Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about genetic discrimination, an issue that has potentially dire consequences for Australians impacted by hereditary diseases. In its current form, the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 includes an exemption that allows the insurance industry to use genetic testing results to discriminate against Australians wishing to take out life insurance policies. Genetics counsellor and lawyer Dr Jane Tiller found Australians who had acted proactively by undergoing genetic testing has been financially disadvantaged by insurance companies. How is it that undertaking a test to help inform future health decisions can lead to an exclusion on life insurance, increased premiums or even being denied life insurance cover altogether? Arguably, by being proactive and undertaking such genetic testing, these people are most likely to use that information to reduce their risk through altering their diet, regular screening or even preventive surgery. If they lived in other countries, these Australians will not be financially penalised simply for knowing their genetic make-up. We should be celebrating those taking up genetic testing, not penalising them. We don't want people to stop being tested in case it impacts their life insurance. Put simply, the information they find out could save their life, yet that knowledge becomes a double-edged sword. They should be able to access the same life insurance policies as other Australians.

The 2017 Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services inquiry into the life insurance industry recommended a moratorium on the use of predictive genetic information. Additionally, the committee recommended the government monitor developments in this space to determine if reform was needed to ban or limit the life insurance industry's use of predictive genetic information. I believe that we now have reached the time where the Disability Discrimination Act needs to be amended to prevent further discrimination for those who take that initiative.