehensive framework for genetic privacy and genetic discrimination across society, not just insurance when she introduced her ‘Genetic Privacy and Non-discrimination Bill 1998’. Although the Bill did not succeed, it was very important because it stimulated later efforts such as the 2001-2003 inquiry by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) and the Australian Health Ethics Committee (AHEC) into the protection of human genetic information and the resultant influential 2003 ALRC report ‘Essentially Yours’⁶. The new 2026 Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance law achieves one of the goals of the earlier efforts – namely protecting individuals from life insurance discrimination on the basis of genetic testing – which is where there was potential for discrimination and thus the need for protection. It does not cover health insurance because private health insurance in Australia is generally community-rated with everyone paying the same premium for the same product.

In comparison, the USA Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act 2008 (GINA)⁷ covers health insurance and employment but does not cover life insurance. The UK’s regulation comprises the Code on Genetic Testing and Insurance which has similarities and differences to the Australian law⁸.

People should not be deterred from undergoing genetic testing due to concerns it may affect their chances of getting insurance or make the insurance exorbitant. There is no doubt that the new law will make a meaningful difference to people’s lives.