Hon Amy Adams
Minister of Justice
9 February 2017 Media Statement
Historical homosexual convictions eligible to be wiped
The Government will introduce a new scheme to address historical convictions for homosexual offences, Justice Minister
Amy Adams has announced.
“While the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 decriminalised consensual sex between men aged 16 and over, convictions for
those offences remain on record and can appear in criminal history checks,” Ms Adams says.
“Although we can never fully undo the impact on the lives of those affected, this new scheme will provide a pathway for
their convictions to be expunged. It means people will be treated as if they had never been convicted, and removes the
ongoing stigma and prejudice that can arise from convictions for homosexual offences.
“I acknowledge the pain that these New Zealanders have lived with and hope that this will go some way toward addressing
that.”
People with convictions for specific offences relating to consensual sexual activity between men 16 years and over will
be eligible to apply to the Secretary of Justice to have the conviction expunged, an approach consistent with other
overseas jurisdictions, such as Australia. If a person’s application is approved, government records will be amended so
the conviction does not appear in criminal history checks and they will be entitled to declare they have no such
conviction.
The application process will be free for applicants. Decisions will be made by the Secretary of Justice, without the
need for formal court hearings or for applicants to appear in person.
“As there may be instances where the offending involved conduct that is still unlawful today, we can’t apply a broad
brush approach to wiping convictions. The scheme will involve a case-by-case approach,” Ms Adams says.
Ms Adams says the Government intends to introduce legislation to implement the scheme in the coming months.
Attached: Q on the expungement scheme