On 17 March 2010, the long-awaited Insurance Contracts Amendment Bill 2010 (Cth) was introduced into the House of Representatives. The Bill contains numerous and wide-ranging amendments to the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) (the Act) in the first general overhaul of the Act since its enactment in 1984.

Briefly, the Bill contains measures relating to:

• the duty of utmost good faith
• 'bundled' workers' compensation contracts
• 'bundled contracts'
• the use of electronic communication for statutory notices and documents
• the powers of ASIC under the Act
• disclosure and misrepresentations
• remedies for bundled contracts of life insurance
• the rights and obligations of third parties, and
• the division of proceeds from a recovery action.

On 23 June 2010, the Bill was passed by the House of Representatives and subsequently introduced into the Senate on 24 June. However, the second reading of the Bill was adjourned in light of the election being called. The second reading is presently scheduled to continue when Parliament returns on 24 August. However, the outcome of the election may impact upon whether the Bill as presently drafted is considered by the Senate. There is a chance the Bill may be abandoned by a Liberal government (if elected) or a newly comprised Labour government following the election.

Further details are available at Mondaq.