Daniel Mulino:
... continued support for a legislated ban on the use of results of genetic tests in life insurance. I just want to acknowledge that we have a lot of different stakeholders and MPs from right across the parliament here. I want to acknowledge that Jane Tiller is here, an academic who has long advocated for this policy through her A‑GLIMMER project and with a number of other of her colleagues, but Jane has been relentless over years advocating in this place for this project in a very thoughtful and effective way. And I also want to acknowledge Chris Cupitt is here, who heads up the peak body for life insurers. And can I acknowledge that the life insurance industry has been very constructive when engaging with government over a long period of time on this issue.
We also have a large number of MPs who are here. And before mentioning a few of those – and hopefully I don’t forget any who are standing behind me – but can I say that Stephen Jones, my predecessor, undertook a lot of really important work in this space, and it was Stephen that brought the government in the previous term to the policy position which we still hold today. And I want to acknowledge his leadership on this issue.
There are a number of caucus colleagues of mine, including Senator Deb O’Neill, who, if she’s not here will be here soon, and her work on the PJC which led to a number of important findings and recommendations was instrumental. We have Mike Freelander, Ged Kearney, Josh Burns, Jerome Laxale, Louise Miller‑Frost, a number of colleagues of mine who, for a long period of time, have been advocating for this. And there are also members from the crossbench – David Pocock and Monique Ryan – and there are others who have been championing this.
And then I really want to call out Pat Conaghan, who’s the shadow in this portfolio, and Jordon Steele‑John. Their presence here is really meaningful because it shows that this initiative has support right across the parliament and in both chambers. So there’s a great deal of support for this initiative.
We know that medical practice is moving forward in leaps and bounds. And genetic testing is one of the areas where this is most prominent and impactful. We know that genetic testing can give people a sense of their future health risks. It can be an incredibly important preventative tool, and it can also be very important in leading people to earlier and more effective medical treatment. And genetic testing is only getting more powerful with time.
But we do know that some people aren’t getting tested because they’re worried about the impacts of the results of those tests on the affordability and accessibility of life insurance. And this is an issue which this parliament has grappled with over recent years. It’s that concern which led the government in a previous term to adopt the policy of supporting a legislated ban on the use of adverse results from genetic tests in life insurance. And I stand here today to confirm that the government remains committed to introducing legislation to give effect to that.
This is a policy which is supported by peak medical bodies, by policy experts and by the stakeholders who are here today. Legislation is currently being drafted and I as Minister will seek to introduce that as soon as practicable. So, it’s with great pleasure that I stand here today early in this term to recommit to this policy.
And I’ll now hand over to Jane.
Jane Tiller:
Thanks so much, Assistant Minister. And I really want to applaud the government for continuing to reiterate their commitment to this important initiative. We’ve been working on this for almost 10 years now. This reform has been a long time coming, and there’s been many stakeholders who’ve supported us and people across the whole spectrum of government. It’s really wonderful to hear this recommitment. It’s wonderful to hear the support that’s also been given to the work of the previous Assistant Minister, Stephen Jones, who did a lot of work towards getting this policy in place and up and running. And we cannot wait to see this put into parliament and passed. We have people who are still putting off genetic testing waiting for this law to come into place, hoping that it will protect their rights and that they’ll be able to have genetic tests without that fear of financial discrimination and potential insurance fees affecting that.
So we thank the Assistant Minister. We thank the government, the crossbench, the Greens and the Opposition for their support, and also the life insurance industry as well. Thank you.
Christine Cupitt:
Thank you, Minister, and good morning, everybody. The Council of Australian Life Insurers is really strongly supportive of the government’s recommitment to legislate a ban on the use of genetic tests in life insurance underwriting. It’s good for Australians and their families, it’s good for the government, and it’s good for life insurers too.
Life insurers are here to provide people with the protection and certainty they need on their best and worst days. Genetic testing can provide people with real peace of mind. As life insurers, we want people to access the information they need to make informed choices about their health and proactively manage it in a preventative way. Genetic testing can empower people to take control of their health, make those important decisions and take preventive action if that’s what’s right for them.
Of course, legislation is critical. Australia’s life insurers have worked with the government for almost 2 years on the ban. And during that time our position has been consistent. We support the government legislating a ban on the use of genetic tests in life insurance underwriting. As genetic testing becomes more common, more accessible and more clinically useful, now is the time to act.
Of course, this is a rapidly evolving area and that is why we’re pleased to see the commitment from the government to a five‑year review of the legislation. That review is critical to make sure that the legislation keeps pace with advances in genetic testing. So Australia’s life insurers support today’s announcement and we look forward to playing our part in giving people the confidence they need to proactively manage their health.
Mulino:
Thanks, Jane, and thanks, Chris, and thanks to all of my parliamentary colleagues from right across the parliament who are here today. Are there any questions on this initiative?
Journalist:
How quickly do you hope to get it passed through the parliament?
Mulino:
So we’re working on the legislation right now. The introduction will be based partly on the extent to which we need to accommodate some priority pieces of legislation coming out of the election. And we saw last week that the first bill that was introduced was the 20 per cent reduction in student debt. So subject to working through some of those priority measures, I’ll be looking to introduce it as soon as practicable.
Journalist:
To be honest, I haven’t really heard of this type of situation with life insurance before hearing about this [indistinct]. So how common is this across the [indistinct]?
Mulino:
Yes, so I’ll make a comment and then I can let Jane discuss this more. But what we’re seeing is that the power of genetic testing is increasing. And so obviously there’s a growing appetite for taking advantage of that in the community. The research that Jane and her colleagues undertook demonstrated that there are a number of people out in the community who are wanting to undertake this testing that aren’t because they’re concerned about the impacts on the affordability of insurance and that that number is growing. But I’ll hand over to Jane for the specifics.
Tiller:
Yes, so our research showed that a large number of people when they’re offered genetic testing decide not to have that test once we tell them about the potential life insurance impact. Now, it’s hard to quantify that number because the number of genetic tests being offered is small, but it is growing. As we move into population genomics, we’ll be in a position in the coming years where we’ll be offering everybody in the community genetic testing for risk of disease and hopefully moving into prevention genomics. When we get to that point it will be ever person in the community who’ll have to face this decision and this potential discrimination if we don’t put this ban in place. So at the moment it’s only affecting people who are offered genetic testing. That number will explode in the coming years.
Journalist:
Just another one for Minister Mulino, if that’s okay – we’ve got inflation data coming out today. What are you hoping to see with that, and do you think that it will lead to the RBA cutting rates?
Mulino:
Well, so, as everybody knows, the focus of the government’s macroeconomic management last term was to see inflation come down. And inflation when we came to government after the 2022 election was high and rising. What we’ve seen is that inflation has come down from very high peaks as a result of international shocks to now being within the band both in terms of the headline figures and the trim mean figures. So we’re all hoping, I think, to see inflation remain within that 2 to 3 per cent band, and I think if that’s the case that’s information that the independent RBA would look at very closely when they’re looking at their next decision.
Journalist:
Should they cut rates if it comes down further?
Mulino:
Well, I think I’ve faced many questions over my time as Chair of the House Economics Committee last term and now in this current role in relation to the RBA. What I would stress is that I think Australia benefits from having an independent Reserve Bank. What I would say is if inflation remains in the band, that’s good because that takes pressure off cost of living. Inflation being in the band is a good thing in and of itself. But I would simply say that the independent Reserve Bank would look very closely at that, and they’re looking at inflation staying within the band in a sustainable way.