Julie-Ann Campbell
Moreton · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“It was Steven Miles who introduced 50c fares, which go to making sure that people can have relief when they tap their card at the bus or to get on the train. And it was many energy workers who came together to make sure that publicly owned renewables could be back in state government hands.”
“We just heard during the MPI in this parliament every excuse that they could think of—every obfuscation that came to mind, every reason—to not back reform that protects our children. The news I want to give to those opposite is this: we will not lie down when it comes to ensuring that Australian children are safe.”
“It is important to remember that yesterday marked a tax cut, the fifth from this government, for every Australian taxpaying worker. It is important to remember that this government, unlike those opposite, backed in minimum and award wage increases which came into effect yesterday.”
“Yesterday didn't just mark the beginning of a new financial year, it marked the next step in the Albanese Labor government's crusade to ensure that cost-of-living relief is delivered to everyday Australians, and it sits in stark contrast to what we've seen from those opposite this week.”
“If you've ever sat in your car at the Coopers Plains crossing on Boundary Road, you would know that it can feel like an absolute eternity. It's been consistently named by the RACQ as one of the worst crossings in our entire state. Locals in my community have been waiting decades for the promised overpass to that rail level crossing.”
“But if you'd cracked open the LNP's budget last Tuesday, what you would have found as you sorted through the papers is that there was no commitment and no timeline to this important project being delivered, despite the state previously having committed $179.5 million to the project as well.”
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“What a truly bizarre contribution from the member for Forrest—extraordinary, bizarre and a bit wild. The member for Forrest has just got up here to bang on about denigrating net zero when net zero has given many, through an incredibly challenging time, electrification, which has helped inoculate them from an incredibly difficult time when it comes to fuel. The member for Forrest has gotten up attacking industry super—superannuation that the coalition, throughout their entire time in this place, have always spoken against, have always said that they didn't agree with. Superannuation is something, right now, that is securing the futures of millions of Australians across this country. The member for Forrest got up and started talking about cronies and DEI.”
“It is designed to work alongside and to reinforce existing global and regional agreements, filling critical gaps in ocean governance where regulation has previously been limited. By promoting stronger cooperation and coordinated action among countries, the high seas treaty will play a pivotal role in safeguarding marine ecosystems, supporting sustainable use of ocean resources and maintaining ocean health. It will be a key mechanism in advancing the global commitment to conserve at least 30 per cent of the world's oceans by 2030.”
“Thankfully, it is also known as the BBNJ agreement or the high seas treaty, which is how I'll be referring to it from now on. Australia has participated in more than two decades of work and negotiations for this treaty, showing our commitment to marine conservation. We were a founding signatory to the treaty, signing it on the first day it was open for signature on 20 September 2003. We are co-chairing the process of preparing for the very first meeting of the conference of the parties involved. The high seas treaty will create a comprehensive international legal structure dedicated to protecting and responsibly managing marine biodiversity in areas that lie beyond the control of individual nations, because the ocean and the environment don't see borders, but that doesn't mean that they don't deserve protection.”
“With this proven record, it is no surprise that Australia is a world leader when it comes to marine conservation, and we're taking an active part in working with other countries to better protect more of the world's oceans. This is necessary because around 60 per cent of the world's oceans are beyond national jurisdiction, but only about one per cent of these waters is currently protected. In June 2023, the United Nations adopted the agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction. It's a mouthful, but its role, its job and our reason for working with it is that it fundamentally helps to protect our oceans and the creatures that call them home.”
“It's a scary prospect when you're a little kid, but what we came to know in our household as we were older was that protecting marine life is incredibly important. Protecting marine areas and ensuring sustainable management of the fishing industry is a priority for this Albanese Labor government too. In 2023, the government tripled the size of the Macquarie Island Marine Park, placing an extra 385,000 square kilometres of Australia's oceans under high protection. That was the biggest act of conservation in the world that year. It was followed in 2024 when Labor quadrupled the size of the Heard and McDonald Islands marine park. That was the biggest act of conservation on the planet in that year.”
“I've got a quick question for you: What covers 3.8 million square kilometres? Or, in another way of putting it, what covers 52 per cent of Australian waters? The answer is, of course, the network of Australian marine parks. This network includes parts of the Coral Sea off Queensland's coast, the waters around Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island, Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean, the Murray Marine Park off South Australia and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean—and so many more. I was raised by a marine biologist. In practical terms, what that meant was that not only was this my dad's area of study; the bottom floor of our house was filled with tanks with all sorts of different marine animals in them.”
“We've temporarily amended the fuel standards to release more supply, and we are leading a taskforce bringing together people from across the country, bringing together experts and bringing together leaders so that there can be a coordinated response to give Australians the relief they need. A crisis in the Middle East should never be exploited for commercial gain and should never be exploited for political gain. The Albanese Labor government is acting for Australians.”
“Our road transport industry is vital to keeping our nation moving and to keeping our economy running—and that's what the second bill does. Without trucks and without their drivers, the movement of essential supplies across Australia stops—and we can't have that. We need to look after our drivers. We need to give them a fair go. Both these bills take the next step in our laser-like focus on the cost of living. They take the next step in making sure we are taking action so that mums and dads and families are not taken down by a crisis in the Middle East. We've already increased supply by releasing 20 per cent of our reserves—reserves that are now held in this country because of a Labor government and reserves that couldn't have been released if we were under a coalition government, with their reserves being kept in Texas.”
“There are two key pieces of legislation that we are talking about today. The first bill, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Doubling Penalties for ACCC Enforcement) Bill 2026, is about doubling penalties. No-one should be taking advantage, on a commercial basis, of people who are struggling to put fuel in their cars. The first bill gives effect to what the Treasurer and the assistant minister announced on 11 March—to double the ACCC's enforcement penalties, including for false and misleading conduct and for cartel behaviour, to a maximum of $100 million per offence. The second bill, the Fair Work Amendment (Fairer Fuel) Bill 2026, gives truckies a fair go and makes sure that our truck drivers aren't disadvantaged by a significant issue in our community.”
“This House is here to act in the best interests of everyday Australians. This House is here to act in the national interest. This House is here to step in when people need that help. We take that responsibility incredibly seriously. Right now, people are doing it tough. Right now, when people pull up to that bowser they're worried about the impact it will have on their hip pocket. We need to do something about that, and we need to do something about that now. That is what the government is focused on. That is what the government is doing when it comes to these two bills before us here today. What Australians need now is not talk. What Australians need now is not politicking from those across the chamber. What Australians need now is action, and that is what the Albanese Labor government is doing.”
“The member for Herbert's speech in this place was interesting. This morning the opposition got up, they got out of bed and they decided that they'd try and be a little bit tricky. They decided that they would try on some more politics in this place—and they've got form. The last time we were in this chamber, we saw them talking to the Australian people irresponsibly and using a crisis in the Middle East for their own political advantage. All that the opposition found out today is that this government, the Albanese Labor government, is dead serious. We are dead serious about tackling the cost of living. We are dead serious about making sure that the Australian people get the relief that they need not just at the bowser but also on their grocery bills and on their medical costs. That is what we focus on every single day in this place.”
“If the shadow Treasurer would like to join us in strengthening Medicare, we would welcome him to work with us. But his record tells an incredibly different story. In 2011, he told the Sydney Morning Herald that delivering sustainable health services requires a free-market approach. We know what that means. I'm a Queenslander; I know what that means. It means privatisation, and it means cuts again and again. That is what we see from this opposition. Those are the shadow Treasurer's words. We believe that health care should be for everyone, not be in the hands of a privatised few.”
“We've rolled out urgent care clinics so that Australians can get care without sitting in an emergency department, and 80 per cent of Australians will soon live within a 20-minute drive of one of those fully bulk-billed clinics. I've got two pretty close to me: one at the bottom of Canossa and one at the bottom of the PA. We've reduced the cost of PBS prescriptions and invested in women's health, aged-care wages and the health workforce of the future. I was at a pharmacy in Corinda the other day. When I spoke to the pharmacist about the impact of $25 PBS medicines, she said that people were taking their medicine, particularly those with chronic disease. People who might not have made that choice previously because of price were now doing that. So these investments in health care impact real people and they help people in our communities.”
“Just before taking on his role, he told the parliament it was 'a system designed to keep people ill' for Labor's political benefit. But, unlike those opposite, this Albanese Labor government came into office with a commitment to strengthen our healthcare system, not talk it down—and not talk Australia down—but strengthen and build our health system, which is one that is the envy of so many the world over. We have not stopped delivering on that promise, on that commitment. We have made the biggest investment in Medicare since its inception. We've backed bulk-billing in. In my electorate, what that means is that we've got 11 practices that were formerly mixed-billing and are now fully bulk-billing, with nine out of 10 GP visits to be bulk-billed by 2030.”
“It introduces an approved application period that gives legislative backing to the existing premium round, which has operated administratively for many years. It applies a public interest test to applications within this period, with a more stringent test for out-of-cycle applications. The minister will be able to delegate the power to approve a premium application, but not the power to refuse one. That is an important safeguard. The bill provides legislative backing for existing processes, including the ability to request further information or ask an insurer to resubmit their application. These are sensible, proportionate reforms that give consumers greater confidence that those premiums that they are being charged reflect genuine value. The shadow Treasurer thinks he knows what's wrong with our health system.”
“Currently, private health insurers are required to apply to the Minister for Health and Ageing if they wish to change the premium for an existing product. This bill amends the Private Health Insurance Act to require an insurer to seek ministerial approval for the premium charged for a proposed new product and for changes that reduce cover, reduce a benefit or change a term or condition of an existing product. This closes that loophole. It means that, if an insurer wants to launch what is essentially the same product at a higher price or quietly reduce the value of a product you hold, they need ministerial sign-off. They need to stump up what they're doing. And that is proper accountability. The bill also makes important modernisation changes to the premium approvals process more broadly.”
“As a result, longstanding policyholders can face unexpected shifts in what their insurance covers, how much they pay or how secure their policy is over time. When these kinds of changes are happening—when things are being deliberately done to Australians to pull the wool over their eyes, and all they want to do is focus on their health, their recovery and their treatment—we need someone to step in, and that's what this bill does. In this way, this cynical practice undermines consumer confidence in the entire system, creating uncertainty not only for those newcomers but for everyone who relies on private health insurance to protect their wellbeing. It's been a loophole, and it has been exploited.”
“This is a government that knows that, when times are tough, our job is to protect Australians and to make sure that their money is safe and their health is looked after. Yes—under existing arrangements, your private health insurer can close your product, open a new one that is functionally identical and charge you more for it, all without the Minister for Health and Ageing scrutinising that premium increase. Phoenixing doesn't just disadvantage people who are signing up to private health insurance for the first time and feel the consequences immediately; it is also detrimental to the wider community of 15.3 million Australians who already hold health cover. These existing members are left vulnerable because changes to products, pricing or fund behaviour often escape proper scrutiny.”
“This government understands that cost of living is the No. 1 thing on families' minds and on Australians' minds. To protect all parties, the bill also includes an immunity from civil proceedings for the publication of this information and modernises the secrecy regime to make it consistent with amendments made by the Regulatory Reform Omnibus Act. The second major component of this bill addresses something that has eroded consumer confidence in private health insurance, and that's product phoenixing. Product phoenixing is where an insurer closes an existing product then opens an identical or similar new product at a higher premium. And why would someone do that? Well, they do it to pull the wool over consumers' eyes.”
“Specifically, the bill will amend the Health Insurance Act and the Private Health Insurance Act to allow for the publication of information about medical practitioners, including their names, their locations, their fees charged by location and their use of gap cover arrangements with insurers. It will also allow for publication of information about hospitals and insurers, including gap cover and contracting arrangements, and the proportion of policyholders experiencing various out-of-pocket costs. Consumer peak bodies and insurer bodies are highly supportive, given the growth in specialist fees and out-of-pocket costs and the rising costs of living. This is unsurprising, because people deserve to be able to make those informed decisions about their health care, and they need it more than ever.”
“Medical practitioners will no longer need to upload their billing information, as it will be drawn from Medicare and hospitals and insurer billing data already collected by government. This is a smart and practical reform; the data already exists, and the government already collects it. We are simply making it visible to the people it affects the most—to patients, to Australians. This bill will ensure Australian patients have the power to compare costs and make informed choices about their own medical care, while not imposing any administrative burden on doctors.”
“It can also be difficult to compare these costs against the fees charged by other specialists. The Medical Costs Finder website exists to help with this, but it has been limited in what it can tell you. Participation in the Medical Costs Finder has been extremely low. Only one to two per cent of specialists and 10 per cent of insurers opted to publish their fees and out-of-pocket costs information. The proposed legislative amendments will allow the Medical Costs Finder website to publish individual medical practitioner fees and insurer out-of-pocket data for common medical services. It's about taking what we know and making sure that it's transparent to people who need that information.”
“Specialist fees in Australia can vary enormously, even for the same procedure in the same part of Australia. According to the ABS, the cost of medical and hospital services is a key driver of health inflation for consumers, which feeds into higher out-of-pocket costs and higher private health insurance premiums. As the Minister for Health and Ageing outlined recently, a growing number of Australians are choosing not to follow through on GP referrals to medical specialists. This is because the cost is a major barrier. During 2024-25, an estimated 8.6 per cent of people—that's more than 800,000 Australians—delayed or entirely skipped specialist appointments because they could not afford them. Right now, if you need to see a specialist, it can be difficult to find out what you'll be charged before you walk in the door.”
“This bill delivers on the Albanese Labor government's commitment to strengthen Medicare. We created Medicare over 40 years ago, and we do not let it sit idle. Because we care about Medicare, we invest in it. We make it bigger, we make it better, we make it stronger. Whether it's by creating more bulk-billing, whether it's by creating new Urgent Care Clinics, whether it's by investing in Medicare mental health clinics or whether it's by making the biggest investment into women's health in history, this bill goes to those same principles. This bill helps Australians find the best value when they need specialist medical advice and treatment, and provides more confidence in their private health insurance by outlawing product phoenixing.”
“Australians take out private health insurance for one main reason: peace of mind—the reassurance that, if something goes wrong, they are covered. But peace of mind requires information, and right now that is difficult for consumers to come by. You can hold a private health insurance policy, you can pay your premiums faithfully, and you can be referred to a specialist yet still have no reliable way of knowing what an appointment is going to cost you until that bill arrives. That is not peace of mind, and it's not good enough. The Health Legislation Amendment (Improving Choice and Transparency for Private Health Consumers) Bill 2026 is about fixing that information gap, because Australians shouldn't have to take a financial leap of faith when it comes to specialist health care.”
“We know that tomorrow marks 12 months since the opposition decided to vote against a tax cut for every Australian. What is scary for the Australian people and what is scary for the Australian economy is that the architect of those decisions is sitting in the opposition leadership chair right now.”
“I'll give the opposition this: they're pretty consistent when it comes to cuts. Those across the chamber love a cut. They love a cut to health, love a cut to education and love a cut to manufacturing support. They have never seen a cut that they didn't like, with one glaring exception. That exception is tax cuts. The Leader of the Opposition who now sits across from us in this chamber voted against a tax cut for every single Australian. I think it's worth imagining a world where the coalition's dreams had come true and they were in government right now. It's a world where 14 million Australians would be paying higher tax. In my electorate, it's a world where we would have 11 fewer bulk-billing clinics, a world where 27,000 people would have 20 per cent higher debt and a world where local apprentices would be $10,000 poorer.”
“In 2026, you can compare the prices of flights to London in seconds. You can research the price of second-hand cars within a 50-kilometre radius. You can check what your neighbour sold their house for last week. It is seamless, it is easy and it's at your fingertips. But when you need to see a medical specialist, when the stakes could not be higher, you are expected to make an appointment without knowing what it will cost you, without knowing the impact on your hip pocket and without knowing the price tag for your family. As families in my local community of Moreton face cost-of-living pressures, that information gap is not a minor inconvenience; it's a real financial risk.”
“It doesn't matter if you're in the under-eights Miniballers or if you're in the under-18s mens and womens sides; they do work every day to bring our community together and to drive sport. I was delighted to be there at the singlet presentation on 7 March with their president, Mark Smith, who's been a driving force of the under-16 and under-18 boys heading to China on 15 April for a trip, bringing those teams together.”
“Yuki Hoe and Xiandi Liu undertook a multilingual song melody featuring Hokkien, Cantonese and Mandarin songs, and, of course, the effervescent Lewis Lee OAM hosted a charity auction. It's great to celebrate them on this day, but the work that they do in our community has impacts on so many people every day. Basketball isn't just about how many three-pointers you can net. It's about community, and that's what sport is about—bringing people together, making lifelong friendships. There is no better example of that than the Runcorn Rockets. They were established in 1999 and have an ethos of fun, personal development and team spirit, and they train at Runcorn State High School. They've got over 900 members, with up to 60 teams playing weekly.”
“A big thanks to those at the bowls club who helped put that together—Sam and Renae—as well as Martha Bullen and the whole Moreton team for making it a great success to celebrate our young women leaders. Moreton has a brand-new community centre, and it's thanks to the Chinese Fraternity Association of Queensland, led by their president, Maria Hong, and their CEO, Fanny Lam. The CFAQ supports seniors, strengthens community connections and preserves cultural heritage. The celebration included so many special parts of my community on Brisbane's south side. The Brisbane First Chinese Scout Group sang the national anthem, 'Waltzing Matilda' and 'Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree'.Member Yang Yang presented a fabulous dance.”
“Earlier this month, the Wellers Hill Bowls Club was ablaze with purple, and it wasn't just because we were celebrating International Women's Day. It was also because we were celebrating the young women who were the recipients of the Moreton Emerging Women Leaders Award. They're now in grade 7 and in grade 12, and, with their parents, carers and teachers as well as many people from our local community, we heard from inspirational panel members talking to those young women about their journey. The Hon. Leeanne Enoch, the first First Nations woman to sit in cabinet, was there. Nadia Bromley, the CEO of Women's Legal Service Queensland, was there, as was Senior Constable Lisa Easton from the Sherwood Police.”
“What surprised them last year was the strength of the pick up in private demand, not public spending and not fiscal policy. Private demand strengthened substantially more than expected in mid-2025. In the December quarter, private demand contributed more than three times as much to growth as public demand. When you contrast this side of the chamber with those opposite, what is clear is that we are investing in cost-of-living relief for everyday Australians and they only ever cut. Debate adjourned. Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:17”
“Whether for free TAFE or for 20 per cent off student debt, the opposition has form. We've delivered surpluses. We've turned those Liberal deficits into surpluses, and we've brought the budget into much better shape. The budget is over $233 billion better than what we inherited, with over $114 billion in savings found. It's the only mid-year update on record to deliver a better bottom line in every year of the forward estimates, with less debt in every year and net policy decisions that improve the bottom line. Inflation has been higher for longer than we'd like, but it's substantially lower than its 2022 peak and much lower than we inherited from the coalition. There are temporary pressures such as the end of energy rebates, global volatility and the escalating situation in the Middle East. The RBA governor has been very clear.”
“I think it's worth looking at the opposition's record when it comes to the economy that has such a big impact on every Australian, because the opposition left us with an inflation rate with a six in front of it. Public demand grew faster than private demand two thirds of the time under them. They went to this last election promising bigger deficits, more debt and a tax hike on every Australian to fund nuclear reactors. That's the reality. We don't have to imagine what the opposition would do if in government, because they have shown their colours time and time again. Not only do we know they have a track record of cuts, not only do they want to increase taxes for every Australian; they've also voted against cost-of-living relief measure after cost-of-living relief measure.”
“This debate, at its core, is about what the opposition would cut, because they've got a cracking track record of it. Last week I was out knocking on doors. I spoke to a mum in Corinda, and she was worried about how her adult children would get into housing. I spoke to a dad in Tarragindi with a five-month-old, and he was worried about health care. I spoke to a young couple in Corinda, and they were worried about the cost of their bills. It's clear that people are doing it tough. People are doing it tough across this country, and that is why the Albanese Labor government is focused with a laser on our No. 1 priority, which is delivering cost-of-living relief. Cost-of-living pressures are real, particularly for those on low and fixed incomes. We're taking action every day on easing the cost of living for everyday Australians.”
“Deputy Speaker Lawrence, I've got a secret to let you in on, and it's that when the coalition, those opposite, talk about cutting spending they're talking about cutting things that Australians need. The member for Blair is right. We don't know what cuts they are talking about when it comes to this budget. We don't know whether it's going to be health—they might go into the idea of axing bulk-billing again—or whether it's going to be manufacturing. We know that last time they were in government they cut the guts out of manufacturing, sent jobs offshore and booted the car industry out of this country. Is it going to be cuts to education, going back to what the coalition did in the Howard years, making sure that tertiary students were doing it even tougher?”
“On Saturday 14 March we went to the club to celebrate a big facilities upgrade which has transformed that club. The beating soul of that transformation is Chris Hourigan, the chair of the building, infrastructure and community committee, and the president, Brett Whalley. The club proudly boasts being the most successful rugby club in Australia. It has produced more than 70 Queensland representatives and more than 30 Australian representatives. The federal government contributed funding for a 39.6-kilowatt solar system for the clubhouse roof. These upgrades provide the community with better-quality facilities that can be enjoyed by all. (Time expired)”
“What is the size of 16 Suncorp stadiums? The answer is the Acacia Ridge TAFE. It's the largest trade training facility in the Southern Hemisphere, both in footprint and in student numbers. It has more than a thousand students a day, six tonnes of potato gems a year and 6,000 iced coffees a year. I visited there with the Minister for Skills and Training on 16 March to talk about the $1.8 million for EV skills training facilities through Labor's TAFE Technology Fund. It means that more than 400 students a year, both in Brisbane and Townsville, will benefit from EV training facilities, enabling new skills, new careers and good jobs in clean energy. I want to congratulate and acknowledge Souths Rugby Union Club, the Magpies, in my seat in Brisbane.”
“That's why the status quo is changing today. Families have had to make difficult decisions about their health because of the fear of financial penalties, and this government is delivering the protections people were promised and fixing a problem that those opposite ignored for a decade. Medical practice is moving forward in leaps and in bounds. The law must keep pace, and, with this bill, it will. I commend the bill to the House.”
“It's about making sure that people understand and have no barriers to accessing testing that may help save their lives, and it's part of the commitment that this Labor government has made to health in so many different ways. Ordinarily, we talk about the commitment to affordable and accessible health care, whether that be through $25 caps on PBS medicines, through the creation of urgent care clinics or through making more bulk-billing in our local communities. But this is important too, because it means that people can have the confidence to go and get those tests. It means that their families know that their loved ones can go and get those tests and that it will not be a burden in terms of their life insurance. For years, advocates have campaigned for this change. Researchers have documented the harm of the status quo.”
“Not proceeding with it is the right call, and it's consistent with the government's broader commitment to reducing regulatory burden on advisers where that regulation does not enhance consumer protection. Deputy Speaker, you would have seen in this place and in the other place work being done to ensure that consumers are protected around a range of policy initiatives. This does not impact on that. This bill brings together four very practical, well-considered reforms, but the one that will be felt most in communities like Moreton on Brisbane's south side is the ban on the use of adverse genetic test results in life insurance. As I said at the front of this speech, this part of the bill is fundamentally about health.”
“Finally, schedule 4 repeals the stage 2 financial adviser registration requirement, which would have required individual advisers to register themselves annually with ASIC from 1 July 2026. Stage 1 registration, which already requires Australian financial services licensees to register their authorised advisers with ASIC, achieves the objective of a functioning and effective disciplinary system. The Financial Services and Credit Panel already has the authority to take necessary action against financial advisers where required, including suspending or cancelling registration. Stage 2 would result in added cost and administrative burden, including bespoke IT infrastructure, without meaningfully enhancing consumer protection.”
“Multilateral development banks are rapidly evolving in their financing models in response to the G20's calls for more innovative instruments to address global development financing gaps, and, without a flexible legislative framework, Australia risks falling behind in its ability to participate in these arrangements. Crucially, new financial obligations under this framework will remain subject to parliamentary scrutiny through disallowable legislative instruments. Transparency and oversight are maintained. What changes is that the legislative burden of routine, non-controversial transactions is reduced, freeing up Treasury officials to focus on substantive decisions, not administrative process.”
“As the minister has stated, this improves outcomes for millions of Australians, as these services are commonly used by superannuation funds and institutional investors, among other financial firms. Schedule 3 modernises Australia's legislative framework for our participation in multilateral development banks and the International Monetary Fund. These amendments provide a more flexible and efficient appropriations framework, including provisions to support the government's commitments announced in the 2024-25 MYEFO process, and this covers the purchase of US$150 million in hybrid capital from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It also enables the purchase of US$200 million in guarantees through the Asian Development Bank's Innovative Finance Facility for Climate in Asia and the Pacific.”
“There are three carefully targeted exemptions: the comparable regulator exemption, the professional investor exemption and the market maker exemption. They benefit Australian superannuation funds, institutional investors and businesses by giving them access to a greater range of international investments, specialised global financial advice and new sources of financing. The bill also introduces a fast-track licensing pathway for foreign financial services providers already regulated by comparable overseas regimes. This removes the need to go through the full fit-and-proper person assessment when applying for an Australian licence to service wholesale clients, and it reduces duplication without compromising market integrity.”
“The government consulted closely with genetics research organisations, patient advocates, the life insurance industry and the medical community throughout the design of the measure and draft legislation. This is a reform that the community has asked for, that the evidence has supported and that the industry has accepted. Schedule 2 of the bill introduces licensing exemptions for certain foreign financial service providers who operate in Australia's wholesale and professional investor markets. Currently, foreign financial services providers must hold an Australian financial services licence or rely on temporary relief instruments issued by ASIC. This bill elevates those arrangements to primary law, giving industry certainty and improving regulatory oversight—oversight that we know is needed in this space.”
“The ban makes amendments to the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 and related amendments to the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, aligning our antidiscrimination laws with the ban. It also creates civil penalties of up to $1.65 million and criminal offences for non-compliance enforced by ASIC. These are not token penalties; they are a clear signal that the government is serious about this change. If someone seeks to circumvent them, they will feel the full force of penalties and the law. To make sure these protections keep pace with advances in medical science, the bill requires five-yearly reviews of the operation of the provisions to be tabled in parliament. This ban is underpinned by extensive stakeholder engagement and consultation.”
“This bill removes the chilling effect that genetic testing results have had on people's willingness to seek potentially life-saving information. The objective is straightforward: to provide certainty to individuals that undertaking genetic testing will not impact their ability to obtain life insurance cover or the terms and conditions of that cover. For too long, the industry relied on a voluntary moratorium. In June 2023, Monash University published the final report from the A-GLIMMER study—the Australian genetics and life insurance moratorium: monitoring the effectiveness and response . The report was unequivocal: the moratorium was inadequate to address and prevent genetic discrimination in life insurance. It recommended a legislative model of prohibition, and that is exactly what this bill does and delivers.”
“And, finally, it repeals the stage 2 financial adviser registration requirement. Schedule 1 of this bill bans life insurers from using those adverse genetic test results in those underwriting decisions. From the date of commencement, an insurer will not be able to use your genetic test results to decide whether to offer you cover or to set the terms of that cover. This has a big impact. This is a measure that is carefully designed. Individuals can still choose to volunteer their test results, with written consent, where it benefits them, and insurers can still use information about clinical diagnoses, symptoms and family medical history. That distinction matters because life insurance needs to be properly risk rated.”