| Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| New Zealand Parliament | |
| |
| Citation | 1986 No 33 |
| Passed by | House of Representatives |
| Passed | 9 July 1986[1] |
| Royal assent | 11 July 1986[2] |
| Commenced | 8 August 1986[2] |
| Administered by | Ministry of Justice |
| Legislative history | |
| Bill title | Homosexual Law Reform Bill |
| Introduced by | Fran Wilde |
| Introduced | 7 March 1985[1] |
| First reading | 8 March 1985[1] |
| Second reading | 13 November 1985[1] |
| Third reading | 9 July 1986[1] |
| Committee report | 8 October 1985[1] |
| Related legislation | |
| Human Rights Act 1993 (New Zealand) | |
| Status: Current legislation | |
The Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 is a New Zealand Act of Parliament that broadly legalised consensual sexual practices between men as well as consensual 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.
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.