Labor breaks promise on genetic discrimination

14 February 2025

The Federal Opposition has joined genetic discrimination advocate Dr Jane Tiller in condemning the Albanese Government for breaking its promise to legislate against life insurance companies using an individual’s genetic information in insurance rating, Dr Tiller now calling for the legislation to be introduced in the first 100 days of the next Parliament.

Dr Tiller, who has single-handedly driven this issue since 2016 through a significant and sustained effort, told MedNews on Thursday that while she was frustrated with yet another consultation being announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers, she urged stakeholders to participate and respond by the closing date of 12 March.

She said while Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones’ support had not wavered, the Government had made a lot of commitments regarding what it would do in its first parliamentary term and had to prioritise what could be done before the term ran out.

“Unfortunately, this hasn’t been prioritised,” she said. “They’ve said there are some questions that need answering. I think those questions would have been appropriately answered through an exposure draft of the bill, but given they didn’t have the resources on the drafting front, they’ve decided to put those questions into a consultation.

“That’s frustrating, but the decision has now been made, the consultation has been published and we need to get on with responding to that while calling on the government to make a new commitment about when they will do this.”

Shadow Health Minister Senator Anne Ruston and Shadow Assistant Treasurer Luke Howarth both expressed their support for the legislation and agreed to make it a priority should the Coalition be elected.

“The Coalition is committed to protecting Australians from genetic discrimination in life insurance and we will introduce the promised legislation as a matter of urgent priority if elected,” Senator Ruston told MedNews.

“Genetic life insurance discrimination discourages individuals from seeking vital genetic testing, denying them access to potentially life-saving information and treatment.

“The pledge, publicly announced by the Assistant Treasurer, was a sign of hope for any Australian with a hereditary disease and was widely celebrated by clinicians, advocates, researchers, and organisations across the country.

“It was a landmark step towards ensuring equitable access to genomic healthcare for all Australians, offering security to individuals and families undergoing genetic testing. Now, it is clear that this was nothing more than a hollow promise from Labor.”

The legislation not only had bipartisan support but was also supported by the life insurance industry. Dr Tiller said while the industry could introduce the ban voluntarily, consumers needed the confidence of a legislated ban to hand over their genetic information to life insurers given the possibility of a voluntary ban being reversed.

“This is good for industry. This is good for consumers. We are calling on the government to now move on this so there is certainty,” she said. “The industry could put their money where their mouth is and do it voluntarily but that doesn’t let the government off the hook in doing what they said they would do and regulating something that’s enforceable.”

©MedNews 2025