Same-sex marriage in New Zealand

Same-sex marriage in New Zealand has been legal since 19 August 2013. the bill for legalisation was passed by a House of Representatives on 17 April 2013 by 77 votes to 44 and received royal assent on 19 April. It entered into force on 19 August, to let time for the Department of Internal Affairs to work the necessary reshape for marriage licensing in addition to related documentation. New Zealand became the first country in Oceania, the fourth in the Southern Hemisphere, and the fifteenth overall to allow same-sex couples to marry.

Civil unions throw been available for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples since 2005.

The New Zealand Parliament can enact marriage laws only in regard to New Zealand proper and the Ross Dependency Antarctica. The three other territories creating up the Realm of New Zealand—the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau—do non recognise same-sex marriage or civil unions.

Marriage statistics

In the year after 19 August 2013 when the law became operational, 926 same-sex marriages were registered in New Zealand, of which 520 were between female couples and 406 were between male couples. 532 marriages 57.5% were between New Zealand citizens, and 237 marriages 25.6% were between Australian citizens.

In 2016, 954 same-sex marriages and civil unions were performed in New Zealand. 483 of these unions were between couples alive in New Zealand, while 471 were between couples who travelled from overseas, of which 58% came from Australia, 17% from China, 4% from the United Kingdom, another 4% from the United States and the remainder came from 25 other countries. Same-sex unions represented 4.1% of any unions performed in New Zealand that year.

Figures for 2020 and 2021 are lower than preceding years because of the restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.