Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last year I held a roundtable in my office with Assistant Minister Stephen Jones, Dr Jane Tiller, advocates and members of our community who were confronting potential discrimination by life insurance companies due to genetic predispositions. This morning I once again joined with Dr Jane Tiller and the minister to announce that the Albanese Labor government will implement a total ban on the use of genetic testing results in life insurance. This will save lives, and it will mean that people can get the health care that they so desperately need. We will end the ability to discriminate based on genetic test results by banning their use in life insurance underwriting.

We know genetic testing can save lives and we know that the technology is evolving each and every day. We know that the technology can change the way medical practitioners prevent, diagnose, treat and monitor a range of conditions, including cancer and so many others. However, for too long Australians have not been getting potentially life-saving genetic testing, because they were scared of being discriminated against with life insurance products. This has prevented them from making decisions about their own health for fear of missing out on the life insurance that they potentially needed.

Today, we announce that we are fixing this. No Australian should be discouraged from undertaking critical and vital testing out of fear that it could impact their ability to get life insurance. This morning's announcement was led by wonderful and passionate advocates in our community, and the decision makes us a world leader in removing barriers to genetic testing. Throughout the process, the minister consulted academics, community members, health professionals and those with lived experience. There was also an inquiry, which received over 1,000 submissions, 97 per cent of which were supportive of the total ban we announced this morning.

A mutation of the BRCA gene, which is especially prevalent among women in the Jewish community of Macnamara, can lead to a higher risk of cancers, especially breast cancer. We heard this morning from a most inspiring person named Kara. She spoke about her own experience with the BRCA gene. I want to pay tribute to her for her courage and her bravery in leading this reform, because it will help to save others in her position. I also want to acknowledge the Council of Australian Life Insurers, who have fully supported our policy to ban the use of genetic testing. But the real tribute of this speech goes to Dr Jane Tiller, a professional in genetic testing at Monash University and a tireless advocate who has fought and won this important reform for Australia.