Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in New Zealand are among the most progressive in the world, and the country is considered to be

gay-friendly Gay-friendly or LGBT-friendly places, policies, people, or institutions are those that are open and welcoming to gay or LGBT people. They typically aim to create an environment that is supportive, respectful, and non-judgmental towards the LGB ...

. The protection of LGBT rights is advanced, relative to other countries in Oceania, and is one of the most liberal

in the world ''In the World'' is an album by jazz saxophonist Clifford Jordan which was recorded in 1969 and released on the Strata-East label in 1972. The album was rereleased on CD as part of ''The Complete Clifford Jordan Strata-East Sessions'' by Mosaic ...

, with the country being the first in the region and thirteenth in the world to enact

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

. Throughout the late 20th century, the rights of the LGBT community received more awareness and male same-sex sexual activity was decriminalised in 1986, with an age of consent of 16, equal to heterosexual intercourse. After recognising gender-neutral

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

since 2004, New Zealand legalised both same-sex marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples in 2013. Discrimination regarding sexual orientation, and

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

and expression has been banned since 1993. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual people have been allowed to serve openly in the military since 1993.

Opinion poll An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...

s have found that a majority of New Zealanders support same-sex marriage.

Legality of same-sex sexual activity

Same-sex relationships and activities ( mi,

takatāpui ''Takatāpui'' (also spelled ''takataapui'') is a Te Reo Māori (Māori language) term, which is used in a similar way to LGBTQI+. ''Takatāpui'' can also refer to an individual who is SOGIE diverse. When speaking te reo Māori, LGBTQI+ people o ...

, link=no) were largely accepted amongst pre-colonial

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

society. There were no legal or social punishments for engaging in same-sex sexual activity. Male

homosexual intercourse Homosexual sexual practices are sexual practices within the context of homosexuality. These include: *Gay sexual practices *Lesbian sexual practices See also

*Human sexual activity#Homosexuality *Transgender sexuality#Sexual practices *Men who ...

was first criminalised when New Zealand became part of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

in 1840 and adopted

British law The United Kingdom has four legal systems, each of which derives from a particular geographical area for a variety of historical reasons: English and Welsh law, Scots law, Northern Ireland law, and, since 2007, purely Welsh law (as a result of ...

making " buggery" a crime with a maximum sentence of death. (In practice, New Zealand used the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

only for offences of murder and once for treason before abolishment in 1961). In 1861, Britain replaced the death penalty for buggery with life imprisonment. New Zealand enacted similar legislation six years later. In 1893, the law in New Zealand was broadened to outlaw any sexual activity between men. Penalties included life imprisonment, hard labour and

flogging Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...

. Sex between women has never been criminalised in New Zealand. The

Dorian Society __NOTOC__ The Dorian Society (1962–1988) was the first New Zealand organisation for gay men. It was founded on 27 May 1962 by a group of men including Cees Kooge, John McKay, Brett Rawnsley, and Claude Tanner, the latter of whom would be elected ...

(1962–88) was the first New Zealand organisation for homosexual men. The British

Homosexual Law Reform Society The Homosexual Law Reform Society was an organisation that campaigned in the United Kingdom for changes to the set of laws which criminalised homosexuality at the time. History In 1954 the Conservative government set up a Departmental Committe ...

provided legal assistance to the society. It drafted a petition calling for the decriminalisation of homosexual acts. Signed by 75 prominent citizens, a petition was presented to (and rejected by) Parliament in 1968. In 1972, academic

Ngahuia Te Awekotuku Ngahuia Te Awekotuku (born 1949) is a New Zealand academic specialising in Māori cultural issues and a lesbian activist. In 1972, she was famously denied a visa to visit the United States on the basis of her sexuality. Biography Te Awekotuk ...

was denied a visitors permit to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on the grounds that she was a homosexual. Publicity around the incident was a catalyst in the formation of

gay liberation The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoffman, 2007, pp.xi-xiii ...

groups in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

and

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. The 1970s saw the growth of the modern

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and gay movements in New Zealand. MP

Venn Young Venn Spearman Young (16 February 1929 – 14 January 1993) was a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the National Party, and served as a Cabinet Minister in the government of Robert Muldoon. He is known for his failed attempt to legalise ...

introduced a bill, entitled the ''Crimes Amendment Bill'', in July 1974, which was the first bill to propose decriminalising homosexual acts between consenting adults. It was unsuccessful and was criticised by gay rights organisations for setting the age of consent at 21, as opposed to the age of 16 for heterosexual acts. Gay rights organisations refused to support bills which did not present an equal age of consent. A similar bill, introduced by MP

Warren Freer Warren Wilfred Freer (27 December 1920 – 29 March 2013) was a New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party. He represented the Mount Albert electorate from 1947 to . He is internationally known as the first Western politician ever ...

in 1979, failed in its parliamentary reading in 1980, due to lack of support for the same reasons over the age disparity. In 1985,

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Fran Wilde Dame Frances Helen Wilde (née Kitching, born 11 November 1948) is a New Zealand politician, and former Wellington Labour member of parliament, Minister of Tourism and Mayor of Wellington. She was the first woman to serve as Mayor of Wellingt ...

consulted with gay rights groups to develop the '' Homosexual Law Reform Bill'', which she introduced to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

on 8 March. It proposed removing the offence of consensual sex between males over the age of sixteen. Over the course of 14 months, the bill attracted organised opposition outside Parliament, including an anti-reform petition (which was rejected by Parliament). Inside Parliament, multiple attempts to raise the age of consent to 18 were rejected. The bill passed its final reading on 9 July 1986, 49 votes in favour to 44 opposed. It achieved

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

(becoming the ''Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986'') on 11 July 1986, and it came into effect on 8 August that year. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and (implicitly) gender identity was outlawed several years later by the ''

Human Rights Act 1993 The Human Rights Act 1993 is an Act of the Parliament of New Zealand that deals with discrimination. It was a consolidation and amendment of the Race Relations Act 1971 and the Human Rights Commission Act 1977. It came into force on 1 February ...

''.

Expungement of convictions

Individuals convicted and imprisoned for homosexual offences prior to August 1986 were not automatically eligible to hide the offences under the '' Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004'', since the Act applies retrospectively to current and abolished offences equally. However, individuals with an otherwise clean criminal record could apply to a District Court to have the conviction disregarded. However, this process only concealed these convictions – it did not erase them altogether. On 28 June 2017, the Government introduced a bill which would allow men convicted for homosexual offences to apply to wipe out their convictions from the records. On 6 July, the bill had its first reading. Justice Minister

Amy Adams Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, incl ...

moved a motion to apologise for convictions the same day, to which Parliament agreed unanimously. The bill was passed by Parliament on 3 April 2018 and received royal assent on 9 April 2018, becoming the ''Criminal Records (Expungement of Convictions for Historical Homosexual Offences) Act 2018'', and going into effect the following day.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

The ''Property (Relationships) Amendment Act 2001'' gives ''de facto'' couples, whether opposite or same sex, the same property rights as existed since 1976 for married couples on the break-up of a relationship. The ''

Civil Union Act 2004 The Civil Union Act 2004 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. It was passed into law on Thursday 9 December 2004 by a final vote of 65–55 in the New Zealand Parliament.civil unions for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. The Act is very similar to the ''

Marriage Act 1955 The Marriage Act is an Act of Parliament that was passed in 1955 in New Zealand and is administered by the Ministry of Justice. It repealed the Marriage Act 1908. Forbidden marriages, those between relatives and relatives in a civil union, are ...

'' with "marriage" replaced by "civil union". The following year, the ''Relationships (Statutory References) Act 2005'' was passed to remove discriminatory provisions from most legislation.

Same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage in New Zealand was refused judicial approval by the Court of Appeal after ''Quilter v Attorney-General'' in 1994. However, unlike Australia and much of the United States, New Zealand refused to pre-emptively ban same-sex marriage in case a future parliament decided to approve it with an amended marriage act. In December 2005, an abortive

member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in w ...

failed at its

first reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming, ...

to do so. Until a marriage bill was passed in April 2013, same-sex marriage and adoption were the final barrier before full LGBT formal and substantive equality in New Zealand. In July 2012, a member's bill by Labour MP

Louisa Wall Louisa Hareruia Wall (born 17 February 1972) is a former New Zealand Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2011 to 2022. She has represented New Zealand in both netball as a Silver Fern and rugby union as a m ...

which proposed defining marriage to be inclusive regardless of gender was drawn from the ballot. The ''Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill'' passed its first reading on 29 August 2012, 80 votes in favour to 40 opposed (with one abstention). Preliminary reports evidenced widespread support for same-sex marriage both within Parliament (notably from Prime Minister

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to 2016. After resigning from bo ...

) and amongst the general public, with polls conducted in May 2012 indicating 63% support. In December 2012, former

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Dame Catherine Tizard Dame Catherine Anne Tizard (née Maclean; 4 April 1931 – 31 October 2021) was a New Zealand politician who served as mayor of Auckland City from 1983 to 1990, and the 16th governor-general of New Zealand from 1990 to 1996. She was the first ...

starred in an online video campaign supporting same-sex marriage, alongside New Zealand singers

Anika Moa Anika Rose Moa (born 21 May 1980) is a New Zealand recording artist and television presenter. Her debut album '' Thinking Room'', was released in September 2001, which reached number one on the New Zealand Albums Chart and provided two T ...

, Boh Runga and

Hollie Smith Hollie Smith (born 17 November 1982) is a New Zealand soul singer-songwriter based in Auckland, New Zealand. Her four solo albums ''Long Player, Humour and the Misfortune of Others, Water or Gold,'' and ''Coming In From The Dark'' have all reach ...

, as well as Olympian

Danyon Loader Danyon Joseph Loader (born 21 April 1975) is an Olympic champion, former world record holder swimmer from New Zealand, based in Dunedin. He remains the national record holder in the 400 metre freestyle short course. He swam for New Zealand a ...

. The bill passed its second and third readings by 77–44, and became law on 19 April 2013. However, same-sex marriages were not conducted until August, when the law went into effect.

Adoption and parenting

There are no specific barriers preventing an LGBT individual from adopting children, except that a male individual cannot adopt a female child. The same-sex marriage law became effective from 19 August 2013, and since then married same-sex couples have been able to adopt children jointly. Unmarried couples of any sex and couples in a civil union can jointly adopt children following a

New Zealand High Court The High Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Matua o Aotearoa) is the superior court of New Zealand. It has general jurisdiction and responsibility, under the Senior Courts Act 2016, as well as the High Court Rules 2016, for the administration ...

ruling in December 2015. The court ruled that the ban breached the ''

New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (sometimes known by its acronym, NZBORA or simply BORA) is a statute of the Parliament of New Zealand part of New Zealand's uncodified constitution that sets out the rights and fundamental freedoms of an ...

''. The minimum age to adopt in New Zealand is 20 years for a related child and 25 years or the child's age plus 20 years (whichever is greater) for an unrelated child. On 21 May 2006, Green List MP

Metiria Turei Metiria Leanne Agnes Stanton Turei (born 1970) is a New Zealand academic and a former New Zealand politician. She was a Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2017 and the female co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 2009 to 2017 ...

raised the issue of

LGBT adoption Same-sex adoption is the adoption of children by same-sex couples. It may take the form of a joint adoption by the couple, or of the adoption by one partner of the other's biological child (stepchild adoption). Joint adoption by same-sex coup ...

, arguing that New Zealand's ''Adoption Act 1955'' did not meet the complexities of contemporary New Zealand society. She argued following the enactment of civil unions in particular that eligible lesbian and gay prospective parents should be enabled to legally adopt. Many lesbian couples are now raising children in New Zealand. Where these children are conceived through donor (sperm) insemination, both partners are recognised on the children's birth certificates (the birth mother as "mother", the other mother as "other parent"). This is following the ''Care of Children Act 2004'', which replaced the ''Status of Children Act 1969''. Fostering and guardianship are also recognised under New Zealand law and regulation, and reproductive technology has been accessible since 1994. The donor is not recognised as a legal parent in New Zealand law. However, parents and donors can make formal agreements as to how things will work but the courts do have flexibility as to whether they recognise these agreements or not, under section 41 of the ''Care of Children Act 2004''. Lesbian women who have trouble conceiving using private donor insemination may be eligible, as other New Zealand women are, to help through publicly funded fertility treatment. However, there are conditions on this and every woman needing fertility treatment is scored as to her eligibility. Now passed, the current ''

Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013 The Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand, which since 19 August 2013, allows same-sex couples to legally marry. The Act was proposed as a member's bill by MP Louisa Wall in May 2012, and ...

'' enables eligible married same-sex parents to adopt children as there is a clause to that effect contained therein. However, known-relative adoptions in New Zealand have outnumbered stranger adoptions since the mid-1970s; between 2007 and 2013, there were 18 known-relative and stepchild adoptions for every 10 stranger adoptions.

Discrimination protections

The ''

'' ( mi, Te Ture Tika Tangata 1993) outlaws discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and, implicitly, gender identity/expression. Initially, this law temporarily exempted government activities until 1999. In 1998, an amendment bill was introduced making this exemption permanent; this was abandoned following a change of government in 1999. The new

Government instead passed another amendment to apply the Act to government activities, and also to create a new ability for the courts to "declare" legislation inconsistent with the Act. Article 27(2) of the Act reads as follows: Some examples of discrimination sometimes still occur. In January 2006, news headlines were made by a sperm bank's policy of refusing donations from gay men. In March 2006, the policy was amended. Reportedly, some heterosexual male sperm donors had vetoed the use of their gametes for lesbian couples who seek artificial insemination.

Military service

In New Zealand it has been legal for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons to serve in the military since New Zealand's Human Rights Act 1993 ended most forms of employment discrimination against lesbians, gay men and bisexuals. New Zealand military leaders did not oppose the end of military service discrimination. The

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...

and the

New Zealand Police The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintai ...

are amongst many government agencies to have adopted "gay-friendly" policies.

Hate crime laws

Section 9(1)(h) of the ''Sentencing Act 2002'' makes it an

aggravating factor Aggravation, in law, is "any circumstance attending the commission of a crime or tort which increases its guilt or enormity or adds to its injurious consequences, but which is above and beyond the essential constituents of the crime or tort itself. ...

in sentencing if a criminal offence constituted a

hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

, which includes sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. More recently, New Zealand's LGBT community was concerned about the continued existence of the

provocation Provocation, provoke or provoked may refer to: * Provocation (legal), a type of legal defense in court which claims the "victim" provoked the accused's actions * Agent provocateur, a (generally political) group that tries to goad a desired res ...

defence (sections 169 and 170 of the ''Crimes Act 1961'') argument which they held had mitigated the seriousness of homophobic homicides through reducing probable, intentional murder convictions to the lesser charge and penalty of manslaughter (see "

gay panic defence The gay panic defense or homosexual advance defence is a legal strategy in which a defendant claims to have acted in a state of violent, temporary insanity, committing assault or murder, because of unwanted same-sex sexual advances, usually bet ...

"). In 2009, the ''Crimes (Provocation Repeal) Amendment Act 2009'' was enacted to repeal sections 169 and 170. The bill was introduced to Parliament in August 2009 by Justice Minister Simon Power, although its introduction was largely stemmed from the trial for the

murder of Sophie Elliott On 9 January 2008, 22-year-old Sophie Kate Elliott (born 11 June 1985) was stabbed to death by ex-boyfriend Clayton Robert Weatherston (born 9 January 1976), in Dunedin, New Zealand. The crime and trial were covered extensively in the news med ...

by her ex-boyfriend, rather than the LGBT community. The repeal bill received wide parliamentary and public support, and passed its third reading on 26 November 2009, 116 votes to 5 with only

ACT New Zealand ACT New Zealand, known simply as ACT (), is a right-wing, classical-liberal political party in New Zealand. According to former party leader Rodney Hide, ACT's values are "individual freedom, personal responsibility, doing the best for our natur ...

opposed, and became effective on 8 December 2009.

Gender identity and expression

Sex reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...

is legal in New Zealand. An individual is permitted to change their name and legal gender on official documents, including birth certificates, if they can provide medical evidence that they have "acquired a physical conformation that accords with their gender identity". Originally, this was only available to individuals who had undergone genital-reconstruction surgery. However, in June 2008, the Family Court ruled that full sex reassignment surgeries are not always necessary to meet this legal threshold. Sex reassignment surgeries take place largely in private hospitals or overseas. In the 1990s, New Zealand was dubbed a "world leader" for such operations, with comparatively low cost and relaxed public attitudes. In 2014, however, the country's only specialist

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

retired, leaving transgender people seeking such operations in a state of limbo. Several chose to join the waiting list for publicly funded surgeries, which are limited to only four every two years (three for male to female, and one for female to male), or to go abroad. In October 2018, the Government announced its intention to increase the number of publicly funded operations. At that time, there were 111 people on the waiting list, meaning some had to wait up to 50 years. The New Zealand

Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

noted in its 2004 report on the status of human rights in New Zealand that

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

and

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

people in New Zealand face discrimination in several aspects of their lives, however, the law is unclear on the legal status of discrimination based on

.Human Rights Commission: "Human Rights in New Zealand Today – New Zealand Action Plan for Human Rights. August 2004. P.92 Currently, the ''

'' does not explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender. Whilst it is believed that gender identity is protected under the laws preventing discrimination on the basis of either sex or sexual orientation, it is not known how this applies to those who have not had, or will not have, sex reassignment surgery. Some overseas courts have determined that transgender people are covered by prohibitions on discrimination based on sex, but there is also international case law suggesting it is not.Heike Polster, "Gender Identity as a New Prohibited Ground of Discrimination" New Zealand Journal of Public and International Law. Vol 1 No 1 November 2003 at p180-181 Even if it is, it is unlikely to apply to transgender people who have not or will not have sex reassignment surgery.Heike Polster, "Gender Identity as a New Prohibited Ground of Discrimination" New Zealand Journal of Public and International Law. Vol 1 No 1 November 2003 at p182-183. Likewise, placing gender identity under the prohibitions on the grounds of sexual orientation is problematic. While there is some inconsistent international case law, it has been noted that gender identification and sexual orientation are too unrelated for this to be suitable. The International Commission of Jurists and the

International Service for Human Rights The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) is an independent, non-profit organization with offices in Geneva and New York which promotes and protects human rights by supporting human rights defenders, strengthening human rights standards ...

in 2007 created the

Yogyakarta Principles The Yogyakarta Principles is a document about human rights in the areas of sexual orientation and gender identity that was published as the outcome of an international meeting of human rights groups in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in November 2006. Th ...

to apply international human rights law to gender identity and sexual orientation. The first and most arguably most important is that human rights are available to all humans, regardless of gender identity, and that states should amend legislation "to ensure its consistency with the universal enjoyment of all human rights." This report suggested that transgender people were "one of the most marginalised groups" in New Zealand, leading the Human Rights Commission to publish a comprehensive inquiry entitled "To Be Who I Am" in 2008, which outlined some of the concerns listed below. These concerns are particularly important considering that discrimination and exclusion towards transgender, intersex and gender non-conforming persons has been shown to increase the risk of

mental health issues A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

and suicide. On 10 August 2018, the Government Administration Select Committee discussed the ''Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Bill'', which was introduced on 10 August 2017 and would amend New Zealand laws relating to legal sex changes. The committee recommended allowing adults to change sex by submitting a statutory declaration saying they intend to continue to identify as a person of the chosen sex and understand the consequences of the application. No medical evidence would be required. Minors aged 16 and 17 would be able to do this with the consent of their guardian, confirmation from a health professional that they understand the consequences of the application and that the change is in their interests. The committee also recommended including gender options such as intersex and X (unspecified). In November 2017, the New Zealand Parliament introduced the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Bill to allow people to change the sex on their birth certificates by statutory declaration, avoiding having to go through the Family Court or show evidence of medical treatment to change their sex. The Bill passed its third reading on 9 December 2021 and received the Royal Assent on 15 December 2021. It will make it easier for transgender and non-binary individuals to update gender details on birth certificates. This law comes into effect in 2023.

Intersex rights

New Zealand laws and policies that prohibit

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...

explicitly permit "normalising" medical interventions on intersex infants and girls. Material presented by the Australasian Paediatric Endocrine Group to the Australian Senate in 2013 showed New Zealand to be a regional outlier in surgeries in cases of

congenital adrenal hyperplasia Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a group of autosomal recessive disorders characterized by impaired cortisol synthesis. It results from the deficiency of one of the five enzymes required for the synthesis of cortisol in the adrenal cort ...

, with genital surgical interventions favoured on infant girls aged less than 6 months. In October 2016, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued observations on practices in New Zealand, including recommendations to ensure "that no one is subjected to unnecessary medical or surgical treatment during infancy or childhood, guaranteeing the rights of children to bodily integrity, autonomy and self-determination". A 2016 intersex round table by the Human Rights Commission on genital "normalising" surgeries found that there was a lack of political will to address surgeries, and concerns with service delivery to parents and families, the development of legislative safeguards and a need to test the right to bodily autonomy against the ''

''. Since November 2011, New Zealand passports are available with an "X" sex descriptor. These were originally introduced for people transitioning gender. Birth certificates are available at birth showing "indeterminate" sex if it is not possible to assign a sex. In March 2017, representatives of

Intersex Trust Aotearoa New Zealand Intersex Aotearoa is a nonprofit organisation based in New Zealand, and is a national advocacy and peer support organisation for intersex people. The organisation was founded in 1996 by Mani Mitchell, and has previously been known as the Interse ...

participated in an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

and New Zealand consensus "Darlington Statement" by intersex community organizations and others. The statement calls for legal reform, including the criminalization of deferrable

intersex medical interventions Intersex medical interventions, also known as intersex genital mutilations (IGM), are surgical, hormonal and other medical interventions performed to modify atypical or ambiguous genitalia and other sex characteristics, primarily for the purposes ...

on children, an end to legal classification of sex, protections from discrimination and harmful practices and improved access to peer support.

Conversion therapy

Conversion therapy, the

pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...

practice of trying to change an individual's

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

from

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...

using psychological, physical, or spiritual interventions, is illegal in New Zealand, . There is no reliable evidence that sexual orientation can be changed and medical institutions warn that conversion therapy practices are ineffective and potentially harmful. In July 2018, Health Minister David Clark called conversion therapy "abhorrent". In August 2018, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced that a conversion therapy ban could be considered as part of a reform to the

. The

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

, the

, the New Zealand Association of Counsellors and every medical organisation in New Zealand support banning the

practice. A petition to ban it was launched in mid-July, and had collected about 10,000 signatures within a week. In mid-August 2018, two petitions to ban conversion therapy were presented to Parliament, with a combined total of about 20,000 signatures. A bill to prohibit conversion therapy was introduced to Parliament in October 2018. It foresees 6–12 months imprisonment and a fine of between 5,000 and 10,000

New Zealand dollar The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New ...

s for offenders. In 2019 the Justice Select Committee reviewed petitions to ban conversion therapy. Prime Minister

Jacinda Ardern Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the member of ...

expressed concerns about the impact conversion therapy could have on vulnerable youth, but said the committee would be "keeping in mind that there will be those who perceive that it's a part of their freedom of expression within their religion". In November 2019 the Justice Select Committee failed to recommend a ban, concluding: "we believe more work needs to be done before any decision is taken to ban it. In particular, thought must be given to how to define conversion therapy, who the ban would apply to, and how to ensure that rights relating to freedom of expression and religion were maintained". Recent reports have shown that conversion therapy is "widespread" in New Zealand, including the practise of

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

, therapy, drugs or other means. In a prominent 2016 review, six experts including

J. Michael Bailey John Michael Bailey (born July 2, 1957) is an American psychologist, behavioural geneticist, and professor at Northwestern University best known for his work on the etiology of sexual orientation. He maintains that sexual orientation is heavily ...

say there is little scientific evidence to support the efficacy of conversion therapy. The available lab studies which measured arousal responses of men who claimed to have changed their sexual orientation through such treatments still showed arousal responses to men, not women. While people may claim to have changed their orientation through such interventions often due to pressure or shame, their underlying orientation remains the same. At the 9th

New Zealand Youth Parliament The New Zealand Youth Parliament, held once in each term of parliament (usually every three or four years), is an event used to promote the civic and community engagement of New Zealand youth. The event has been held since 1994, and takes place a ...

, Youth MP

Shaneel Lal Shaneel Shavneel Lal (born 22 January 2000) is a Fijian-New Zealand LGBT rights activist, known for spearheading the movement to ban conversion therapy in New Zealand. Lal is a model, a columnist for ''New Zealand Herald'', and a political com ...

advocated for a ban on conversion therapy in New Zealand. In 2019, Lal founded the Conversion Therapy Action Group to work towards ending conversion therapy. Lal worked with the

Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand ( mi, Rōpū Kākāriki o Aotearoa, Niu Tireni), commonly known as the Greens, is a green and left-wing political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four organisational ...

to deliver a petition of over more than 150,000 signatures to ban conversion therapy. In late July 2021,

Justice Minister A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Kris Faafoi Kristopher John Faafoi (born 23 June 1976) is a former New Zealand Labour Party politician. He became the Member of Parliament for the Mana electorate in 2010. He did not contest the seat as an electorate MP in 2020 but continued as a list MP ...

introduced the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill, which seeks to ban conversion therapy in New Zealand. The bill creates two new criminal offences for either the most serious cases of harm or where there is heightened risk of harm. The proposed legislation makes it an offense to perform conversion therapy on anyone with a five years prison term. On 6 August 2021, the Bill passed its first reading with the support of all political parties except the opposition National Party, which wanted provisions protecting parents from prosecution. National's youth wing disagreed with their own party, supporting the legislation. The Justice Select Committee hearing submissions on the Bill received over a 100,000 submissions following Lal's online campaign, breaking the record for number of submissions. In early February 2022, the National Party abandoned its bloc voting position on the Conversion Practices Prohibition Bill. The party's new leader

Christopher Luxon Christopher Mark Luxon (born 19 July 1970) is a New Zealand politician and former business executive who is currently serving as leader of the New Zealand National Party and the Leader of the Opposition. He has been the Member of Parliament (M ...

allowed caucus members to vote on their conscience. The Bill passed its third and final reading on 15 February 2022, becoming law.

Blood donation

The

New Zealand Blood Service The New Zealand Blood Service (in te reo Māori: ) is the provider of blood services for New Zealand. The service is a Crown entity responsible to New Zealand’s Parliament and is governed by a Board appointed by the Minister of Health. Hist ...

(NZBS), like many countries, controversially defers any man who has had oral or anal intercourse with another man, with or without protection, in the past three months from donating blood. (Before 14 December 2020, the deferral period was 12 months). The restriction is on the basis that

men who have sex with men Men who have sex with men (MSM) are male persons who engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex. The term was created in the 1990s by epidemiology, epidemiologists to study the spread of disease among all men who have sex with men, r ...

in New Zealand are 44 times more likely to be infected with

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

than the general population, and the HIV testing used is not

specific Specific may refer to: * Specificity (disambiguation) * Specific, a cure or therapy for a specific illness Law * Specific deterrence, focussed on an individual * Specific finding, intermediate verdict used by a jury in determining the fina ...

enough (up to 1 in 1000 failure rate) to guarantee a 100 percent HIV-free blood supply.

Politics

Gay rights were a major political issue during the Homosexual Law Reform debates, but have subsequently become much less so. The ''Civil Union Act 2004'' was opposed by nearly half of Parliament, but in tones much more restrained than that of the Homosexual Law Reform era. There has never been a specifically LGBT political party in New Zealand. There has been a succession of unsuccessful fundamentalist Christian political parties in New Zealand or socially conservative political parties less sympathetic to LGBT rights since the introduction of

electoral reform Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of: * Voting systems, such as proportional representation, a two-round system (runoff voting), instant-ru ...

in 1993 made proportional representation possible. The

Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

political party, founded to bring "Christian morality" into politics, received only 0.62% of the party vote in the 2005 general election. Christian Heritage New Zealand polled 4.4% as part of the Christian Coalition in 1996 but closed down in 2005 after its former leader

Graham Capill Graham John Capill (born 1959) is a former New Zealand Christian leader, politician and convicted rapist. He served as the first leader of the now-defunct Christian Heritage Party, stepping down in 2003. In 2005 he was convicted of multiple s ...

was sentenced to nine years imprisonment after multiple cases of sexual assault against three female children.

Future New Zealand The Christian Democrat Party of New Zealand was a Christian socially conservative political party established in 1995. It contested the 1996 general election as part of the Christian Coalition with the Christian Heritage Party. It changed it ...

, the

Kiwi Party The Kiwi Party was a political party operating in New Zealand between 2007 and 2011. Briefly known as Future New Zealand, it was a breakaway from the United Future New Zealand party and sought to carry on the tradition of Future New Zealand. The ...

, the aforementioned

Destiny New Zealand Destiny New Zealand was a Christian political party in New Zealand centred on the charismatic/pentecostal Destiny Church. The party described itself as "centre-right". It placed a strong focus on socially conservative values and argued that the ...

and the Family Party all succeeded it, but none lasted long. Currently, the officially secular

Conservative Party of New Zealand New Conservative is a List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand. Observers have described the party's policies as far-right, though the party now states it has moved to a more centrist position under new leadersh ...

, which has yet to gain parliamentary representation, appeals to voters in this area. A number of openly gay or lesbian politicians have served in New Zealand's Parliament. The first to be elected was Chris Carter, who became the first openly gay MP when he came out shortly after the 1993 election. He lost his seat in the 1996 election, but won it again in the 1999 election and became New Zealand's first openly gay

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

in 2002. Carter united in

to his long-time partner of thirty-three years, Peter Kaiser, on 10 February 2007, in the first civil union for a cabinet minister or member of parliament since

civil unions in New Zealand Civil union has been legal in New Zealand since 26 April 2005. The Civil Union Act 2004 to establish the institution of civil union for same-sex and opposite-sex couples was passed by the Parliament on 9 December 2004. The Act has been described ...

were introduced after legislation was passed in December 2004.

Tim Barnett was the first MP to be elected as an openly gay man, in the 1996 election. In 1997, Barnett and Carter started

Rainbow Labour Rainbow Labour is the LGBTQIA+ sector of the New Zealand Labour Party. History Rainbow Labour began as a branch within Chris Carter (politician), Chris Carter's Auckland Waipareira electorate on 17 March 1997 following his narrow defeat in th ...

as a branch of the Labour Party to represent LGBT people.

Maryan Street Maryan Street (born 5 April 1955) is a New Zealand unionist and former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, having been elected to parliament in the 2005 general election as a member of the New Zealand Labour Party. She served ...

was New Zealand's first openly lesbian MP, elected in the 2005 election. She served until 2014, and served as

Minister for ACC The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) ( mi, Te Kaporeihana Āwhina Hunga Whara) is the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for administering the country's No-fault insurance, no-fault accidental injury compensation scheme, commonly referred ...

and Minister for Housing between 2007 and 2008. She was also the President of the Labour Party between 1993 and 1995. However, the National Party's

Marilyn Waring Dame Marilyn Joy Waring (born 7 October 1952) is a New Zealand public policy scholar, international development consultant, former politician, environmentalist, feminist and a principal founder of feminist economics. In 1975, aged 23, she beca ...

had preceded Street, and while she was outed at one point, Waring's strong pro-choice identification and vocal feminism overshadowed her lesbianism, which was then considered a private matter. Since she left Parliament in 1984, Waring has more openly acknowledged her sexual orientation.

Chris Finlayson Christopher Francis Finlayson (born 1956) is a New Zealand lawyer and former Member of Parliament, representing the National Party. He was elected to Parliament in 2005. In the Fifth National Government, from 2008 to 2017, he was Attorney-Ge ...

became the first openly gay National Party MP elected to Parliament on his party's MMP party list in the 2005 election. Finlayson was an MP between 2005 and 2019, and a former

Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations The Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, otherwise known as the Treaty Negotiations Minister or the Minister of Treaty Negotiations, is a Government minister, minister in the Government of New Zealand. The minister is tasked with multi ...

between 2008 and 2017, and

Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage The Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage is a minister in the government of New Zealand with responsibility for arts, culture, heritage, and broadcasting, and is in charge of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. The position was establish ...

between 2008 and 2014, and served as

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

from 2008 to 2017. Current openly gay MPs include

Grant Robertson Grant Murray Robertson (born 30 October 1971) is a New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party who has served as the 19th deputy prime minister of New Zealand since 2020 and the minister of Finance since 2017. He has served as Membe ...

, former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party between 2011 and 2013 and

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

and Minister for Sport and Recreation since 2017 and Minister Responsible for the

Earthquake Commission The Earthquake Commission, ( mi, Kōmihana Rūwhenua), is a New Zealand Crown entity that invests in natural disaster research and education as well as providing natural disaster insurance to residential property owners. In March 2022, a bill ...

since 2019, Labour MP

Tāmati Coffey Tamati Gerald Coffey (born 19 September 1979) is a list Member of the New Zealand Parliament for the New Zealand Labour Party. Prior to entering Parliament, he was most notably an award-winning broadcaster fronting many shows over a decade, for ...

, Labour MP

Chlöe Swarbrick Chlöe Charlotte Swarbrick (born 26 June 1994) is a New Zealand politician. Following a high-profile but unsuccessful run for the 2016 Auckland mayoral election, she became a parliamentary candidate for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, ...

, and Green Party MP and Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Justice

Jan Logie Heather Janet Logie (born 26 October 1969) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. She is a member of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Early life and career Logie was born in Invercargill in ...

. Charles Chauvel joined Grant Robertson as a gay Labour MP from 2006 to 2013.

Darren Hughes Darren Colyn Hughes (born 3 April 1978) is a New Zealand former Member of Parliament between 2002 and 2011, first elected at the age of 24. He represented the New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party and was a Minister outside Cabinet in the Fift ...

resigned from the Labour Party caucus in 2011, and National MP

Claudette Hauiti Claudette Hauiti (born 8 May 1961) is a New Zealand journalist, broadcaster and political commentator. She was the producer of the award winning programme ''Children of the Revolution.'' Hauiti was a New Zealand politician and member of the Hous ...

served in Parliament between 2013 and 2014. National MP

Paul Foster-Bell Paul Ayers Robert Foster-Bell (born March 1977) is a former New Zealand diplomat, a politician and was a list member of the House of Representatives between May 2013 and 2017. He is a member of the National Party and a monarchist. He failed to ...

, who served in Parliament from 2013 to 2017, came out as gay in 2016.

Kevin Hague Kevin Grant Hague (born 18 March 1960) is a New Zealand activist and former chief executive and politician. He was a Member of Parliament for the Green Party from 2008 to 2016, and served as chief executive of Forest & Bird, an independent New Z ...

of the

served as an MP between 2008 and 2016.

Georgina Beyer Georgina Beyer (born November 1957) is a New Zealand politician and former Labour Party Member of Parliament. In 1995 she was elected mayor of Carterton, making her the world's first openly transgender mayor. In 2005 she became the world's ...

became the first transgender mayor in the world when she became the Mayor of Carterton in 1995. In the 1999 election, she became the world's first transgender MP. She retired from parliamentary politics on 14 February 2007. After the 2020 general election, 10% of the elected MPs openly identified as LGBT+, giving New Zealand the highest proportion of 'Coming out, out' elected representatives in the world.

Living conditions

New Zealand is frequently referred to as one of the most LGBT-friendly countries in the world.The Gay Happiness Index. The very first worldwide country ranking, based on the input of 115,000 gay men
Planet Romeo New Zealand has a visible and open LGBT scene, though small by international standards.

has multiple gay bars, restaurants, clubs, festivals and other venues. Outside Auckland, there are also visible, albeit smaller, LGBT scenes in

, Tauranga,

, Dunedin, and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton. Several organisations and publications in New Zealand cater to LGBT people.

Pride events

Gay pride events are legal in New Zealand and were first held in the 1970s. The Hero Parade, the showpiece of the Hero Festival in Auckland, was held annually between 1992 and 2001. Parades were typically attended by more than one hundred thousand people (and at its height, by as many as two hundred thousand). The Hero Festival continues to this day, usually without a flagship parade. In February 2013, however, Auckland held a pride parade, called the Auckland Pride Festival. Another event is the Big Gay Out, a family event held annually in Auckland at Pt Chevalier's Coyle Park. The numbers of attendees has risen steadily over the past few years and includes appearances from the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and many other politicians from centre-left and centre-right parties alike, who show their support for the LGBT community.

In Tokelau, Niue and the Cook Islands

Although anti-discrimination laws and laws regarding civil unions and same-sex marriage apply in New Zealand, these do not apply in Niue, Tokelau or the Cook Islands due to their separate legislatures. Male homosexual acts are criminalised in the Cook Islands, although the law is not actively enforced. In Niue and Tokelau the sodomy laws were repealed in 2007, when sections that mention buggery were repealed.

Summary table

References

Bibliography

* * * * *Philip Webb ''et al.'': ''Butterworths Family Law in New Zealand'': (13th Edition): Wellington: Lexis/Nexis: 2007. *New Zealand Law Commission: ''Adoption: Options for Reform: Wellington: New Zealand Law Commission Preliminary Paper No 38'': 1999:
Solicitor General's opinion on the application of the Human Rights Act 1993 to transgender people
*Human Rights Commission: ''To Be Who I Am: Report of the Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender People''. January 2008 *Counties Manukau District Health Board ''Gender Reassignment Health Services for Trans People Within New Zealand: Good Practice Guide for Health Professionals'' 2012 *Department of Labour: ''Transgender People at Work''. June 2011 *World Professional Association for Transgender Health: ''Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender, and Gender-Nonconforming People'' 7th Version, 2012 *Human Rights Act 1993
Sex-change Surgery Delay Hits Youth
Ben Heather, 16 April 2015. *''Youth’12: Fact Sheet about Transgender Young People'' from Clark, T. C., Lucassen, M. F. G., Bullen, P., Denny, S. J., Fleming, T. M., Robinson, E. M., & Rossen, F. V. (2014). ''The health and well-being of transgender high school students: Results from the New Zealand Adolescent Health Survey (Youth’12)''. Journal of Adolescent Health *Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Act 1995 *Heike Polster, "Gender Identity as a New Prohibited Ground of Discrimination" ''New Zealand Journal of Public and International Law''. Vol 1 No 1 November 2003 *The Yogyakarta Principles: Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. 2007 *Hansard, First Reading on Statutes Amendment Bill (No 4) 16 April 2014 *Human Rights Commission: ''Human Rights in New Zealand Today – New Zealand Action Plan for Human Rights''. August 2004

External links

New Zealand legislation databaseA history of homosexual law reform in New Zealand (NZHistory.net.nz)Streaming audio and transcribed interviews on historic and current LGBTI issues in New Zealand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lgbt Rights in New Zealand LGBT rights in New Zealand,