It removed an exemption from the Human Rights Act 1993 which barred women from serving in combat roles in the New Zealand Defence Force.

[1] The policy was reflected in the Human Rights Act 1993 with a clause exempting the armed forces from the prohibition against discrimination on the basis of gender in regards to combat roles.

[2] The policy against women serving in combat was formally rescinded by the NZDF in 2000, but the exemption remained on the statute books as a barrier to full ratification of the CEDAW.

The bill passed its first reading unanimously on 6 September 2006 and was referred to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee.

[6] The bill was subsequently adopted by the government in March 2007 in order to ensure its passage before New Zealand's periodic report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women later that year.