Insurance Contracts Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance) Regulations 2026

The Insurance Contracts Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance) Regulations 2026 were made on 16 September 2026 and set out the operating detail for the ban on life insurers using adverse genetic test results in underwriting. The regulations amend the Insurance Contracts Regulations 2017 to support Schedule 1 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance and Other Measures) Act 2026, which introduced the statutory prohibition on insurers requesting or using genetic test results when deciding whether to offer life insurance or on what terms.

The regulations specify how the ban applies to particular genetic predispositions and confirm that strict liability offences and civil penalty provisions attaching to contraventions fall within the infringement notice scheme under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984. An exposure draft was released for consultation on 5 June 2026, with submissions closing on 26 June 2026, before the regulations were finalised in their present form.

Both the regulations and the underlying Act commence on 8 October 2026. Life insurers, reinsurers and their advisers have a defined window before then to align underwriting manuals, medical questionnaires and claims-handling practices with the prohibition. The amendments apply to life insurance; they do not extend the ban to other classes of insurance, and insurers retain the ability to rely on genetic information volunteered by an applicant for purposes outside underwriting, subject to the detail set out in the regulations themselves.