Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance and Other Measures) Bill 2025. At its heart, this bill is about fairness. It is about ensuring Australians are not penalised for taking steps to look after their health. It is about removing a barrier that has for too long forced people into an impossible choice—a choice between finding out potentially life-saving information about their future health and protecting their ability to access affordable life insurance. This is not a choice that anyone should have to make, and it is a choice that this bill will end. Genetic testing is one of the most powerful tools we have in modern medicine. It allows doctors to identify risks early, it allows patients to take preventive action and it allows families to understand inherited conditions and make informed decisions. In many cases, it quite literally saves lives.

We are moving into an era where genomics is not just about treating disease but preventing it all together, but the law has not kept pace with that science. For too long Australians have held back from genetic testing because of the fear that it could be used against them by life insurers, and that fear is not hypothetical. Treasury analysis and stakeholder evidence make it clear that people are delaying or even avoiding genetic testing and participation in medical research because of concerns about life insurance. That means worse health outcomes and missed opportunities for early intervention, and it means a system that is working against people, not for them. This bill fixes that.

Schedule 1 delivers a clear and decisive reform. It bans life insurers from using adverse genetic test results when making decisions about life insurance cover, including whether to offer a policy and on what terms. That means Australians can undergo genetic testing without worrying that the result will be used to deny them cover or increase their premiums. It restores certainty and confidence and it puts people's health ahead of insurer profit margins. Importantly, this reform is carefully designed. It does not undermine the fundamentals of the insurance system. Insurers will still be able to use relevant information to assess risk. They can still consider symptoms, diagnosis and family medical history. They can still ensure policies are properly underwritten, and individuals can still choose to disclose genetic test results where it benefits them, with appropriate consent. This is not about creating loopholes; it is about delivering fairness and drawing a clear line where discrimination should not occur. This bill also strengthens enforcement. It introduces civil penalties and criminal offences for noncompliance, and it gives the Australian Securities and Investments Commission the responsibility to oversee and enforce these protections. These are not symbolic changes. They are real protections, backed by real consequences.

We know this reform is needed because we have heard directly from Australians. We have heard from researchers and clinicians, and we have heard from participants in studies like the DNA Screen project at Monash University. That study tested 10,000 young Australians for genetic risk of preventable cancers and heart disease. What it found was striking. Around one in 50 participants had a high genetic risk of serious disease. That is not a small number; that is a significant portion of the population. For those individuals, that information gained through genetic testing opened the door to preventive care: surveillance, medication and, in some cases, life-saving interventions. In my electorate of Cunningham, at least 50 young people participated in the DNA Screen study. They were proactive. They wanted to understand their health risks and they wanted to take preventive action. But the main reason that people who signed up for DNA Screen decided not to participate was genetic discrimination in life insurance. This barrier to testing is not abstract; it is happening in communities, including in places like the Illawarra, and this legislation will remove that barrier.

The benefits of this reform go far beyond the individual. Greater uptake of genetic testing means better public health outcomes. It means earlier detection. It means more effective prevention. It means advances in scientific knowledge that benefit all Australians. It also makes economic sense. Published modelling shows that preventive genomic screening is cost effective, with productivity gains in the billions. This is not just good health policy; it is good economic policy.

This reform has been a long time coming. The use of genetic information in life insurance has been a policy concern for decades. There have been reviews, moratoriums and industry led approaches, but the evidence has been clear: those measures have not been enough. They have not provided certainty, they have not removed fear and they have not delivered the protections that Australians deserve. That is why legislative action is necessary, and that is why the Albanese Labor government is acting.

This bill also ensures that our laws are consistent. It aligns the Insurance Contracts Act and the Disability Discrimination Act so that genetic discrimination is clearly addressed. It clarifies that individuals are not required to disclose protected genetic information when applying for life insurance, and it ensures that antidiscrimination protections keep pace with advances in science. As technology evolves, our legal framework must evolve with it.

I also want to acknowledge the people who have worked tirelessly to bring this reform to this point. In particular, I want to recognise Dr Jane Tiller from Monash University for her leadership and advocacy over many years. Her work has been absolutely instrumental in highlighting the real-world impacts of genetic discrimination and in building the case for change. I also want to acknowledge the Assistant Treasurer for progressing this legislation and delivering on the government's commitment. I also want to recognise the former assistant treasurer and my good friend Stephen Jones for his work in advancing these reforms and laying the groundwork for what we are debating today. That was really important work that Stephen and his office did. This has been a sustained effort, and it deserves recognition.

The bill also includes a number of additional measures. Schedule 2 provides licensing exemptions for foreign financial service providers, giving Australian businesses and investors access to a greater diversity of investments, new sources of financing and lower costs through increased competition. This will support diversification and strengthen our financial system. Schedule 3 modernises Australia's legislative framework for multilateral development banks and the International Monetary Fund. It reduces administrative burden and ensures that Australia can continue to participate effectively in international financial arrangements. Schedule 4 removes unnecessary regulatory burden on financial advisers by repealing a requirement for annual individual registration that is no longer needed.

These are important measures, but it is schedule 1 that goes to the heart of this bill because it speaks to a fundamental principle: Australians should never be punished for looking after their health. This reform is about dignity, fairness and trust—trust that, when Australians engage with the healthcare system, they can do so without fear; trust that the system will support them, not penalise them; and trust that the law will protect them. It is also about the kind of future that we want to build—a future where preventive healthcare is embraced, a future where medical research thrives and a future where advances in science translate into better outcomes for everyone. We cannot achieve that future if people are afraid to participate. We cannot achieve that future if outdated rules stand in the way, and this bill removes those barriers.

There will always be questions about how we balance fairness and risk in insurance markets, and it is important to acknowledge that. That's why this legislation includes safeguards. It's why insurers retain access to other relevant information. It's why the operation of these provisions will be subject to regular review. We are taking a careful and a considered approach, but we are also taking a necessary step because doing nothing is not an option. Australians deserve a system that supports their health decisions. They deserve a system that reflects modern science and they deserve a system that treats them fairly. This bill delivers that. It delivers on a clear commitment, it ends a longstanding inequity, and it ensures that Australians no longer have to choose between their health and their financial security. I commend this bill to the House.

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