Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance and Other Measures) Bill 2025. This is an important bill. It's a bill about fairness, it's a bill about trust and, above all, it's a bill about making sure Australians can make decisions about their health without fear. At its heart, this legislation delivers on a clear commitment. We said we would stop life insurers from using genetic testing results against Australians. This bill does exactly that. Genetic testing saves lives. It allows doctors to identify serious risks early. It allows people to take preventive action. It allows families to understand their health and plan for the future as well. But, for too long, Australians have faced an unacceptable choice: do they take a genetic test that could protect their health, or do they avoid testing because they're worried it will affect their ability to get life insurance? That's not a choice anyone should have to make.

This bill removes that fear. Schedule 1 of the bill amends the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 to ban life insurers from using genetic test results when deciding whether to offer cover or what terms to offer. It's clear and it's a simple rule: your genetic test results cannot be used against you. This reform ensures Australians are not punished for taking proactive steps to manage their health.

Treasury analysis has shown that people are delaying or avoiding genetic testing because of concerns about life insurance. Some are even avoiding participation in medical research. That's a loss for individuals. it's a loss for families and it's a loss for our entire health system. We cannot allow fear to stand in the way of life-saving care, and this bill fixes that. It ensures that, when somebody is considering a genetic test, their focus can be on their health, not on how their insurer might respond. It aligns our laws with modern science. It brings the Insurance Contracts Act into step with the Disability Discrimination Act. It provides clarity, certainty and protection.

This reform has been carefully designed. It does not prevent insurers from using clinical information. They can still consider diagnosed conditions. They can still consider symptoms. They can still consider family medical history. This is important because it ensures that life insurance remains properly risk rated. What we're doing is drawing a fair line. We're saying that predictive genetic information should not be used to disadvantage people. We're protecting Australians from discrimination while maintaining a functional insurance system. There are also strong enforcement mechanisms. Breaches of this ban will attract civil penalties and criminal offences. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission will oversee the enforcement of these rules. These protections are real, they are backed by law, and they will be upheld.

There is broad support for this reform. Genetics researchers support it. Patient advocacy groups support it. Even the life insurance industry supports it. That tells us something important. It tells us that this is the right reform at the right time. And it's not just about removing harm; it's about unlocking opportunity. We should see this reform as part of a broader shift towards prevention in health care. We're entering a new era—an era where we can prevent disease instead of simply treating it. This bill helps Australia move into that era.

Prevention is not only better for individuals; it's much better for the entire system. When diseases are identified early or avoided altogether, we reduce pressures on hospitals, reduce long-term treatment costs and improve quality of life. Families avoid the trauma of late diagnosis. Communities remain stronger because people stay healthier and active for longer. This is the kind of reform that delivers benefits well beyond the individual.

I want to highlight the real-world impact of genetic testing. The DNA screen study at Monash University tested 10,000 Australians aged between 18 and 40 for genetic risks of preventable cancers and heart disease. The results were striking. One in 50 participants were found to be at high genetic risk. That's two per cent of those tested. That's a significant number of Australians. These individuals were then able to take preventive action: they accessed surgery; they undertook regular surveillance; they began medication. These are the life-saving interventions.

Young Australians want this information. The DNA screen study was oversubscribed. Tens of thousands of people expressed interest in it. But there was a problem. The main reason many people chose not to participate was fear of genetic discrimination in life insurance. That's deeply concerning. It means people were walking away from potentially life-saving knowledge because of financial fear. This bill removes that fear and that barrier. It also sends a powerful signal to researchers and clinicians. It tells them that Australia supports innovation in medical science and that we're willing to remove outdated barriers that hold this progress back. When participation in research increases, discoveries accelerate, new treatments are developed, and lives are improved.

We can also think about the families who carry inherited conditions that are not yet visible. A patient who knows there's a history of heart disease may hesitate to test their children. A young adult may delay testing for a cancer predisposition. Under the old system, that hesitation was understandable. Under this new framework, that hesitation should no longer exist. People can act early, seek advice and take control of their future without second-guessing the financial consequences.

Consider also regional and rural Australians, who often face higher barriers to accessing specialist care. For them, early knowledge can be even more critical. Genetic testing can guide limited healthcare resources more effectively and help avoid late-stage illnesses that require complex treatment far from home. Removing insurance fears makes these benefits more accessible across the country.

Let me offer another example. A young couple planning to start a family may choose to undertake genetic carrier screening. This test can identify whether they're at risk of passing on a serious inherited condition to one of their children. Under the previous setting, some couples hesitated, worried that even the act of testing could affect their financial security. That hesitation could delay important decisions about family planning and early medical care. Under this bill, that couple can proceed with confidence. They can seek the advice, understand their risks and make a more informed decision about the future of their family without fear of insurance consequences.

In my electorate in the Hunter, we have already seen the impact of genetic testing. At least 30 young people participated in a DNA Screen study. Three were identified as being a high genetic risk. A young woman was found to be at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Two young men were found to be at high risk of bowel cancer. Because of testing, they were able to take action early. That is what prevention looks like, and that is what this bill supports.

This reform will pave the way for expansion in genetic screening. The DNA Screen study aims to expand to 100,000 participants. That would identify thousands more Australians at risk and, importantly, those Australians would no longer have to worry about insurance discrimination. This is how we build a healthier nation. Modelling shows that population-level genomic screening could deliver productivity gains in the order of billions of dollars. This is not just good health policy; this is good economic policy. Prevention reduces long-term healthcare costs. It keeps people in the workforce. It strengthens families and communities. This bill is an important step toward that future.

I now turn to schedule 2 of the bill. This schedule deals with licensing exemptions for foreign financial services providers. It introduces three exemptions from the requirement to hold an Australian financial services licence. The first is the comparable regulator exemption. This applies to providers that already regulate in jurisdictions with comparable standards. The second is the professional investor exemption. This allows providers to offer services to Australian professional investors without a licence. The third is the market maker exemption. This applies to providers making markets in certain derivatives.

These reforms are about balance. They maintain the integrity of our financial system while reducing unnecessary regulatory burden. They ensure Australian businesses and investors can access a broader range of financial products and services. They support competition, they support investment, and they support economic growth. Importantly, these measures elevate existing relief, which has been provided through ASIC instruments, into primary legislation. This provides greater certainty and stronger oversight. There has been strong support for these measures from industry stakeholders. There is no expected opposition. This is sensible and practical reform.

Schedule 3 of this bill deals with multilateral development banks and the International Monetary Fund. It modernises and streamlines the legislative framework governing Australia's participation in these institutions. These institutions are evolving. They are developing new financial models. They are responding to global challenges. Australia must be able to respond as well. This schedule provides a valid appropriation to meet commitments made in the 2024-25 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook. It supports investment and institutions like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. It also reduces administrative burden by allowing routine decisions to be delegated where appropriate. These changes will make Australia a more agile and effective participant in the global financial system. They will allow us to meet our obligations effectively. They will support international efforts to address development challenges. There is no expected stakeholder opposition to these measures.

Schedule 4 repeals stage 2 financial adviser registration. Under existing arrangements, financial advisers are already registered through their licence. There is already a functioning disciplinary system in place, and the proposed stage 2 would have required individual advisers to register annually with ASIC. This would have created additional red tape without improving consumer protection. This bill removes an unnecessary burden. It ensures regulation remains effective but not excessive. It supports financial advisers while maintaining strong standards. Again, there is broad stakeholder support for this measure. Taken together, this bill delivers practical reforms across several areas, but, at its core, it's about people. It's about ensuring Australians are not penalised for taking care of their health, ensuring our laws keep pace with science and building a system that works for the community.

For decades, genetic discrimination in life insurance has been a concern. Australians have worried about that information and about how their DNA could be used against them. The fear has real consequences. It has discouraged testing, and that really matters—just the same as trust matters in this as well. When people trust the system, they engage with the system. They get tested, they participate in research and they seek early treatment. That leads to better outcomes for everyone. This bill is also forward looking. It recognises that genomics will play an increasing role in healthcare into the future. I'm looking forward to seeing what Australians can do with this and what we can do with this as a government to make sure that no Australian has to choose between their health or their financial security.

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