23/05/2026
University of Auckland Rainbow Law strongly opposes the Legislation (Definitions of Woman and Man) Amendment Bill 2026.
This Bill risks increasing discrimination against trans, intersex, and gender q***r people across the legal system and public services, and may give rise to issues including, but not limited to:
❗️ Limiting the access to protections from sex-based discrimination under the Human Rights Act 1993
❗️ Questions around the interpretation and categorization of gender-based offences under the Crimes Act 1961
❗️Impacting access to abortion, and reproductive rights (such as under the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977)
❗️Constraining the Court’s interpretation of who would qualify as a ‘mother’ or ‘father’ (such as under the Care of Children Act 2004)
❗️Aggravation of the discriminatory treatment and placement of trans people in prisons and the justice system
❗️ Further limiting access to gendered spaces and support services (such as the funding cuts to the Auckland Women’s Centre)
❗️ The erosion of inclusion policies (such as the removal of Sports NZ’s Guiding Principles for the Inclusion of Transgender People in Community Sport)
❗️Further limiting access to gender-related health care, such as further restrictions on prescriptions of puberty blockers
We have strong concerns that this Bill will create avenues for discrimination and exclusion of trans, intersex, gender diverse peoples, and cisgender women, and urge lawmakers and the public to reject this Bill.
You can make a submission against this bill via the link in our bio. The last day to make a submission is 6 July 2026.