[3] 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.

[10] A similar bill, introduced by MP Warren Freer in 1979, failed in its parliamentary reading in 1980, due to lack of support for the same reasons over the age disparity.

[10] In 1985, Labour MP Fran Wilde consulted with gay rights groups to develop the Homosexual Law Reform Bill, which she introduced to Parliament on 8 March.

Inside Parliament, multiple attempts to set a higher age of consent at 20 or 18 were rejected; ironically, some opponents of decriminalisation of homosexuality joined supporters of full equality in voting against those proposals, as they believed that a higher age of consent for gay sex would have made the Bill more palatable to those on the fences.

[15] The Law Commission is currently doing a review of the Human Rights Act 1993 for protection for transgender, non-binary and intersex people.

In July 2012, a member's bill by Labour MP Louisa Wall which proposed defining marriage to be inclusive regardless of gender was drawn from the ballot.

[29] In December 2012, former Governor-General Dame Catherine Tizard starred in an online video campaign supporting same-sex marriage, alongside New Zealand singers Anika Moa, Boh Runga and Hollie Smith, as well as Olympian Danyon Loader.

She argued following the enactment of civil unions in particular that eligible lesbian and gay prospective parents should be enabled to legally adopt.

[37] Only men who do not have sperm are eligible for public funding to assisted reproduction, which means that most male same-sex couples must get private treatment.

[38] The Human Rights Act 1993 (Māori: Te Ture Tika Tangata 1993) outlaws discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and, implicitly, gender identity/expression.

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 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 opposed, and became effective on 8 December 2009.

[54] 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.

"[58] 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.

[59] 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 and suicide.

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.

Official correspondence from senior advisors within the MoH stated that the information was "no doubt true" but that the statement was removed regardless in order to create fewer queries from anti-trans campaigners.

[76] A 2024 study found that New Zealand prescribed up to seven times more puberty blockers to transgender youth than England, Wales, Denmark and the Netherlands from 2014 to 2022, with 400 children receiving that treatment during that period.

[77] New Zealand laws and policies that prohibit female genital mutilation explicitly permit "normalising" medical interventions on intersex infants and girls.

[78] 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, with genital surgical interventions favoured on infant girls aged less than 6 months.

[86][87][88][89][90] Conversion therapy, the pseudoscientific practice of trying to change an individual's sexual orientation from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual using psychological, physical, or spiritual interventions, is illegal in New Zealand, since 2022[update].

[91] 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 August 2018, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced that a conversion therapy ban could be considered as part of a reform to the Human Rights Act 1993.

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".

[106][107] In a prominent 2016 review, six experts including J. Michael Bailey say there is little scientific evidence to support the efficacy of conversion therapy.

[116] In early February 2022, the National Party abandoned its bloc voting position on the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill.

Currently, the officially secular Conservative Party of New Zealand, which has yet to gain parliamentary representation, appeals to voters in this area.

Darren Hughes resigned from the Labour Party caucus in 2011, and National MP Claudette Hauiti served in Parliament between 2013 and 2014.

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.

[137] The highest proportion of people belonging to the rainbow communities is Wellington at 11.3%, followed by Dunedin at 7.3%, Christchurch at 6%, Palmerston North at 5.8%, Hamilton at 5.6% and with Auckland at 4.9%.