On 1 April 2026, an inauspicious date given the gravity of the subject matter, the Australian Parliament passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance and Other Measures) Act 2026 (the Act). The Act received Royal Assent on 8 April 2026. The amendments to the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) (ICA) and Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) (DDA) will commence on 8 October 2026.[1]

Overview

The Act inserts a new s 33H in the ICA, creating a strict liability offence for insurers who take into account the results of life insurance underwriting where “protected genetic information” is “solicited” or used for life insurance underwriting by the insurer or any other person who conducts or assists with life insurance underwriting, when making “life insurance contract decisions” (the Ban).

The aim of this legislation is to enable individuals to undertake genetic testing, including participating in health or medical research, without that impacting their ability to obtain life insurance cover or the terms of that cover.   Insurers will still be able to access information where an individual has been clinically diagnosed with a disease, regardless of whether that information is based on or informed by genetic testing.

An insurer may be subject to both a strict liability offence (punishable by up to 60 penalty units) and a civil penalty provision (punishable by up to 5,000 penalty units) for contravening the Ban. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission may exercise its discretion in its enforcement approach in relation to the Ban, including whether to pursue criminal or civil proceedings.

This offence will not apply if:

  1. the life insured, their treating medical practitioner or their agent, knowingly gave the protected genetic information to the insurer or underwriter;
  1. the protected genetic information was not solicited by the insurer or underwriter;
  1. the insurer or underwriter obtained the written consent of the life insured or their agent, for use of the protected genetic information in the underwriting; and
  1. the use of the protected genetic information did not, in relation to the life insurance contract decision, disadvantage the insured, any life insured or any third-party beneficiary under the contract.

Consumers may also be able to escalate complaints in relation to the Ban to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).  AFCA has a general remit to deal with complaints about financial firms (which include life insurers) in relation to the provision of financial products and

services.

What is “protected genetic information”?

Under the Act, “protected genetic information” about an individual refers to:

  1. information about whether an individual, or a genetic relative of the individual:
  1. has undergone genetic testing;
  2. intends to undergo genetic testing;
  3. has been recommended to undergo genetic testing; or
  1. information about any genetic testing undergone by the individual or a genetic relative, including the results.

However, it does not include the following information regarding an individual:

  1. the name of a disease for which the individual (or a genetic relative) has received a “clinical diagnosis” whether or not the clinical diagnosis is based on or informed by genetic testing; or
  1. for any disease for which an individual has received a clinical diagnosis , whether or not the clinical diagnosis is based on or informed by genetic testing—any of the following information (not including the actual results of genetic testing):
  1. information about the characteristics, natural history, or prognosis of the disease; or
  2. information about any past, current or intended treatment of the disease.

The Act defines a “clinical diagnosis” as a diagnosis made by a treating medical practitioner based on the individual’s history, medical examination, and results of relevant medical investigations/

Meaning of solicit

Solicit is defined broadly.  A person solicits protected genetic information:

  1. if the person requests, incentivises or otherwise induces or encourages another person:
  1. to provide the protected genetic information; or
  2. to provide a kind of information in which that protected genetic information is included. 
  1. If they request or recommend that an individual undergo genetic testing, whether or not the individual undergoes the genetic testing.

For example, the explanatory memorandum notes that this definition is intended to prevent an insurer or underwriter from requesting medical records in full, when it is possible these records will contain genetic testing information.   

Life insurance contract decisions impacted by the Ban

The Ban applies to “Life Insurance Contract Decisions” which means a decision by an insurer on:

  1. whether or not to enter into, or to offer to enter into, a proposed contract of life insurance;
  2. the terms and conditions on which the insurer is to enter into, or to offer to enter into, a proposed contract of life insurance;
  3. whether or not to propose an extension, variation or reinstatement of a contract of life insurance, or to agree to a proposed extension, variation or reinstatement of a contract of life insurance; and
  4. the terms and conditions on which the insurer is to propose an extension, variation or reinstatement of a contract of life insurance, or to agree to a proposed extension, variation or reinstatement of a contract of life insurance.

This is a broad definition which is intended to cover the full scope of decisions an insurer may make in relation to applications for life insurance, including decisions to deny an offer for a proposed contract.  

Other amendments to the ICA

Duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation

The Act amends s 20B of the ICA to clarify that an insured is not taken to have breached their duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation, merely because they have not disclosed protected genetic information about a life insured.

Duty of disclosure

The Act also introduces a new s 21(3A) into the ICA to clarify that the duty of disclosure does not require disclosure of protected genetic information about a life insured. This effectively prevents insurers from relying on a potential breach of duty of disclosure to reduce their liability or avoid the policy.

Pre-existing conditions

The Act also amends s 47(2) of the ICA to prevent insurers from relying on a clause in an insurance contract (other than a life insurance contract) to limit or exclude its liability where the insured was not aware of, and a reasonable person in the circumstances could not have been expected to have been aware of, the sickness or disability. The same restriction for life insurance contracts was also inserted in s 47(3) of the ICA.

For contracts of life insurance, the Act also introduces a carve-out in s 47(4) of the ICA to require insurers to disregard whether the life insured or a genetic relative of a life insured had:

  1. a disease of a genetic nature and prescribed in regulations; or
  2. a genetic predisposition to a disease if:

a) as at the time the policy was entered into, the life insured, or the genetic relative of the life insured, has not yet received a clinical diagnosis for that disease; and

b) the genetic predisposition is not a thing prescribed by regulation.

Amendments to the DDA

The Act also amends the DDA to clarify that discrimination based on protected genetic information about a person is not reasonable if it relates to:

  1. a refusal to offer the person a life insurance policy; or
  2. the terms and conditions on which a life insurance policy is offered to, or may be obtained by, the person.

Review after 5 years

The operation of the Ban will be reviewed five years after its commencement.

Implications for the life insurance industry

The Act represents the culmination of over two decades of policy development regarding the use of genetic information in life insurance, including:

  • In 2019, the Financial Services Council introduced a moratorium on the use of genetic tests in life insurance underwriting, which was subsequently incorporated into Appendix A of the Life Insurance Code of Practice (LICOP).
  • Furthermore, a June 2023 report by Monash University (the A-GLIMMER Report) found that the voluntary moratorium was inadequate to address and prevent genetic discrimination in life insurance.
  • Following public consultations by Treasury in November 2023 and September 2025, the Australian Government proceeded with the legislative approach now embodied in the Act.

While these amendments are intended to clarify the Government’s policy concerning the use of genetic information in underwriting in life insurance policies, the explanatory memorandum notes that the focus of the Ban is on the insurer’s conduct in relation to the results of underwriting, as opposed to the underwriting process itself.  This means the insurer can still be liable even if they have outsourced the underwriting process to third parties.  The explanatory memorandum also notes that the “ultimate effect of the Ban is that protected genetic information about a life insured cannot be solicited or used to assess the risk of that individual to inform whether or not they are accepted or denied life insurance cover, or the terms or conditions on which life insurance is accepted or offered.”

The explanatory memorandum also clarifies that the Ban will apply whether the protected genetic information was solicited or used solely for the purposes of underwriting, or for one or more purposes that include underwriting. Furthermore, the Ban will also apply regardless of whether the use of protected genetic information has any effect on the results of the underwriting. That said, the Ban is not intended to apply in circumstances where an insurer merely administratively handles or disposes of protected genetic information that is received inadvertently.

The amendments to the ICA also introduce further protections for life insureds – insurers are no longer entitled to rely on exceptions under the moratorium[2] which permitted them to ask for genetic test results where the total amount of cover is more than:

  1. $500,000 of lump sum death cover;
  2. $500,000 of total permanent disability cover;
  3. $200,000 of trauma and/or critical illness cover;
  4. $4,000 a month of any combination of income protection, salary continuance or business expenses cover.

We expect changes to be made to the LICOP to reflect the Ban. 

These amendments will also prevent insurers from denying claims due to a failure to disclose protected genetic information, or from relying on a genetic predisposition revealed through genetic testing as a ‘pre-existing condition’ to exclude claims. Interestingly, the explanatory memorandum indicated that the insurer’s duty of utmost good faith under s 13 of the ICA is intended to operate independently of the Ban.[3] However, it is possible that certain conduct by an insurer or underwriter to solicit or use protected genetic information may contravene either or both sets of provisions. It will be interesting to see how the life insurance industry manages its risks in light of these changes.

Life insurers should take steps now to review and update their underwriting processes, application forms, and training materials to ensure compliance with the Act ahead of commencement. Life insurers should also consider their procedures for handling unsolicited genetic information received inadvertently, noting that the mere receipt and administrative handling or disposal of such information is not intended to be subject to the Ban.

[1] Our recent update “Refreshed Foreign Financial Service Provider regime” discusses some other aspects of this Act. 

[2] See Appendix A.2 of LICOP. 

[3] See paragraph 1.33 – 1.35 of the Explanatory Memorandum.