Ban on Using Protected Genetic Information for Life Insurance Decisions
Treasury Laws Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance and Other Measures) Bill 2025
House of Representatives
Senate
Assent
Introduced by: The Hon Dr Daniel Mulino MP (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Dr Daniel Mulino ALP
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Genetic testing can help save lives, supporting medical practitioners to prevent, diagnose, treat and monitor a range of cancers, cancer predisposition syndromes and other heritable conditions.”
Kevin Hogan NAT
“The coalition is going to support the Treasury Laws Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance and Other Measures) Bill because it contains important reforms that Australians have been waiting for, including sensible protections around the use of genetic information in life insurance and improvements across our financial system.”
“Genetic testing saves lives. It supports medical practitioners to prevent, to diagnose, to treat and to monitor a range of cancers, cancer predisposition syndromes and other heritable conditions. Medical practice is moving forward in leaps and bounds. We know a lot more than we did a hundred years ago, we know a lot more than we did 10 years ago, and we know a lot more than we did one year ago.”
Carina Garland ALP
“That was quite an extraordinary performance. I’m not sure who it was for. There were a few moments there, I must admit, when I thought that I’d entered the chamber with the wrong piece of legislation before me because the tirade that we just heard really bears no resemblance to what we are being asked to consider today. I do think it’s a real shame that that was the case.”
Kate Chaney IND
“I rise today to speak to schedule 1 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance and Other Measures) Bill 2025. I want to begin by acknowledging the work that’s gone into bringing this bill before the parliament.”
“The Treasury Laws Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance and Other Measures) Bill 2025 is an important piece of legislation. It truly is. What I do question is why it has taken this long to be brought before the House. The coalition, as is often the case, had to drag Labor kicking and screaming to this point.”
Anne Webster NAT
“I rise this afternoon to speak to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance and Other Measures) Bill 2025. I will come to the bill in a moment; I want to first, as the shadow minister for regional health, talk about the importance of primary and preventive care. Halting genetic discrimination in the life insurance industry is a good start on better health care.”
Alison Byrnes ALP
“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.”
Mike Freelander ALP
“Genetics has come a long way since Mendel and his peas in the 1860s, and it has been absolutely remarkable, in my medical lifetime, to see the advances in genetics. There was slow progress for over a hundred years until we got to the Human Genome Project, which really opened up the field of medical genetics to all of us in the 1990s and 2000s.”
Tony Zappia ALP
“It’s always a pleasure to follow and listen to the remarks of the member for Macarthur, who brings so much valuable insight into the health issues that our nation faces. That was a wonderful example in his contribution to this bill, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance and Other Measures) Bill 2025. This legislation, in fact, has four schedules.”