Mental health discrimination in the travel industry
The Commission has concluded a major statutory investigation into mental health discrimination by travel insurers.
About the investigation
The Commission’s first investigation examined mental health discrimination by travel insurers. It looked at the compliance of several Australian travel insurers over an eight-month period.
The investigation focused on three companies that made up around 37 per cent of Australia’s travel insurance industry – Allianz & AGA, Suncorp and World Nomads Group.
The investigation found that, in an eight-month period, these travel insurers sold more than 365,000 policies containing terms that discriminated against people with mental health conditions.
These insurers were unable to establish that they could rely on any of the available exceptions under the Equal Opportunity Act to lawfully discriminate.
We are pleased to report that, during the investigation, all three insurers committed to changing their practice of issuing travel insurance policies with a blanket mental health exclusion. This means that some of the largest travel insurers in the Australian market will now provide some cover for mental health conditions.
The report also considered important steps insurers can take to comply with the law in future.
Watch our video explainer below.
Making a complaint as a consumer
To help you with questions you may have about travel insurance and mental health, we have created a consumer fact sheet.
If you believe you have been discriminated against because of a mental health condition, disability or another protected personal characteristic you can call us on 1300 292 153 or submit an online complaint form.
We offer a free, fair and timely dispute-resolution service that can help to resolve complaints of discrimination and harassment.