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Genetic discrimination in life insurance underwriting

Disability Rights

Treasury

Committees submitted to
Treasury

Disability rights and life insurance 

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) says that people cannot be treated less favourably because of a disability. This includes disability someone might have in the future due to their genes, or disability that others think they have. Article 25(e) of the CRPD recognises that people with disability have the right to access life insurance equally, without discrimination.

In Australia, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) is a law that protects people from being treated less favourably because of a disability they have now, had in the past, may have in the future (including because of genetic traits), or a disability someone thinks they have. When someone is treated less favourably because of their genetic information, this can be considered ‘genetic discrimination’.  

However, section 46 of the Disability Discrimination Act gives insurance companies a permanent exemption. This means they are allowed to treat people with disability less favourably when offering life insurance if it is reasonable based on data or other relevant information. Because of this, people with disability and people with certain genetic traits may face barriers when trying to get life insurance on the same terms as others.  

Life insurance in Australia is based on a risk-rated model. This means insurers look at personal traits and circumstances, like health history, to assess how likely someone is to make a claim. Based on that risk, insurers might charge higher prices, set special conditions or refuse to offer certain products. Risk-rated insurance models can lead to people with disability being treated differently or less favourably. 

Ban on the use of genetic test results in life insurance

The Australian Government is proposing to change the law so that life insurance companies can’t use genetic test results to decide whether to give someone life insurance. This means insurers would no longer be allowed to use protected genetic information to charge more or refuse to provide life insurance. Section 46 of the Disability Discrimination Act will be changed to support this. 

The Australian Human Rights Commission (Commission) supports this change, which will help reduce disability discrimination in life insurance. 

See the Australian Government Treasury’s consultation webpage for further information.

The Commission's submissions on the use of genetic tests in life insurance

The Commission is taking part in the Australian Government Treasury’s public consultation process about how the ban should be designed and put into action and has made submissions to the following consultations: 

Treasury consultation on the use of genetic testing results in life insurance underwriting (February 2024)

Treasury consultation on the ban on the use of adverse genetic testing results in life insurance (March 2025)

Treasury consultation on the ban on the use of genetic tests in life insurance - draft legislation (October 2025)

Key concerns raised by the Commission

In response to Treasury’s October 2025 consultation, the Commission raised several concerns:

  • The meaning of protected genetic information does not include inferred genetic information.
  • Consent is not a defined term and can be provided by someone acting on behalf of the person, like an insurance broker.
  • The ban does not apply to life insurance policies that were created before the new law begins.
  • The power to make regulations could change the meaning of important terms, which may affect how the ban works.
  • There is no requirement for reviews of the ban to check whether it is helping to reduce discrimination.  

Looking ahead

As genetic and medical technologies continue to improve, it is important that laws also change to protect human rights and prevent discrimination and unethical practices. Rules and regulations need to keep up with community expectations and maintain trust in how insurers use personal information.

The Commission is still concerned about disability discrimination in life insurance more broadly. We are calling for a full review of section 46 of the Disability Discrimination Act to make sure it meets human rights standards. We also think the government should look more closely at how risk-rated insurance models affect the rights of people with disability.

For more information about the Commission’s work to improve the Disability Discrimination Act see: