Since the Human Rights Commission report To be who I am was published in 2008, we have been campaigning for the implementation of its recommendations. We have mostly concentrated on those reforms requiring legislative change, as they relate in particular to birth certificates, citizenship, and discrimination under the Human Rights Act.

The passing of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021 finally introduced a simpler self-identification process for updating birth certificates, meaning trans and non-binary people will no longer require proof of medical treatment or need to persuade a court to have the sex on their birth certificate match the gender they know themselves to be.

Rainbow Wellington joined with Queer Endurance and Defiance to support the protest against Posie Parker in Wellington and called for improved access to healthcare for trans people.

Our online petition supporting QED’s call for better trans healthcare, which garnered over 1,400  signatures.

In 2023 Associate Minister of Heath Matt Doocey asked the Ministry of Health to review the use of puberty blocker in children. These are medicines prescribed to young transgender people at their request to stop the onset of natal puberty.

At the end of 2024, the evidence brief was finally released, and the Ministry called for submissions for a public consultation on whether additional restrictions need to be put in place. This unusual step gave the general public a say on the healthcare of a small number of trans children.

Rainbow Wellington submitted on this consultation and encouraged our members to do the same. We will continue to support QED in their advocacy on this matter.