Field 05 of 05 · Report
healthdirect, TGA and NSW Health CGE
What a genetic test result can and cannot tell you
A genetic test result can give you information that may bear on your health and lifestyle decisions, healthdirect says, but a positive result for a mutation does not always mean you will develop the linked disease. healthdirect calls the test only the first part: the important part is understanding what the result means, and for that, it says, you should talk to a doctor or genetic counsellor.
General information, not medical advice. Call Triple Zero (000) in an emergency, or go to the emergency department of your nearest hospital. The official place to check is healthdirect’s page on genetic testing.
Report field · Findings
Uses of a result
| Kind of result | What the source says it can do |
|---|---|
| Health information | Give information that may bear on health and lifestyle decisions (healthdirect). |
| A favourable result | If it shows you have not inherited a gene variant behind a family health condition, you can choose to give it to a life insurer, which can use it so the family history does not affect your assessment (NSW Health’s Centre for Genetics Education, October 2026). |
| An ancestry result | For autosomal DNA testing, which looks at large numbers of variations across a person’s whole genome, an estimate of ethnic background, made by comparing your result with those of other people who have taken the tests (the same Centre, March 2021). |
For one family of tests, the TGA sets a standard for what a result claims: a nutrigenetic test must have enough data to demonstrate its clinical and analytical claims. Home genetic test kits and the TGA has the TGA’s other rules.
Report field · Limits
Limits of a result
Set out like the notes at the foot of a laboratory report. The numbering is this guide’s; each note is one source’s point, in plain words.
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A positive result
healthdirect’s page on genetic testing explains what a positive result does and does not mean.
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Results depend on the comparison
For ancestry, NSW Health’s Centre for Genetics Education says ethnicity results may not be consistent, because different companies compare results with different databases, and findings may differ from what a person expects.
Report field · Interpretation
Help reading a result
healthdirect says the important part of genetic testing is understanding what the results mean, and that for that you should talk to a doctor or genetic counsellor.
Report field · Distribution
Sharing a result
A result is information about you. healthdirect says ordering from companies based overseas carries a risk that your private information could become available to others. Your genetic data and privacy covers the OAIC’s guidance on genetic information.
NSW Health’s Centre for Genetics Education says that since 8 October 2026, life insurers cannot ask for protected genetic information or use it to count against you, and that if you accidentally share a result that could count against you, the insurer cannot use it to your disadvantage. Genetic tests and life insurance explains the Act.