Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986

The Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 is a New Zealand Act of Parliament that broadly legalised consensual sex between men as well as anal sex regardless of partners' gender. It removed the provisions of the Crimes Act 1961 that criminalised this behaviour. The legislation established a uniform age of consent, setting it at 16 for both same-sex and opposite-sex partners.

Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986
New Zealand Parliament
Long title
  • An Act to amend the Crimes Act 1961 by removing criminal sanctions against consensual sexual conduct between males, and consensual heterosexual anal intercourse, while protecting minors.
Citation1986 No 33
Passed byHouse of Representatives
Passed9 July 1986
Royal assent11 July 1986
Commenced8 August 1986
Administered byMinistry of Justice
Legislative history
Bill titleHomosexual Law Reform Bill
Introduced byFran Wilde
Introduced7 March 1985
First reading8 March 1985
Second reading13 November 1985
Third reading9 July 1986
Committee report8 October 1985
Related legislation
Human Rights Act 1993 (New Zealand)
Status: Current legislation

Before Homosexual Law Reform, male homosexual acts had faced severe legal penalties in New Zealand, evolving from capital punishment to life imprisonment and hard labour. Despite initial attempts at decriminalisation in the 1970s, it was not until the landmark 1986 Act that consensual same-sex activities were decriminalised, marking a significant progressive shift in the country's approach to LGBT rights.

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