Back in May, FH Australia posted about our putting our patient voice behind the national advocacy efforts encouraging government to legislate a total ban on the use of genetic results in life insurance underwriting.  Advocates have campaigned for almost a decade for this change; so it was with considerable satisfaction and relief that in September 2024, the Albanese Government announced that it will definitively end the ability for insurers to discriminate based on adverse predictive genetic test results by banning their use in life insurance underwriting.

Much of the advocacy effort had been spearheaded by Monash University’s public health and genomics researcher Dr Jane Tiller who had been lobbying for the ban since 2016 emphasising that the fear of being denied insurance coverage has been a considerable disincentive for Australians to have genetic testing. FH Australia thanks Dr Jane Tiller and her team for their perseverance and excellent work getting this across the line.

Government consultation resulted in over 1000 submissions, with ninety-seven per cent supporting a total ban. The ban will be subject to a 5 yearly review to ensure there are no unintended consequences and has the support of the Council of Australian Life Insurers.