Development of Regulations for the ban on use of genetic testing in life insurance - Submissions and consultation

Treasury has released an Exposure Draft of the regulations to support the new legislation banning the use of adverse genetic test results in life insurance.

Submissions on this Exposure draft can be made until 26 June 2026:
Exposure draft: Insurance Contracts Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance) Regulations 2026

The key issue for consideration is the list at Clause 13A  in the exposure draft, which seeks to outline a list of "protected information". Examples of this type of information include: "Lynch syndrome" which sounds like a diagnosis, but includes people who have an increased risk of developing certain cancers in future; or conditions where a predictive genetic test results in a person knowing they are at risk of developing a condition in future eg. Huntington disease (both Lynch syndrome and Huntington disease are on the list).

HGSA Secretariat is currently considering if we will make a submission. If you have suggestions of conditions that should be included in this list, please provide your suggestions to [email protected] by COB 22 June 2026.